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.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
- Operations Monitoring
- Quality Control Analysis
- Reading Comprehension
- Coordination
- Complex Problem Solving
Key knowledge
- Mechanical
- Building and Construction
- Public Safety and Security
- Physics
- Design
- Customer and Personal Service
- Education and Training
- Mathematics
What the work involves
- Communicate with workers on the surface while underwater, using signal lines or telephones.
- 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.
- Descend into water with the aid of diver helpers, using scuba gear or diving suits.
- Obtain information about diving tasks and environmental conditions.
- 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.
- Cut and weld steel, using underwater welding equipment, jigs, and supports.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Realistic, Investigative, Conventional.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Post-Secondary Certificate (67.8% of expert ratings)
- Related experience
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (21%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (39.4%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Commercial Divers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very high | Higher on contact with others than 84% of occupations compared | 87% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 63% of occupations compared | 35% of surveyed respondents chose “Important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 90% of occupations compared | 73% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Low | Lower on freedom to make decisions than 68% of occupations compared | 58% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very high | Higher on time pressure than 80% of occupations compared | 52% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 63% of occupations compared | 30% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 62% of occupations compared | 37% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 84% of occupations compared | 46% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very high
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 8.28%
- Contact with others most of the time: 4.56%
- Constant contact with others: 87.17%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 8.28%
- Fairly important: 25.48%
- Important: 35.08%
- Very important: 12.6%
- Extremely important: 18.56%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 26.54%
- Extremely important: 73.46%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 6.23%
- Limited freedom: 14.51%
- Some freedom: 58.1%
- A lot of freedom: 21.16%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 0%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 25.17%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 23.04%
- Every day: 51.79%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Conflict situations
- Never: 20.93%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 29.61%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 28.89%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 4.27%
- Every day: 16.3%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 8.33%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 21.33%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 37.19%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 28.88%
- Every day: 4.27%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 12.46%
- Fairly serious: 8.33%
- Serious: 8.02%
- Very serious: 25.22%
- Extremely serious: 45.96%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2026
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O*NET-SOC 49-9092.00 · SOC 49-9092 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8