I was naval qualified diver first class and saturation. Got out went reserves and dove on the rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Saturation diving used to pay a lot. 100 and hour plus a dollar a foot per hour and you are down for about 2 to 3 weeks at a crack being paid that 24/7. But I don't think anyone is working at 700 feet anymore. Its all robotics and RUWS. When you are being paid at that rate; your employers don't care if you live or died. They suffered a 3% casualty rate per year with most of them being fatal from either hypoxia or hypothermia (running a 3/97 02/He mix, you lose your body heat about 20 times faster than normal and need to be running a hot water suit, lose your hot water and you have 5 minutes to make it back to the bell..) I had friends who became millionaires diving the north sea in the 70's and 80's but like I said its not done anymore. I have had the bends 3 times, carbon monoxide poisoning twice, ruptured eardrums 5 times and blew my sinuses 3 times.

Civilian Deep Sea diving isn't all that great. You go to the school, graduate. Jobs are hard to come if you don't know anyone. Once you get one, you have to tend for a minimum of a year at minumum wage before you get wet. Last time I talked to a commercial diver was in 98. These kids were working at 80 to 100 doing dam inspections and were only getting 27.50 an hour and had about 5 years experience apiece.

Had a friend that went Army reserves and got chopper school and then went back on active duty. Army were begging for them 30 years ago. I don't know how it is now.

 

Outside the Navy, there is only one U.S. company doing saturation work. Duke Univ. probably still does some research. Worldwide there are probably less than 100 folk working as civilian saturation divers. Most of these guys are Norwegian and French. 85% of commercial diving is done using SCUBA. 15% is done surface supplied. 12 percent of surface supplied work is done at less than 60 feet on air without decompression concerns. This leaves 3% of surface supplied diving involving decompression. Most of that work is visual inspection at less than 150 feet. Sustained work past 150 feet is preferably done Saturation with mixed gas. "Underwater welders" is an urban legend harkening back to saturation divers who used to maintain oil well heads in the North Sea. Saturation diving was only trained by the U.S. Navy, Duke Univ. and COMEX 30 years ago.

 

Politics are unescapable regardless of profession or trade. It is much worse in the civilian world. Civilian's have rules they can change anytime they want without notice. How you blow > what you know the larger the organization you belong to. I have been in your same quandary and made the wrong decisions that saw me trapped in the corporate world. The only way to get what you want is to own your own business. Find something you love to do, and build a business around it. Rather than work 120 hours a week; you will be playing 120 hours a week. On average this route takes about 5 years of living hand to mouth before the financial rewards start to roll in.