Write something
Pinned
Dec '25 •
New to Commercial Diving? Read This First
New to Commercial Diving? Read This First Starting your diving career? Here's what you need to know. The Reality Check: Year 1 income: £30-37K gross (NOT the £50K+ schools advertise) Expect 4-8 months unemployed after qualifying You'll need savings to survive between jobs It's physically demanding and mentally challenging You'll be away from home for weeks/months at a time Still interested? Good. Here's the path: STEP 1: Prerequisites HSE medical (£160 + GP fees) Basic recreational diving qualification First aid + O2 administration Build up to 20+ dives minimum STEP 2: Training School Budget £16-20K all-in (course, accommodation, living costs) 10 weeks for HSE Air Diver Read reviews, visit schools, talk to graduates CDT and PDA are the main UK schools Use our Training Budget Calculator (Classroom tab) STEP 3: Job Hunting Start networking DURING training Join LinkedIn, update daily Contact dive companies directly Expect 50+ applications for your first job Be willing to relocate STEP 4: First Job Accept anything to get experience Your first year is about learning, not earning Keep your kit ready to deploy 24/7 Never turn down work in year 1 Common Questions - Answered: Q: Which diving school should I choose? A: Search this community + read the Training & Courses category Q: How much will I earn? A: Use the Salary Calculator (Classroom tab) - real numbers, not fantasy Q: Can I do this part-time? A: No. It's rotational (28 days on / 28 days off) but you can't choose when Q: What if I'm 30+ / have a family / have a mortgage? A: Read the honest discussions in Career Advice category first Drop your questions below and the community will help
5
0
Pinned
Dec '25 •
📋 How to Use the Jobs Board
This is your go-to place for offshore diving opportunities. What gets posted here: ✅ Commercial diving positions (air, surface supply, sat) ✅ ROV jobs relevant to divers ✅ Rope access / NDT positions ✅ Trainee diver opportunities ✅ Contract and permanent roles How it works: I post jobs I find weekly (LinkedIn, company sites, contacts) Members can share opportunities they've seen Always include: Company name, location, role type, how to apply Pro tip: Check this board daily. Offshore jobs move FAST - best positions are filled within 48 hours of posting. Want to share a job? Include: Position title Company name Location / region Key requirements Link or contact info Whether you know anyone there (insider knowledge helps) Not all jobs listed here are endorsements - do your own research on companies before applying. Good hunting 🎯
2
0
Pinned
Dec '25 •
📌 GENERAL DISCUSSION - "START HERE"
Title: 👋 Welcome to Beyond the Surface - Start Here! Welcome to the community! I'm Stu, and I've spent 20+ years working offshore across commercial diving, ROV ops, rope access, and NDT. I built this space to give aspiring divers the honest truth about the industry - no diving school marketing BS. Quick Navigation: 📊 Free Tools (Classroom tab): Salary Calculator - See what you'll ACTUALLY earn Training Budget Calculator - Real costs, not school brochures Offshore Packing Checklist - Don't forget anything Physics Calculators - Dalton's, Boyle's, Buoyancy, Gas Management 💼 Jobs Board - Active diving positions posted weekly 🎓 Training & Courses - School recommendations, what to avoid 🛠 Equipment & Gear - Kit discussions from people who actually use it 📈 Career Advice - Salary negotiations, CVs, interviews 🆕 New Divers - Start here if you're brand new to the industry Community Rules: 1. Be respectful - we're all here to help each other 2. No diving school spam or affiliate links 3. Share honest experiences - the good and the bad 4. Search before posting - someone might have already asked 5. Use the right category for your posts Drop a comment below introducing yourself: Where you're based Where you are in your diving journey What you're hoping to get from this community Welcome aboard 🌊 💼
Dec '25 •
INCIDENT CASE STUDY: When Production Pressure Kills Safety Culture
Date: 10 December 2018 Location: Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain Company: Otech Marine Services Client: Diamond Offshore Project: Ocean Great White - Thruster Anode Welding Incident Type: Type 2 Decompression Sickness (Vestibular Bends) Outcome: Diver airlifted to Tenerife for hyperbaric treatment THE INCIDENT A commercial diver suffered Type 2 DCS with vestibular symptoms (severe dizziness, balance loss, ear pain) after a 56-minute bottom time at 60ft. Within 10 minutes of surfacing, the diver reported symptoms. What followed was a textbook example of how NOT to manage a diving emergency. THE SETUP: Recipe for Disaster Aggressive Schedule Dive Tables Used: USN Rev. 7 at 60ft/63min What Should Have Been Used: Norwegian tables (more conservative) Reality: Diver had completed 5 consecutive days of hard repetitive diving Red Flag: No formal deviation request submitted for using non-Norwegian tablesThe Dive Profile (Last Day) Date Bottom Time Surface Interval Max Depth Table Used 05.12.18 38 mins N/A 16.6m 18.3/63 60/63 06.12.18 38 mins 38 hrs 18 mins 13.5m 15.2/92 50/92 08.12.18 57 mins 26 hrs 56 mins 17.4m 18.3/63 60/63 09.12.18 24-45 mins 24 hrs 45 mins 17.6m 18.3/63 60/63 09.12.18 56 mins 19 hrs 34 mins 17.6m 18.3/63 60/63 Bottom line: This diver was being pushed to the absolute limit, repeatedly. THE CRITICAL FAILURES 1. REFUSAL TO RECOMPRESS IMMEDIATELY What Happened: Diving Supervisor decided AGAINST using the onsite DDC Reason given: "Faulty O2 analyzer - can't control O2% in chamber" Diver left breathing surface O2 instead Why This Was Wrong: Treatment Table 6 requires recompression to 60ft IMMEDIATELY O2 analyzer failure does NOT prevent chamber use Could have vented chamber and topped up with fresh gasEvery minute delayed = increased risk of permanent injury The Expert Opinion: "We should have used the Otech DDC immediately (treatment table 6) with direct communication with the hyperbaric doctor and not wait for the ambulance and the Hyperbaric facilities of the island because Lewis had obvious neurological signs and
3d •
Subsea Leak Calculator
Geeking out on a Monday morning 🤓 We've just made available a Subsea Leaks Calculator for the Beyond the Surface offshore community. Convert field observations of leaks into quantified flow rates for compliance reporting and risk assessment. Built for subsea engineers, ROV operators, and environmental consultants who need accurate leak rate calculations in the field. The calculator is based on a spreadsheet that's been passed around subsea professionals for years - we've turned it into a free, accessible web tool that works on any device. You can find it in the Free Resources section of the Beyond the Surface community. #SubseaEngineering #OffshoreOilAndGas #ROVOperations #SubseaIntegrity #CommercialDiving #BeyondTheSurface
0
0
1-30 of 62
powered by
skool.com/beyond-the-surface-6846
Helping you break into diving, ROV and NDT careers. Real-world advice to build a strong, sustainable offshore career from someone who’s lived it.
Suggested communities
Powered by