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Not Your Average 9-5: Unusual Dive Careers
04/23/2009 - By Maria Belgado
Diver cleaning aquarium tank
Diving professionally for most people would seem like the ultimate job - being able to dive everyday and get paid for it! Not all dive careers are a day at the beach. These occupations may have you thinking twice before giving up your day job.
For most recreational divers, a job that requires diving would have most people dreaming about owning a dive shop and/or becoming an instructor at a resort - hanging out at the beach in the morning, teaching classes in the afternoon and hosting luaus at night. While many people do live this fantasy, not all jobs that involve scuba diving are as fun, glamorous or exciting. Some jobs are dirty, downright dangerous, but certainly interesting.
1) Fish Farm Diver – This probably isn’t what the Godfather had in mind when tells his enemies that they’ll be “sleeping with the fishes”, but jobs for diving in the seafood industry are actually in demand. Fish farm divers perform a number of daily tasks such as repairing cages, maintain fish health, scare off predators and remove dead fish.
2) Aquarium Cleaners – We’re not talking about your fish tank at home, but rather, the humungous ones used to house Shamu and his friends. Amusement parks and oceanariums routinely need people to maintain and clean their tanks. It may not be the most ideal job, but at least you don’t have to balance a ball on your nose.
3) Hazmat Diving – dubbed by Popular Science magazine as the “Worst Job in Science”, which is saying something when “Whale Feces Researcher” is #10. Some delightful dive sites can include pig farm sewages, city sewers and oil spills. It’s a dirty dive, but someone has to do it.
4) Frogman – also known as “combat diving”, this is a branch of the military that has the highest rates of dropouts and failures. Aside from being already in top physical conditions, frogmen must also be trained to use weapons and explosive, be experts in covert operations and occasionally diffuse a bomb or mine underwater.
Next time you take your next fun dive, think of the people who may not be having the time of their life when they strap on their gear and take the plunge. While not on anyone’s top ten list, these jobs are necessary and few people are qualified or willing to do them.
