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The top 10 countries you can work as a commercial diver and underwater welder

There are a number of different types of commercial divers, including offshore, inland, HAZMAT, and more. But the most common type of diver works in the oil and gas industry.

However, where your commercial diving can take place is a bit more open to you.

CDA Technical Institute offers international certification, so your work doesn’t have to be limited to the United States. What are some of the top countries that employ commercial divers and what kinds of jobs can you expect in different locales around the world? (Our graduates prefer to work for American companies with contracts overseas due to the difficulties of obtaining work visas and permits in some countries)

1. United States

Everyone knows that oil and natural gas are big business in the United States but there are a lot of inland welding opportunities working near rivers, lakes, and ponds performing bridge inspections, water intake maintenance, and diver dredging operations. There are also more commercial diving schools in the United States than any other country in the world, so becoming an instructor later in your career is a real possibility.

2. Canada

Many of the same opportunities that are in the United States can also be found in Canada. There are also jobs in marine salvage, ship maintenance, underwater construction, and more.

3. Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico provides a wealth of opportunities and the quality of life cannot be beat. With beaches, inexpensive housing and utilities, and temperate weather, Mexico could be a great next step in your commercial diving career.

4. United Kingdom

The UK subsea sector boasts over 750 companies employing more than 53,000 employees, mostly concentrated in the oil and gas industry. But there are advances in renewable forms of energy not found in North America. A new diving industry sector has been created to accommodate subsurface construction activities. For example, offshore wind farms are being created in the Irish Sea to accommodate increased maintenance and repair requirements.

5. Greece

While hull repairs, salvage, and underwater welding and cutting work is found in Grecian commercial diving companies, they also undertake rapid response oil spill cleanup as well as environmental consultative work to the public and private sectors alike.

6. Russia

There are quite a few commercial diving operations in Eastern Europe, specifically in Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan. Their focus tends to be simple vessel husbandry, subsea construction activities, and ship repair, but opportunities in nuclear diving and saturation dives are growing in this part of the world.

7. South Africa

Like most other regions in the world, there are plenty of opportunities in the offshore oil and gas industry, but the country’s civil works industry also puts a lot of people to work repairing underwater government infrastructure, pipes, and vessels.

8. Malaysia

There are actually more commercial diving opportunities than Southeast Asia has been able to keep up with, especially offshore operations. In Malaysia, the work currently looks like subsea pipeline maintenance, inspection, and underwater welding, but commercial divers are in high demand.

9. Singapore

Unlike most of the rest of the world, the commercial diving industry in Singapore is not based around the oil and gas industry but rather tourism and travel. Global shipping companies rely on Singapore divers to repair, clean, and polish the undersides of their vessels’ hulls.

10. Japan

Japan boasts a thriving commercial diving industry that is focused on civil construction, subsea steel construction, pipeline repair, dredging, and more. In addition to the oil and gas industries, Japanese commercial divers also service many of the country’s electrical power utilities.

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