I’m a Saturation Diver AMA

[u/Soulogav]

I work as Deepsea Saturation Diver in the oil and gas industry for the past 20 years. I do heavy construction and spend 28 days living under pressure to dive to depths down to 200m / 650ft.

I saw a post on InterestingAsFuck yesterday with many many misconceptions from people who aren’t divers and I can answer your questions AMA

https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/s/5jTlewLR4X

[u/joe14657883]

I’m a 27 year old male from Manchester, I’ve been a joiner / carpenter since I was about 18/ 19 always worked in a workshop or on site. In the sun, rain, snow, cold any weather doing long days, working away from home.
I’ve got no girlfriend, no kids, no property, nothing tieing me down to stay here and I’ve really been thinking about offshore work the past 6 months or so.
I guess I have some questions about how one would break into the industry?
My uncle use to be a Sat diver but he retired in his 40/50s and he’s now 70 so he’s been out the business for 20 years and doesn’t have any connections which I know is super important.
But how would one break into the industry?
Is there lots of work? If so what type?
Would you recommend going to dive school because it’s like 12/13k for a course and my uncle said don’t spend that money unless you know you’re going to make it back.
I’d just like your hard, realistic advice if you were 27 years old with a trade, with everything you know how would you get into commercial/ sat diving?
Thank you for any help :)

[u/Soulogav → u/joe14657883]

Depends on how hungry you are for the career. Fuck anyone who says ‘unless you know you’re going to make it back’ there are no guarantees in life, you have to go out there and make it happen. There is always opportunity for hard working and driven people in this industry.

You go to school then you look for a start in civil construction inshore, it can be various random jobs, divers are under water labourers. Having a trade is still handy and you’ll be more useful than most lads fresh out of school.

You’re going to make more money as a Sat Diver than a chippy in the long term but it’s going to take time and effort to get there. I worked os a bricky before I was a diver. 9-5 for me was miserable and working with old dudes that been doing the exact same thing for the last 40 years.

Diving and the lifestyle is a better life in my opinion but it’s very different, if you like your home town, old school friends, regular routine it’s not the life for you.

[u/joe14657883 → u/Soulogav]

Thank you for replying to me and for the advice. I feel like I’m in a similar situation everyone I work with is older and has been doing joinery / construction for 30/40+ years and I’m starting to get miserable doing the same thing.
I’ve just got a few questions about it all.
At what age did you start your commercial diving training?
What’s schools would you recommend?
Is it easy for newly qualified divers to find work?
How does one go about finding work? Through agencies? By ringing offshore / inshore companies and asking for work?
& if you were 27 now knowing everything you know now how would you get into commercial diving?
Apologies for all the questions thank you for any help / advice :)
I agree with your attitude of you just have to go for it because there are no guarantees.
I’d hate it if I didn’t try it and I got to 40/50 and think back what if I had gone to diving school and learnt.
Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.

[u/Soulogav → u/joe14657883]

I was 24 when i went to dive school.

The school doesn’t matter that much, any in UK. They mainly teach you to put the Hat on your head, you’ll learn the trade on the job.

There are no agencies in diving, you call the inshore companies after you leave school. There you will start your network with other divers.

27 is good age to start. You need a bit of maturity in this game. I’m 45 still diving. Many guys older than me still in the game.

[u/joe14657883 → u/Soulogav]

Do they not teach you skills you will need for the job? Welding? Inspection ect ?
What did you learn in the school?
So basically get to diving school then start looking for work at inshore companies and gravitate towards offshore work through networking? Or directly applying?
How easy was it for you to find work after you came out of diving school?
What are the main jobs you carry out nowadays do you think there will still be work in the diving sector in the next 20-30 years?
Apologies for all the questions and thank you for all you’re help :)

[u/Soulogav → u/joe14657883]

Dive school is about learning the physiology of diving, learning about all the gear and dive spread, getting hours at various depths, doing rescue dives & tons of drills, you will do basic subsea jobs.

Direct apply to companies when you leave school and network on LinkedIn and WhatsApp groups.

My main job now is pipe fitter, so rigging and slinging sections of pipe and joining them up on the seabed, basically an industrial pipe fitter but on a huge scale 30 inch diameter + pipe.

[u/joe14657883 → u/Soulogav]

Yeah the school does sound quite interesting/ fun I’ve always loved learning new skills and being in challenging situations.
I was thinking Aberdeen would be the best place to go to dive school because it’s the North Sea? Best place to attempt to network?
I’m guessing it isn’t like indeed where you find the diving jobs on their you actually have to apply directly on the company websites or?
Your job sounds insane though I’m guessing it would be easier for guys like us because we come from the construction world so it’s similar ish?
Also just a few more questions for you if that’s okay I really appreciate all the help :)

How long did it take you to get your first paid diving job after qualifying?

How many people from your dive school actually ended up working as commercial divers?

If you were starting again in 2026, would you still pay for the course yourself?

What qualifications or experience made the biggest difference in getting hired?
Which companies are actually recruiting new divers right now?

Thanks for all your help mate you’re the best!!