What jobs can I get that will allow me to go deep sea diving?
I have always loved the ocean and my dream is to go in the Mariana Trench. I want to study ocean life and protect it from environmental harm. #deepseadiver #deep-sea-diving #biology #oceanography #marine-biology
2 answers
Jamie’s Answer
Enter a graduate program in marine science after finding a researcher that studies things you find interesting. Develop a project that will get you aboard research vessels. Be forewarned that there are far more remote operated vehicles than there are human operated vehicles. Enjoy the deep sea. It's a beautiful place. I've made only a half dozen dives to the (relative) deep during my Ph.D. program. I've been on several deep sea science cruises that used a combination of ROV's, HOV's, SCUBA, and trawling. It was super fun.
Mary’s Answer
Education - You can teach diving! New divers are so fun to interact with. They are enthusiastic and always excited to get in their first dives and learn about where they can go and what they can do.
Leisure - Travelling the world leading vacation dive trips can be extremely rewarding and will give you the opportunity to dive all over the place, research the cultural and specific marine/environmental aspects of a potential location and let you meet people from all walks of life. If you like some aspects of that but don't want to spend as much time organizing/flying, you can work as a dive guide at a resort or a conservation non-profit (think turtle sanctuary). You get to teach people about the local marine life and environment and learn it by heart from spending so much time getting to know that small area.
Research - As Jamie mentioned, there are many careers focused on marine biology and sustainability that can be extremely rewarding and include travel, though as mentioned, you might spend less time in the actual water and more time working with equipment and in a lab.
Practical - If you are interested in the military, there are a lot of diving opportunities with the navy or marines that will obviously include travel. (remember, not everything about the military is about fighting, there are a lot of opportunities that involve research and documentation as well. Underwater welding is an entire career unto itself believe it or not and it pays REALLY well considering how much education you need to get into it. You can even do something local like working as a diver at a zoo or aquarium.