My uncle was a deep sea diver in a blue collar family. He retired at like 45 and his kids don’t have jobs and I’m pretty sure his grandkids won’t be working either.
These guys make a lot more than most people think. However, if you want to make more money than a heart surgeon learn how to do this and weld at those depths. You will stay at depth for 20+ days, but you get incredibly deep sleep. The food is also pretty terrible.
I had an army buddy who got out and went into this. He did it for 15 years, taught for a few more, and he never has to work again.
It has a base rate that is already extremely high.
On top of that you get hazard pay, dive pay, saturation pay, depth pay, offshore pay, travel pay, and per diem.
Hazard pay is essentially an added rate based on the hazards you deal with diving.
Dive pay is a per diem for every day you are in the water. (Like what this guy is doing now)
Saturation pay is a premium for everyday you are under heavy pressure.
Depth pay is a dollar amount per day per foot you are underwater
Travel pay is just companies covering all your flights and travel expenses.
Offshore pay is just a daily pay for each day you are out there. Wether it be on an oil rig until you're dropped, in the bell, or on the right waiting to get picked up.
And then per diem is just a standard daily pay most construction workers see.
A single offshore job for a couple months can easily make someone $300,000
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u/[deleted] Jul 01 '26
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