Jobs that put people underwater: building, inspecting, rescuing, filming, and doing science beneath the surface.
Top pay: highest pay, longest training
Saturation Diver: Lives for weeks inside a pressurized chamber so they can work hundreds of feet underwater on pipelines and oil rigs. Typical pay $180k.
Commercial Diving Supervisor: Runs the dive operation from the surface, controlling divers' air, depth, and safety. Typical pay $125k.
Hyperbaric & Dive Medicine Physician: Doctor who treats divers with the bends and uses pressure chambers to heal wounds and poisonings. Typical pay $280k.
Mid pay: solid pay, degree or apprenticeship
Commercial Diver: Works underwater building, repairing, and inspecting docks, bridges, dams, pipelines, and ships. Typical pay $61k.
Underwater Welder: A commercial diver who welds and cuts metal underwater. Typical pay $72k.
Nuclear Power Plant Diver: Dives inside nuclear plant pools to inspect and repair equipment while monitoring radiation. Typical pay $95k.
Marine Salvage Diver: Raises sunken boats, refloats grounded ships, and recovers cargo and wreckage. Typical pay $78k.
Underwater Inspection Diver: Inspects bridges, dams, and docks underwater for cracks, scour, and corrosion. Typical pay $75k.
Public Safety Diver: A police officer or firefighter who dives to rescue people and recover evidence. Typical pay $77k.
Hyperbaric Technician: Operates the pressure chambers used to treat divers and patients in hospitals. Typical pay $65k.
Underwater Cinematographer: Films sharks, reefs, and shipwrecks for documentaries, movies, and science. Typical pay $65k.
Saturation Life Support Technician: Controls the gas mixtures and pressure in chambers where saturation divers live for weeks. Typical pay $100k.
Hazmat / Contaminated Water Diver: Dives in polluted water, sewage tanks, and chemical spills, sealed inside special suits and helmets. Typical pay $73k.
Geoduck & Sea Urchin Diver: Dives to harvest geoducks (giant clams), sea urchins, and sea cucumbers that sell for high prices overseas. Typical pay $70k.
Commercial Diving Instructor: Teaches students the skills to work as commercial divers: welding, rigging, and safety underwater. Typical pay $64k.
Dive Shop Owner: Runs a scuba shop that sells gear, teaches classes, and leads dive trips. Typical pay $55k.
Potable Water Tank Diver: Dives inside full drinking water tanks and towers to inspect and clean them without draining a town’s water. Typical pay $62k.
Diver Medic Technician: A commercial diver who is also trained as the team medic, ready to treat injuries and run decompression chamber care on site. Typical pay $75k.
Starter: fastest way in
Diver Tender: The entry-level diving job: managing the diver's hose and gear from the surface. Typical pay $45k.
Scuba Instructor: Teaches people to scuba dive, from first breaths in a pool to open-water certification. Typical pay $40k.
Divemaster / Dive Guide: Leads groups of certified divers on tours of reefs and wrecks. Typical pay $35k.
Hull Cleaning Diver: Scrubs the bottoms of boats and yachts in marinas to keep them clean and fast. Typical pay $45k.
Dive Equipment Technician: Services and repairs scuba regulators, tanks, and dive computers. Typical pay $42k.
Aquaculture Diver: Dives at fish farms to inspect and repair net pens, remove dead fish, and check moorings. Typical pay $48k.
Sponge Diver: Dives the Gulf of Mexico seafloor off Florida to cut natural sponges, a trade brought by Greek immigrants over 100 years ago. Typical pay $40k.
Shipwreck Treasure Salvor: Searches for and recovers gold, silver and artifacts from centuries-old Spanish shipwrecks under state permits. Typical pay $45k.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.