Content

• Steps
• Tips
• Warnings

If you are considering becoming an underwater welder, be aware that not only will you need to obtain validation of your welding skills, but you must also be trained as a certified technical diver before becoming an underwater welder. You will need a significant amount of money to get an education and then go through the process of confirmation and practice as an intern, after which you will be able to work as an underwater welder. This article covers the training and hiring process to become a true underwater welder.

Steps

1. 1 Get ready to spend a lot of money on your training and certification. Although tuition fees are different for each school, certification usually costs tens of thousands of rubles.
2. 2 Become a certified technical diver. It is not enough to obtain a regular diver certification, because sport diving does not include knowledge of the safety and working conditions on the high seas and the safe use of the technical equipment you will need.
   • The duration and price of courses may vary, but upon completion, each school issues certificates.
   • Some schools require you to pass a written exam and dive trial before they accept you.
3. 3 Try to dive deep even if the technical diving school does not have such a requirement. Perhaps you will find some kind of hindrance that will prevent you from doing this and it is good if you learn about it before you spend money on useless training.
4. 4 Get a welder certificate. You can get it by completing training in special institutions for welders.
5. 5 Enroll in an underwater welder school. This is where both of your skills, welding and technical diving, come in handy to make you an underwater diver. Most of the schools of this kind assume that you already have both certificates, as they will not be able to teach you without this professional base.
   • The duration of the courses in each school is different. Courses can last from 6 months to 2 years.
6. 6 Contact a company that hires apprenticeship underwater welders or "diving assistants" to learn the profession and train on the job. Many employers require you to have sufficient knowledge of wet and / or dry welding in order to pass the certification test and the required certifications.
7. 7 Get the special skills required to work for the company of underwater welders that hire you. These can be skills of any kind.
   • Beginner skills may include: underwater editing, cutting and assembling, crimping, inspection and non-destructive testing, and underwater filming / photography.
   • Conditions for underwater welders can change not only from campaign to campaign, but also from project to project.

Tips

• It is a good idea to get your SCUBA certification before you go to practice as a technical diver.

Warnings

• You need to validate your technical diver license every year in order to keep it.