Career profile for Commercial Diver

What does a Commercial Diver do?

Commercial Divers work below surface of water, using surface-supplied air or scuba equipment to inspect, repair, remove, or install equipment and structures.

In addition, Commercial Divers

may use a variety of power and hand tools, such as drills, sledgehammers, torches, and welding equipment,
may conduct tests or experiments, rig explosives, or photograph structures or marine life.

What kind of tasks does a Commercial Diver perform regularly?

Commercial Divers are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Take appropriate safety precautions, such as monitoring dive lengths and depths and registering with authorities before diving expeditions begin.
Check and maintain diving equipment, such as helmets, masks, air tanks, harnesses, or gauges.
Communicate with workers on the surface while underwater, using signal lines or telephones.
Descend into water with the aid of diver helpers, using scuba gear or diving suits.
Obtain information about diving tasks and environmental conditions.
Supervise or train other divers, including hobby divers.
Inspect the condition of underwater steel or wood structures.
Inspect and test docks, ships, buoyage systems, plant intakes or outflows, or underwater pipelines, cables, or sewers, using closed circuit television, still photography, and testing equipment.
Repair ships, bridge foundations, or other structures below the water line, using caulk, bolts, and hand tools.
Recover objects by placing rigging around sunken objects, hooking rigging to crane lines, and operating winches, derricks, or cranes to raise objects.
Operate underwater video, sonar, recording, or related equipment to investigate underwater structures or marine life.
Take test samples or photographs to assess the condition of vessels or structures.
Cut and weld steel, using underwater welding equipment, jigs, and supports.
Install, inspect, clean, or repair piping or valves.
Carry out non-destructive testing, such as tests for cracks on the legs of oil rigs at sea.
Install pilings or footings for piers or bridges.
Salvage wrecked ships or their cargo, using pneumatic power velocity and hydraulic tools and explosive charges, when necessary.
Remove obstructions from strainers or marine railway or launching ways, using pneumatic or power hand tools.
Set or guide placement of pilings or sandbags to provide support for structures, such as docks, bridges, cofferdams, or platforms.
Perform activities related to underwater search and rescue, salvage, recovery, or cleanup operations.

The above responsibilities are specific to Commercial Divers. More generally, Commercial Divers are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Performing General Physical Activities		Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.
Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials		Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
Handling and Moving Objects		Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems		Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates		Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Performing General Physical Activities

Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.

Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials

Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.

Handling and Moving Objects

Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.

Making Decisions and Solving Problems

Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

What is a Commercial Diver salary?

The median salary for a Commercial Diver is $54,800, and the average salary is $71,850. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Commercial Diver salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Commercial Divers earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Commercial Divers earn less than $36,200 per year, 25% earn less than $43,570, 75% earn less than $77,220, and 90% earn less than $111,130.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Commercial Divers is expected to change by 17.5%, and there should be roughly 500 open positions for Commercial Divers every year.

Median annual salary: $54,800
Typical salary range: $36,200 - $111,130
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 17.5%

What personality traits are common among Commercial Divers?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Commercial Diver are usually higher in their Realistic interests.

Commercial Divers typically have very strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Commercial Diver tend to value Support, Independence, and Working Conditions.

Most importantly, Commercial Divers strongly value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Second, Commercial Divers strongly value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Lastly, Commercial Divers moderately value Working Conditions. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Commercial Divers must consistently demonstrate qualities such as dependability, attention to detail, and stress tolerance.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Commercial Divers, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attention to Detail		Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Stress Tolerance		Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
Persistence		Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
Adaptability/Flexibility		Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Attention to Detail

Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.

Stress Tolerance

Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.

Persistence

Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.

Adaptability/Flexibility

Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

What education and training do Commercial Divers need?

Commercial Divers often have training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Commercial Divers usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Commercial Divers

13.1% did not complete high school or secondary school
39.6% completed high school or secondary school
26.6% completed some college coursework
9.8% earned a Associate's degree
9.3% earned a Bachelor's degree
1.3% earned a Master's degree
0.2% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Commercial Divers

Commercial Divers may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as mechanical, building and construction, or physics knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Commercial Divers might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
Mechanical		Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Building and Construction		Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Physics		Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Customer and Personal Service		Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Mathematics		Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Mechanical

Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Building and Construction

Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

Physics

Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

Customer and Personal Service

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Mathematics

Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Important Abilities needed by Commercial Divers

Commercial Divers must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Commercial Divers need abilities such as oral comprehension, oral expression, and problem sensitivity in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Commercial Divers, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
Oral Comprehension		The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression		The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity		The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Arm-Hand Steadiness		The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Control Precision		The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.

Oral Comprehension

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Problem Sensitivity

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Arm-Hand Steadiness

The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

Control Precision

The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.

Critical Skills needed by Commercial Divers

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Commercial Divers frequently use skills like critical thinking, active listening, and operations monitoring to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Commercial Divers, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Critical Thinking		Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Active Listening		Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Operations Monitoring		Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Quality Control Analysis		Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.

Critical Thinking

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Active Listening

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Operations Monitoring

Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Quality Control Analysis

Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Commercial Diver

Commercial Diver

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