Commercial Divers
Navy underwater salvage, ship repair, diving-system maintenance, and surface-supplied diving experience transfer directly to commercial diving work.
How to prepare: Ask a commercial-diving employer to assess your existing qualifications, Navy training records, and dive logs against OSHA's assigned-task requirements for equipment, diving modes, emergency procedures, CPR and first aid, and diving-related physics and physiology. If pursuing ADCI classification, request an equivalency assessment before additional schooling: its Entry Level standard requires 625 documented hours of formal instruction or a recognized equivalent, while its Air Diver classification requires 100 field days and 30 working dives, with only surface-supplied dives counting toward that classification.
What the civilian work involves
- 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.
- Communicate with workers on the surface while underwater, using signal lines or telephones.
Civilian tools and software (examples)
- Diving logbook software
- Diving table software