Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mike Wolfe on July 20, 2009 at 10:57pm

I'll take a shot at answering your questions.

1) I didn't know any better.

2) I don't know how to weld.

3)I'm too lazy to learn to weld.

4)Whenever I came in from offshore, I had too much money in the bank to think seriously about looking for a real job.

Did I mention that I'm lazy?

5) 20 years and 5 major hurricanes later, life is good!

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Permalink Reply by Paul Hoffmann on July 21, 2009 at 1:20am

Comparing commercial diveing and ANY other job is like comparing peas and carrots. That said, it takes a certain kind of person to do this job, prisons a good boot camp. Seriously though, its not a 9 to 5ver. Its not leavin in the morning, coming home at night, its not relaxing, its not easy, its hard work for little recognition, but oh the things you'll do and see.
This is the frontier. This is were the other half LIVES. Its testing your metal, and testing others. We arent negative to each other, we give each other "constructive critisism" "motivation" We're straight shooters, we're liers. We do what we need to to get the job done. We don't ask permission, we apologize later. We dont apologize, we learn from our mistakes. gettin the picture?
The works sporadic, and we're underpaid for the risks we take.
Its a great job if your up to the challenge.

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Permalink Reply by Jentry Neu on July 21, 2009 at 7:09am

I can kind of understand things a bit better but its still confusing too me as to why from what I see so many people so either are educated in another trade insist on staying a commercial diver despite all the negativity that they are throwing around. Is it just because they want to try to stop a younger generation from coming in the the commercial diving world at risk of losing a job? If that is the case well....that's just odd to me because hell I don't know how long you have been working Paul but Mike there said 20 years. Who is an employer going to wanna hire a guy with no hands on working world experience or someone who has been in the game for some time now. See my point there?

I know this isn't a get rich quick job if I wanted something like that I would have become....well hell who am I kidding I couldn't become a brain surgeon ha. I know that once starting out I am going to have to pay my dues as a tender, crappy jobs, not the best pay, low man on the totem pole getting yelled at from every which direction. But after that when I get to break out as a diver life will be looking better.

9 to 5 jobs bore the hell out of me, don't like normal work, and hell I just like how this line of work looks from the sideline sort of speak. It just baffles me why I get so much crap for talking about wanting to become a commercial diver and all I get is negativity from some people (not so much on this site mind you).

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Permalink Reply by Jentry Neu on July 21, 2009 at 5:31pm

Hey Shaun thanks for the advice, I think there may have been a misunderstanding however seeing as I am an inland oilfield welder up in North Dakota. But I will still contact that person and see whats up. I do plan on having welding and burning being my specialty seeing as how I already have that under my belt. I am really happy to hear that things are beginning to pick up seeing as how it has seemed slow lately (from what I hear).

This is kind of a side note but I have been talking to a lot of schools and have decided that DIT is the place for me. But along with DIT and the other schools I have been talking to, how accurate is their information? I know that their training is a "product" and they wanna sell it. I have been told by many schools that work is well...all over and the economy hasn't had much effect on this career (hard for me to completely accept however). Then with the money that is can be made just seems like way overboard. I am not going to say which school but I was told to expect 60k offshore as a tender? Then after 2-3 years having that double while offshore yet?

That all sounds glorious to me to say the least but a bit far fetched also since well that's a nice chunk of cash right out of school. So am I being fed some BS already from the schools recruiters or is there actually a but of truth to this? Thanks for the help all! Appreciate it.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Hoffmann on July 21, 2009 at 9:18pm

Awlright jentry, I've put in my time, paltry in comparison to 20 yrs. I started in oct of 02"
So I lost track after the first 3 yrs, I've worked for 3 different dive companys, one of which was a joke, and the other which went bankrupt, I was with for 5 yrs. The present companys doing well, and I hope it remains.
My poin, I've been through the politics, and I like you, should take all information in, process, and ditch what you dont need. Diving has changed ALOT in the last three yrs, and I dont think the experience is as rich in tending as it once was, its a kinder gentler gulf. These guys nowadays have got it easy by previous industry standards, but the weak get weeded out and the strong stay on to leave a mark.
As for DIT, thats were I went, and seattle was a pretty cool experience, beings I come from north dakota. That being said, I'd recomend youngs memorial in morgan city if you want to really get hands on and a jumpstart on the "real" gulf of mexico. Hope I dont sound like a douche bag, and you can make up your own mind, your young, get it while its good. Better hurry up though, hurricane season is upon us, and your best shot is comin up.

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Permalink Reply by Jentry Neu on July 21, 2009 at 9:42pm

Hey Paul, sounds like you have been in the game for some time now so respect out to you. As for young's memorial it did sound like a good place and I was a fan of the price but I would love to work in some international waters someday so I thought DIT would be the place for that. I guess my biggest hesitation with this is the work. I like anyone else wants to work, I don't want to spend all that money on training and then be sitting with no job. Like I have said before I know how it goes, start at the bottom, work my ass off and good things will come. So being a tender is no problem with me, great way to learn some hand on experience that just cannot be received at ANY school.

Off track, mind if I ask what part of ND you were from? Ever hear of a little town called Ashley?

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Permalink Reply by Mike Wolfe on July 21, 2009 at 10:28pm

Hey Jentry,
Sorry if my first reply was a little flip, but this question gets asked SO many times, and the answers never change. Guess what, when the GOM companies land a job overseas, they send their own people. I know of one company that has U.S. divers working in China now, no IMCA recognized cert needed. I have worked in India, Nigeria and Mexico. Companies I have worked for have also sent divers to Trinidad, Venezuela, and all over West Africa. It doesn't really matter to them were you went to school.
My Advise, for what it's worth, Young Memorial. You already have welding skills, if you plan on a career with a GOM company, that is the place to go. Fill up your log book, then worry about overseas.
Good luck,
MW

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Permalink Reply by Jentry Neu on July 22, 2009 at 6:19am

Alright, I will take Young Memorial into more consideration since I didn't know that one could work overseas without the proper certs. I thought that if you didn't have so and so cert you were SOL. Also sorry if this question gets asked a lot I know how annoying that can be. One thing I am still curious about is if the school recruiters are just blowing smoke up my @ss or if there is true to what they are telling me about actually getting in those kind of hours (84 a week minimum) and making that kind of money (60k a year) as only a tender right out of school and about as green to the game as they come.

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Permalink Reply by Jentry Neu on July 22, 2009 at 7:31pm

Thanks for the info Shaun I will be contacting Youngs tomorrow when I get the chance. I guess I have this notion in my head that the more and better certifications I can get the more chance I will have at getting a shot and be working sooner. That's kind of how it has worked for me in the past, I have gotten contract welding jobs without the boss ever seeing my welding ability all they saw was my certifications nothing else and then I showed them that they made a good choice in hiring me :).

Also something I did not make note of in Mikes last post. I guess I don't have any plans to work for a company in the GOM basically anywhere that will take shot on me ha, but the GOM would be awesome. Another thing that I have read which I believe was on this site was about standing up to companies that are low balling their divers. Then I read something else saying when a diver is looking to get work to take any and all work given to them and be great full for it. Well isn't that...contradicting? Or is that mainly for the divers with some experience under their belts?

Sorry if it seems like I am trying to pick away at your knowledge in the field but...well that's what I am doing because I wanna know as much as I can!

So say right out of school I get lucky and can get a tender job, whats the actual money made hourly compared to what I am being fed? Because hey....guys gotta eat.

Something I forgot to mention... is I guess one of the big reasons I still favor DIT is because if I don't get a shot with someone from the GOM then maybe I could find work somewhere else. I know you mentioned that there are people working internationally with companies from the GOM but if I can't get with a company from the GOM I have the option with someone else granted I have the correct certifications, Hope that made sense since its was a little confusing to type out ha.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Wolfe on July 22, 2009 at 8:58pm

OK, I can only talk about oilfield work as that is all I've done. Full-time oilfield diving in the US means the GOM, as that is where the bulk of the platforms and pipelines are.
84 hours is a full work week offshore. We work a 12 hour shift, sometimes more. I really don't know what GOM tenders start at these days, but I believe it is well north of $15/ hour (Before Hurricane Ivan, divers only made about 18/hour + depth). A good year offshore is around 200 days offshore. Good tenders are always in short supply, and since you are a welder also, you are that much more of an asset on most boats or barges. You will get a job with a GOM company if you want one bad enough. Wanting one bad enough usually means re-locating to Louisiana, and showing up at their front door.
Here's an idea for you to research. Do a poll to find out how many entry level divers (5 years or less) of US citizenship are offshore, overseas, diving for a non U.S. company, using their dive-school purchased, internationally recognized certification.
I have always been under the impression that the deck was stacked against us Yanks in places like Australia and Singapore and the North Sea, regardless of where you go to school, so prove me wrong.
Yea, a guys gotta eat. I ate a lot of Ramen noodles when I was a tender!
MW

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Permalink Reply by Jentry Neu on July 22, 2009 at 7:55pm

Forgot this question also (to much going on in this head of mine!). I believe it was you Shaun who said companies are looking for a good weight too height ratio. Now I am 6'1-6'2 215lbs with a 10% body fat and looking at putting on more weight (muscle mostly hopefully). Now are companies looking for someone with that body composition or someone smaller? bigger? what? Now with that said I would like to ask since I have an obsession with lifting. Offshore on the boat are there like....weight rooms sort of speak? Or will I be to burnt out from the work to even wanna think about lifting a weight?

Now if that is a stupid question and some of you guys that have been in the game for awhile feel free to douse me in gasoline and burn me good :P. But I just want to know what its like out there also. Thanks all, this information is a REALLY big help to me!

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Permalink Reply by Mike Wolfe on July 23, 2009 at 12:36am

The height to weight ratio is for the fat-boys to worry about. Big guys always get a foot in the door, because you look like you could do the job, but that's just my sour grapes 'cause I'm not a big guy. A lot of guys lift. Most barges and boats have workout gear. Some are better equipped than others. I've been on some boats that have had full weight rooms, saunas and tanning beds (no, I'm not full of s**t!), but they were the exceptions.
Good Luck,
MW

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