I have been wondering lately about getting into underwater welding is there any guys on here who have experience in this field. I will be looking to get out the military in the next few years and have started to look into options as far as school goes. The only other possible job I find myself interested in is flying helicopters. I said after two deployments and six years in the military that when I get out it will be doing something I enjoy and wanna do. I am more looking for responses from someone who has experience in this area who can give insight on the up's and down's of the job.

 

some of the best pay in the world but the highest risk.

i have no experience in underwater welding but watch a lot of tv

 

Two basic skills to help you on your way. If you don't currently scuba dive, I would highly recommend it so that you are comfortable underwater. Secondly, if you don't dry weld now take as many courses as you can and become proficient at surface welding. Seek out a school that offers the best certification(s) for welding/diving, one is based in South Carolina at the International Diving Institute.

 

I don't really care about the money as much as I do finding something I would enjoy doing. I definitely don't see myself doing a desk or cooperate job after all this. I will look into the school you recommended. Have you done any type of underwater work before, I am assuming you have your diving license.

 

Far from a professional diver, long time (NAUI) scuba diver though and have done a fair number of small time salvage dives. Hard hat diving is totally different and calls for a special type of individual, definitely look into this profession if you are seriously interested.

 

I am also just a recreational diver, but I would look into long term health affects of deep water diving. Lots of the welding these guys do is DEEEEEEEP. I would think the profession has some life left in it, but sooner or later it will all be done by underwater robots.

If it appeals to you though, go for it. I like to any excuse to get into the water.

 

I'm a certified diver with a little bit of knowledge on underwater welding, as I've looked into going that route myself. There are a lot of risks and dangers associated with the job and really only one upside, which is the pay. You can be an air range diver, where you're only breathing air, but they don't make as much as the saturation divers. Saturation divers go deeper than most and there are some inherent dangers of diving so deep, so you'll be spending a lot of your off time in a baro chamber in between shifts.

It's also a pretty hard field to break into. Once out of school, it may take you a while to find anyone who's actually hiring. Once you do get hired, you likely won't touch the water for the next year or two, instead they'll use you as a tender on the topside.

What's your MOS? Any interest in getting reclassed into something you could use on the outside?

 

There is not much welding done underwater anymore (since 1981). The majority of it was being done on oil derricks mounted directly to the sea floor. Derricks these days are free floating. Even then, you didn't exactly weld underwater since the welds would be to brittle due to the rapid cooling. Rather you built a cofferdam around where you would be welding and blow it dry and then dry weld.

The glory days of deep sea diving are over as far as outrageous pay goes. The best you can get is about 60 and hour for union divers which was good pay in the 80's but it has not gone up. Most non union jobs are in the 25 to 30 dollar range with little to no benefits. Aside from government divers, most expect you to have your own gear and hose which is going to set you back about 15-20k. It is hard work and your body gives out by the time you are 40. I got out of it when the bottom fell out in 81. My friends who stayed at it were mostly dead by the time they were 50. So do you want to live hard, play hard and have a good looking corpse? .

If you love the ocean, look at getting your seaman papers and quals from the coast guard. Pays better. You work 6 to 8 months a year and are paid much better and you don't have to worry about some dumbshit tender letting the compressor blow diesel smoke down your intake or crane operator crushing your umbilical in black water.

 

I am a 14T patriot missile operator/maintainer. Have actually tried reclassing 3 times and every time it something ended up happening where I couldn't reclass. Because my MOS is short on people so we are ( Locked in as they call it). I do not enjoy the job lots of politics and stuff associated with it. I was thinking of going reserves and doing something on the civilian side. From what I am hearing being a helicopter pilot might be a better option. I have looked into schools for both career fields but wanted to hear from people who have experienced this type of work before I jumped into it.

 

If you want to be a helo driver then your best bet would be to go warrant and have the Army train you. Lessons in the civilian world can get EXPENSIVE ($30k+), even more than a fixed wing pilot's license. Plus you'd be hard pressed to get a career on the outside without flight hours.