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Being an underwater welder is a lifestyle, not a career. Especially if you want the big bucks. It is not true that you will get rich doing every kind of underwater welding. This type of welding does pay better than surface welding but if you want the money on the extreme end of the spectrum then you will need to “pay” for it. There are multiple types of water welding.
However, on average, all of these jobs are more dangerous and difficult than surface welding jobs. Experience, danger, water conditions, distance from the shore, depth of dive and many other factors will determine how much you will get paid. It will also determine what underwater welding job is the best for you.
Offshore Welder Eligibility, Experience, Duties, Skills, And Salary
Not everyone is a superman. That’s fine. There are many ways to be a part of this work and in this article, we are going to go through everything so that you can get a better idea of where can you fit in and earn as much as possible.
Well unfortunately I have to disappoint you a bit here. You are unlikely to get rich doing this if you don’t stick around for a longer period of time, learn the ropes, bust your ass off and really really love being a commercial diver.
You will probably be paid hourly about 11-20$ depending on your location (we will take a look at specific areas and the income in a bit) and you will be an apprentice at first. No one is going to give you a 1000$ a day job at first. It will take years to reach that level.
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While you will earn a low income at first, you will not be doing anything dangerous like deep diving. Your work for the first 3 years or so will be about learning the skills and helping your experienced colleagues that will be doing actual work.
If you make it through the first 3-5 years you will move up the ranks and become a fully experienced commercial diver. Now your earning potential will significantly improve. It is at this point that almost everything is possible and you could be earning 100k or even 300k a year depending on a lot of factors.
You can read more about the underwater welder salary expectations in general terms. But let’s take a look at some specifics before going in-depth on the differences in earnings in relation to the type of work and the area.
Underwater Welder Salary: Journey From $40,000 To $200,000 A Year
Underwater welders do either offshore or inland welding. Offshore pays a lot more. On the other hand, your experience level plays a big hand in this but the offshore rookie will earn a significantly higher salary than inland rookie commercial divers.
Experienced offshore divers can earn a lot of money but this will still depend on the type of job, the depth of dive, experience, certifications, the company that hires them, the location of work and etc. We will talk about these things soon.
Offshore underwater welders work in international waters. That’s the definition of “offshore”. Literally, anything goes, but here are some good work examples so that you get the picture:
Average Salaries And Common Skills Required For Welder Jobs
Unfortunately, a bit inconsistent and unpredictable. That’s not always the case. Sometimes you can land a job that provides work on a consistent basis but that’s an exception rather than the rule.
Offshore commercial diver schedule typically looks like a month to month and a half in the open waters and then a week or so at home. But sometimes you could be out of work for multiple months. Your workday will usually be 10-12h shifts and in difficult conditions.
This is also not always the truth. Sometimes you may be a backup diver that will see little to no action while still being paid top dollar. But they will find some other work for you. No one gets paid unless they provide serious experience and value to the team.
Last Underwater Welding Course For 2015
This kind of work is done almost always with overtime pay. These come as additional bonuses but it typically pays very well so that is understandable as the nature of work. These jobs are no picnic but this is where the money is at and especially for saturation commercial divers.
Most of the time you will be off during the winter months. These few months it’s almost impossible to work in the deep ocean waters but the time off is also good for you. Spend some time with friends and family. You can also weld on surface if you want to make some quick buck in a welding shop.
As you see these numbers are lower than the offshore underwater welding career. That’s because the work inland is more predictable, there are a bit more job opportunities, it’s stable and less dangerous. You will be working much closer to the hospital, the depths are not extreme and there are generally way fewer things that can go wrong.
Commercial Diving Welding Skills On Complexities Of Welding
This is still a dangerous job and that’s why the salary is big just not as big as when working in the ocean.
The pay may be lower but the work is much more consistent. This is a good career choice for someone who doesn’t like waiting for and chasing after work. Once you get employed you are likely to stay there for a longer period of time. A regular 40-50h work weeks during the whole year. Much more stable than offshore welding. But there has to be more that affects the pay?
Now we will see how you can earn those big bucks everyone is talking about. If the stars align and you get a commercial diving job that combines multiple high-paying primary factors then you can get a high payout that will make your jaw drop.
Career In Underwater Welding (salary + More)
You will need to start as a rookie, fresh out of the commercial diving course and climb the ranks. Listen to your instructors and senior members of the crew and pay attention to everything. You will be a part of everything just not as a diver yet.
Once you start having your diving experience you need to have a mindset of “let me get as much experience as possible.”
Underwater welding career usually starts with you doing onshore as a rookie but you could also be an apprentice offshore it is just that it is not very common. After you gather enough experience doing onshore jobs, you can move on to offshore where more money is but work is less constant.
Best Underwater Welding Schools In Uk (2023 Guide)
In the USA the Gulf of Mexico is where most people want to go. Thousands of oil pipeline underwater welding jobs are done every year and they are all high paying but this is why you need experience. No one will give you this kind of work if you don’t have what it takes.
When working underwater with complex tools there are protocols and things are done in a specific order. Not all equipment can be brought down at once. It is done in accordance with the job.
Some welding tasks will need you to use AC welding equipment which poses a way higher risk of electric shock than the direct current equipment.
Underwater Welding: One Of The Most Dangerous Jobs On Earth
If you have higher experience with complex equipment setup you will get paid better, plus usage of AC equipment increases the danger for the welder which also translates to higher pay.
That means that you need to get your certification from a qualified divers institute like the CDA technical institute. Certifying your skills is very important and something that your employers will be asking for.
Knowing is usually not enough for underwater welders. In order for a big company to hire you, you must have papers that verify that you know to perform certain tasks.
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This is a dangerous job and I don’t think that anyone will hire you for a task that you can’t show on paper that you are able to do.
Only veteran divers are in this club. This is how you earn a 300k salary. Hell, you could even earn a 500k a year if you can endure the job and get a very high paying opportunity.
In 2015, there were just 336 saturation divers in the USA. It takes being the best in order to get qualified for such jobs. I won’t discourage you from pursuing it but just know that you need to pile on years of experience.
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Here is a great video to understand what is saturation diving and how it works. Basically, they do a controlled process of saturating body tissue so that they can stay under pressure for a long time and get that depth pay.
Now, you don’t have to be a sat diver to get high paying jobs. Any job below 50ft of depth will be paying by the foot and you could be looking at $500-$800 a day. No need to do saturation diving for all of these jobs.
This requires being an experienced veteran. But there you have it, the deeper you go the more money you
