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Permalink Reply by PAISTE on January 28, 2012 at 10:03pm

Hmmm.  Have you been offered a job?  I know that GDS has laid off a lot since the GOM work dried up.  

It just sounds like your attitude is turned around.  It's hard for anyone to get into this industry.  Even harder for gals.  Going to a dive school dosen't make you a diver, they just show you how to use the equipment.  

You might have to wait for the next big hurricane 'till anyone will let you choke hose or drive a chamber.  

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Permalink Reply by Gomer Pile on January 29, 2012 at 7:54am

Ballard Diving was always a small mom and pop's.Good company, Super hard to get on,but they might have been aquired by another company. Global.... If you get an offer to take the trash out I would take it. You will learn more in six months than years for a mom and pop. Global will be the last to fall. Paste is right. Really slow right now. Until you have a rep. as a good hand I would take any scrap you can get. We all have. I consider myself extremely lucky to be diving durring these times. I'm a harvest diver too so I will always have employment . Killed it this year. I already told you where to go for the best poss. for a job. I know because..."I've been every where MAN."........ Good luck Emily.

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Permalink Reply by Emily Doyle on January 29, 2012 at 7:17pm

Thanks. Yeah, I've been under the impression that there was always work to be done down there, even if its scrubbing equipment. And yes, I am well aware that dive school does not make me a diver. That's pretty damn obvious but I'm still giving it a shot. Hence asking around. Ballard has visited our school and from the looks of it, they have more active vessels than Global does right now. Is it pretty much dead inland and offshore then?

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Permalink Reply by Gomer Pile on January 30, 2012 at 7:25am

We were told to stay away from company's like Ballard until we got some experience. I had experience and was STILL scrubbing hull's because the $ was good. That's the deal. Swinging a hammer, turning wrenches, running a boat, mowing lawns. We have all done it because diving dries up. You have to be able to make it through the slow times w/o selling your hat. Once these company's know your a good hand they will call YOU. I have not seen or used my resume in 10 years. Of all the tenders these schools are pumping out, only a really small percent make it. If you really want to be an underwater laborer, noone can stop you. Get on with who ever you can, stick it out. Work hard. Drop the boyfriend, dump the pierceings and commit yourself. Go to THEM. Move there. Bug the crap out of them to give you a shot as a shop hand. If you are not willing to do this, you wouldn't have made it in this industry anyway. There use to be old timers on these sites who would give advise, but looks as if they were run off. They would tell you the same.

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Permalink Reply by Gomer Pile on January 30, 2012 at 7:32am

and yes... there will always be drydock/shipyard work. There will always be inspections of dams, nets and routine maintenance and surveys like fishgut piles, pile, and zink/anodes etc. You want to get experience so YOU are one of the hands still working durring these times. Good luck Emily.

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