What You Need To Succeed

To be a successful commercial diver, you must be in excellent physical and mental condition, demonstrate a very high degree of on-the-job expertise and experience, and be extremely dedicated to his profession. Most jobs will also require that you have undergone training at a nationally recognized deep sea diving school. There are currently six such accredited programs in the United States.

If you are comparing the options, there are some important factors to consider. This includes whether it’s an accredited school, the length of the training, the scope of the training, whether real-life underwater conditions are employed, the experience of the instructors, the type of equipment used, job placement assistance, and most importantly, the cost including any financial assistance programs. Also keep in mind that a federally-accredited school allows a qualified student to receive a financial aid package consisting of federal loans and grants.

In addition, the school you select should be able to meet all the requirements of the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) (the principle governing body for the field), so upon graduation you will earn an ADCI commercial diver certification card. A diver cannot work without one, particularly for employment in a foreign country. In fact, not only must a diver hold a U.S. certification card, to work overseas, he must also gain certification from that country as well.

Requirements For Admission

To attend a diving school, you must meet several requirements. This includes being at least 18 years old, holding either a high school diploma or GED, or being able to pass a battery of tests before enrollment. In addition, you must be physically fit, demonstrate a high degree of mechanical aptitude and be a good swimmer. In addition, although it’s not a requirement, having prior experience as a recreational diver is certainly a plus. In fact, at some schools the prospective student is required to be certified as a sports diver in order to help keep training cost affordable.

What You Will Learn

Some of the subjects covered in a typical diving school curriculum include:

• Dive physics and decompression chamber operations
• Operation of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV)
• Underwater demolition
• Topside and underwater welding
• Hazmat/nuclear diving
• Offshore survival and safety
• Deep sea diving techniques and procedures

Besides employing a deep-water pool for training, some of the better schools will also train in the actual real-life murky environments of the Mississippi and Delaware Rivers, iron mines, the Gulf of Mexico and coastal waters of the Pacific.