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Date: 04/26/2025

Commercial Divers

Work below surface of water, using surface-supplied air or scuba equipment to inspect, repair, remove, or install equipment and structures. May use a variety of power and hand tools, such as drills, sledgehammers, torches, and welding equipment. May conduct tests or experiments, rig explosives, or photograph structures or marine life.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Perform offshore oil or gas exploration or extraction duties, such as conducting underwater surveys or repairing and maintaining drilling rigs or platforms.
    • Supervise or train other divers, including hobby divers.
    • Perform offshore oil or gas exploration or extraction duties, such as conducting underwater surveys or repairing and maintaining drilling rigs or platforms.
    • Cut and weld steel, using underwater welding equipment, jigs, and supports.
    • Inspect and test docks, ships, buoyage systems, plant intakes or outflows, or underwater pipelines, cables, or sewers, using closed circuit television, still photography, and testing equipment.
    • Perform activities related to underwater search and rescue, salvage, recovery, or cleanup operations.
    • Take appropriate safety precautions, such as monitoring dive lengths and depths and registering with authorities before diving expeditions begin.
    • Check and maintain diving equipment, such as helmets, masks, air tanks, harnesses, or gauges.
    • Supervise or train other divers, including hobby divers.
    • Take test samples or photographs to assess the condition of vessels or structures.
    • Communicate with workers on the surface while underwater, using signal lines or telephones.
    • Inspect and test docks, ships, buoyage systems, plant intakes or outflows, or underwater pipelines, cables, or sewers, using closed circuit television, still photography, and testing equipment.
    • Repair ships, bridge foundations, or other structures below the water line, using caulk, bolts, and hand tools.
    • Install pilings or footings for piers or bridges.
    • Inspect the condition of underwater steel or wood structures.
    • Install, inspect, clean, or repair piping or valves.
    • Drill holes in rock and rig explosives for underwater demolitions.
    • Install, inspect, clean, or repair piping or valves.
    • Check and maintain diving equipment, such as helmets, masks, air tanks, harnesses, or gauges.
    • Set or guide placement of pilings or sandbags to provide support for structures, such as docks, bridges, cofferdams, or platforms.
    • Remove rubbish or pollution from the sea.
    • Descend into water with the aid of diver helpers, using scuba gear or diving suits.
    • Operate underwater video, sonar, recording, or related equipment to investigate underwater structures or marine life.
    • Obtain information about diving tasks and environmental conditions.
    • Recover objects by placing rigging around sunken objects, hooking rigging to crane lines, and operating winches, derricks, or cranes to raise objects.
    • Recover objects by placing rigging around sunken objects, hooking rigging to crane lines, and operating winches, derricks, or cranes to raise objects.
    • Carry out non-destructive testing, such as tests for cracks on the legs of oil rigs at sea.
    • Install, inspect, clean, or repair piping or valves.
    • Salvage wrecked ships or their cargo, using pneumatic power velocity and hydraulic tools and explosive charges, when necessary.
    • Remove obstructions from strainers or marine railway or launching ways, using pneumatic or power hand tools.

    Skills

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    Knowledge

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 102800/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 49.42/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 90
    • Yearly Projected Openings 10

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Dependability
    • Attention to Detail
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Persistence
    • Adaptability/Flexibility
    • Integrity

    Tools

    • Adjustable wrenches
    • Anemometers
    • Barometers
    • Blow torch
    • Bouyancy compensators
    • Box end wrenches
    • Chain saw
    • Circuit breakers
    • Clock timers
    • Closed circuit television CCTV system
    • Concrete or cement testing instruments
    • Corrosion testers
    • Demolition hammers
    • Depth gauges
    • Detonators
    • Diving air pump
    • Diving boot
    • Diving instruments or accessories
    • Dredge pumps
    • Drysuits
    • Electrode holder
    • Flashlight
    • Gas mixer
    • Geological compasses
    • Hammer drills
    • Hoists
    • Hose reel
    • Hydraulic shears
    • Impact wrenches
    • Jib crane
    • Magnetic particle examination equipment
    • Masks or fins or snorkels
    • Measuring jigs
    • Metal detectors
    • Multi gas monitors
    • Oxygen gas analyzers
    • Pick or place robots
    • Pneumatic hammer
    • Power chippers
    • Power drills
    • Power grinders
    • Power saws
    • Pressure gauge
    • Pry bars
    • Pullers
    • Reciprocating saw
    • Scuba regulators
    • Scuba tanks
    • Shielded metal arc welding or stick welding machine
    • Single gas monitors
    • Sinker drills
    • Sledge hammer
    • Sonars
    • Specialty wrenches
    • Submersible pumps
    • Thickness measuring devices
    • Torque wrenches
    • Ultrasonic examination equipment
    • Underwater cameras
    • Underwater communication system
    • Utility knives
    • Water hoses
    • Water samplers
    • Welding regulator oxygen
    • Wetsuits
    • Winches
    • Wire or cable cutter

    Technology

    • Analytical or scientific software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Internet browser software
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