Love scuba diving, and want to get paid for it? There are quite a few different scuba diving roles where you can combine your passion for diving, and make a living from it. If you are looking at how to make money scuba diving, then here are some of the top scuba diving employment opportunities out there!
Scuba Diving Employment Opportunities
1. DiveMaster and Dive Instructor
The most obvious way when figuring out how to make money scuba diving is to teach new scuba divers! As an instructor, you will teach people how to master the basics of scuba diving and how to improve their diving. It is a very sociable role as you will be meeting new people. There is a lot of responsibility, and very rewarding work.
Another professional scuba diving position is being a Divemaster. A divemaster will also have responsibilities, but they will be taking already certified divers and guiding them around dive sites, and helping divers refresh their skills.
2. Underwater Photographer / Videographer
If you want to preserve your scuba diving memories and the marine life that you see on your dives, then becoming an underwater photographer or videographer can be a great profession. There are many courses that offer specialities for digital filming, where you can practise your buoyancy and your camera skills. Photos and videos can then be sold to other divers, magazines, or even as printed artwork.
Check out how to get into underwater photography, and read our Q&A with a professional UW Photographer.
3. Scientific Diver
Usually scientific divers will be scientists first, and scuba divers second. So it is an easier progression into this career if you already have a scientific background. These divers will use scuba diving to collect data underwater, and analyze back in a lab. Most common scientific divers will be marine biologists, or marine geologists.
Read our interview with a Marine Biologist and exactly what they do.
4. Archaeology
Archaeology is not always thought about in an underwater setting, but we can find out a lot about our past and future dive sites through marine and maritime archaeology. It is a fascinating way to study human history, and maritime archaeologists will dive for data, artefacts, wrecks, human remains, and more.
Check out what a Maritime Archaeologist does in a typical day, and how she combines history with scuba diving.
5. Public Safety Diver
A public safety diver works with law enforcement, fire rescue, and search & rescue/recovery dive teams. Public safety divers are on call and respond to emergencies 24/7, and may work in contaminated and often tough conditions. They may recover cars that have been driven into lakes, recover jewelry that’s been lost in the water, or in more somber cases, recover human remains.
This role can be volunteer-based, and the divers will often but not always, be already working in emergency services. PADI offers a course as a public safety diver.
6. Commercial Diver
Commercial divers are paid to do specific tasks underwater. This will be for industrial, construction, engineering, maintenance or other commercial purposes, such as fish-farms. It is often tough and dangerous work, and the divers work long hours. Commercial divers can work in scuba equipment, or use more technical equipment such as full-faced masks, and surface-supplied diving via an umbilical hose.
Read about Aiden’s experience as a commercial diver in Canada and Marie’s experience as the first female commercial diver from Belgium.
