DiverHire — hire commercial divers, or find diving work

Highest-Paying Diving Work in 2026 (With Real Pay Data)

By DiverHire Team

The best-paid diving work is offshore and saturation diving, followed by commercial inshore work where you bring a second skill such as welding or inspection. In the US, commercial divers on employers' payrolls earned a median of USD 72,990 a year in May 2025, and one in ten earned more than USD 157,790 (BLS OEWS). In Ontario, Job Bank puts underwater workers at CAD 21.00 to 42.79 an hour (Job Bank, 2023–24). Recreational work such as teaching pays much less per hour. Hull cleaning and lost-item recovery are sold by the foot or the hour, so what you earn depends on how many jobs you can fill and what you keep after costs.

This page replaces an older version of this guide that listed income ranges without sources. Every figure below links to where it came from, with the year and currency. Where no reliable figure exists, the page says so.

Diver pay at a glance

WorkPayBasis and dateSource
Commercial diver, USMedian USD 35.09/h or 72,990/yr; middle half USD 54,810–101,550/yrEmployees, May 2025BLS OEWS
Underwater worker, OntarioCAD 21.00–42.79/h, median 30.002023–24, broad trades groupJob Bank
Underwater worker, CanadaCAD 21.63–47.85/h, median 34.722023–24, broad trades groupJob Bank
Inshore diver, GBPGBP 35,000–55,000/yrRecruiter estimate, 2026WRS
North Sea air diverAbout GBP 600/dayRecruiter estimate, 2026WRS
Saturation diverUSD 1,300–1,500 or more per dayPeak-season offshore projects; school estimate, 2026Ocean Corporation
Underwater welder, USUSD 50,000–90,000/yr baseSchool estimate from job postings, 2026Ocean Corporation
Nuclear diver, USAverage about USD 108,000/yr; most 81,500–130,000School estimate from job postings, 2026Ocean Corporation
Scuba instructor, OntarioCAD 17.60–31.00/h, median 18.502023–24, broad instructor groupJob Bank

Treat the table as a map, not a promise. The next section explains why the sources disagree, and the sections after it go through each specialty.

Why do diver pay figures disagree?

If you search "how much do divers make", you get numbers that are tens of thousands of dollars apart. They are usually measuring different things.

Which diving specialties pay the most?

Saturation and offshore diving

Saturation diving is the top of the pay ladder. The Ocean Corporation gives an average of about USD 117,000 a year from job postings, and says day rates on peak-season offshore projects run USD 1,300 to 1,500 or more, which can take experienced saturation divers past USD 200,000 in a strong year (Ocean Corporation). WRS, a diving recruiter, puts entry-level saturation divers in the US at USD 90,000 to 120,000 a year and those with five or more years at USD 150,000 to 200,000 or more. For North Sea saturation work, WRS says earnings during a deployment regularly exceed GBP 1,000 a day (WRS, 2026).

Air divers offshore earn less. WRS gives about GBP 600 a day for North Sea air divers in 2026 under the ODIA, the collective agreement between diving contractors and the RMT union, and USD 350 to 550 a day for UK-qualified air divers working internationally. Offshore work means rotations away from home, which is why the Ocean Corporation counts rotation bonuses as part of offshore pay.

Underwater welding and inspection (NDT)

Welding is a separate skill on top of a commercial diving ticket. ONET's list of commercial diver job titles includes "NDT UW Welder", and its task list includes cutting and welding steel with underwater welding equipment (ONET 49-9092.00). Underwater structural welding has its own code: AWS D3.6M:2017 covers both wet and dry welding and grades welds into Class A, B and O (AWS).

The Ocean Corporation puts underwater welders at USD 50,000 to 90,000 a year in base pay, based on job-posting data (Ocean Corporation). That is well below the USD 300,000 ceiling the previous version of this guide gave, which we could not trace to any source. As with other divers, offshore days, overtime and per diem add to base pay.

Nuclear power plant diving

Nuclear diving is real and specialised. Underwater Construction Corporation, for example, lists nuclear diving, nuclear welding, reactor outage services and decommissioning, under a quality programme built to US nuclear rules (10 CFR 50 Appendix B) (UCC). The only pay figure we found comes from the Ocean Corporation, which puts nuclear divers at an average of about USD 108,000 a year, with most between USD 81,500 and 130,000, based on job postings (Ocean Corporation). Treat it as a school's estimate. If you are drawn to this work, ask the contractors that do it what they require and pay.

Inshore construction, bridges and offshore wind

Inshore divers inspect and repair docks, intakes, bridge foundations and other structures below the waterline (O*NET). WRS estimates GBP 35,000 to 55,000 a year for inshore construction and harbour divers, and more than GBP 80,000 to 100,000 for divers who work regularly on offshore wind farm campaigns (WRS, 2026).

Bridge inspection creates work that repeats. US federal rules require underwater bridge inspections at intervals of no more than 60 months, or no more than 24 months where the underwater parts, the channel or the scour condition are rated serious or worse. Bridges rated satisfactory or better on all three can go up to 72 months if the agency has a documented policy and has told FHWA. An underwater bridge inspection diver must have completed FHWA-approved underwater bridge inspection training and scored at least 70 percent on its final assessment (23 CFR 650.311 and 650.309). Inspection work in general is covered on our underwater inspection page.

Salvage and recovery

Salvage divers rig sunken objects to be lifted by cranes or winches (O*NET). For small jobs, published rates give an idea of the market. DS Diving in Jacksonville charges USD 190 per vessel foot to salvage a boat in 15 ft of water or less, and USD 165 an hour per person for search and recovery, plus a USD 50 trip charge and a finder's fee (DS Diving, 2026). PNW Diving Services in Washington charges USD 200 an hour for general diving, including lost items (PNW Diving Services). Lost rings, phones and keys are covered in our lost-item guide, and larger jobs on the salvage and recovery page.

Hull cleaning, zincs and marina work

Hull cleaning is one of the ways to earn from diving that PADI lists (PADI blog, 2025); the older version of this guide called it "luxury yacht services". The rates are public:

Provider and regionHull cleaning priceDate
Bottom Time Dive, SW FloridaUSD 3.00–4.00 per ft for sail and power boats on a monthly plan; USD 100 minimum2026
DS Diving, Jacksonville FLUSD 5 per ft under 50 ft, up to USD 8 per ft at 61–65 ft2026
Danny's Diving, Victoria BCCAD 140–220 for a 25–30 ft sailboat, before taxApril 2026

Sources: Bottom Time Dive, DS Diving, Danny's Diving.

Those are what a client pays the business. As an employee, expect less, and expect to supply some gear: one Florida hull-cleaning company asks for a diver certification, your own wetsuit, hood, boots and mask, and 4 to 5 hours in the water per shift (Underwater Solutions). Check local rules before you work for yourself. In Marina del Rey every in-water hull cleaner needs a BMP certificate and a Commercial Service ID from the Harbor Master (LA County), and in San Diego Bay every hull-cleaning business needs a Port permit (Port of San Diego). What owner-operators take home, and how to set up, is in our guide to starting a hull-cleaning business. What clients expect to pay is in our hull cleaning cost guide.

Scientific diving

Scientific diving uses diving as a research tool. AAUS, the US scientific diving body, has more than 130 organisational members: universities, government agencies, museums and aquariums, environmental and archaeological consulting firms, and community science groups (AAUS). OSHA exempts scientific diving from its commercial diving standard only when it is run under a diving safety manual and a diving control board (OSHA 1910.401). We found no separate pay figure for scientific divers; the diving is usually part of a research or technical job. The older guide's figure of USD 45,000 to 120,000 had no source and has been removed. See our marine research page.

Underwater photography and video

We found no published income data for underwater photographers, but some prices are public. One Long Beach, California, pool studio charges USD 790 for a 45-minute session and USD 2,790 for four hours, image credits included (Brett Stanley). In Great Britain, HSE says media diving on a recreational qualification is normally only done in a pool or tank (HSE diving FAQs). More on the underwater photography page.

Teaching and divemastering

Teaching has the lowest wage figures on this page, but it is also the paid work you can most easily do on recreational credentials. In Ontario, Job Bank puts scuba diving instructors, whom it files with other recreation, sport and fitness instructors under NOC 54100, at CAD 17.60 to 31.00 an hour with a median of 18.50, and up to 35.27 in the Toronto region (Job Bank, 2023–24). OSHA exempts instruction on open-circuit, compressed-air scuba within no-decompression limits (OSHA 1910.401), and in Great Britain a diver with a suitable recreational qualification can "instruct or guide under the recreational ACOP" (HSE diving FAQs).

We dropped one specialty from the old list, "commercial fishing support", because we couldn't find a source for its pay or demand.

How do divers raise their pay?

  1. Hold the ticket the work requires. For Canada, Job Bank says commercial divers must meet CSA Z275.4 and need a DCBC Occupational Diver Certificate of Competency or a qualification from formal diving training, plus a diving medical from an approved hyperbaric physician (Job Bank). In Great Britain you need an HSE-approved qualification that is relevant to and sufficient for the work (HSE careers).
  2. Add a second skill. Welding to AWS D3.6M, FHWA-approved bridge inspection training and salvage rigging each open work that plain air diving does not. WRS, a recruiter, says underwater welding, NDT and diver medic (DMT) qualifications can raise base day rates by 20 to 40 percent (WRS, 2026).
  3. Go where the work is. The offshore and saturation day rates in the table above are far higher than inshore hourly wages. Inside Ontario, Job Bank rates the 2025–2027 outlook for the whole NOC 72999 group as "Good" in Kingston–Pembroke, "Moderate" in Toronto and five other regions, and "Limited" in London and Windsor–Sarnia (Job Bank outlook).
  4. Count the cost of training. At Divers Institute of Technology in Seattle, the commercial program is 28 weeks, with USD 29,000 tuition and an estimated USD 48,800 total cost of attendance including housing and gear (DIT). Check whether a program leads to the certificate your country recognises.
  5. Keep repeat clients. In a Port of San Diego survey of 32 in-water hull cleaners, 78% said they clean boats on a set schedule (Port of San Diego survey). A boat on a schedule is repeat work rather than a one-off call.
  6. Sell the record, not just the dive. PNW Diving Services charges USD 250 for a mooring or vessel inspection with video (PNW Diving Services). Clear photos and video are part of what a client pays for, and they become your portfolio.

A realistic path into paid diving

If you are a recreational diver now:

  1. Log dives and get your instructor or divemaster rating if you want paid recreational work. The US, Ontario and Great Britain all treat most diving for pay as regulated work. The US and Ontario exempt recreational instruction from their commercial diving rules, and Great Britain lets instructors work under its recreational code of practice, so teaching is the paid work a recreational card most clearly covers. Our guide to making money diving covers side work in more detail, and our guide on how to hire a diver sets out those rules country by country.
  2. For commercial work, train at a school approved where you want to work. Ontario says recreational divers who want to work commercially "must first undergo the assessment and training procedures laid out by the DCBC" (Ontario.ca, 2022). Ontario rules are covered in more detail in our Toronto and Great Lakes guide.
  3. Expect to start on the surface. WRS calls the tender/diver role, supporting dives from the surface, the starting point for most commercial diving careers (WRS, 2026), and O*NET lists "Diver Tender" among commercial diving job titles.
  4. Choose one or two specialties from this page and add the ticket each one needs.
  5. Build a local reputation, then look further afield.

If you are already a commercial diver:

  1. Find out where divers are in demand near you. In Canada, Job Bank's regional outlook is a start.
  2. Add the specialty training that work needs.
  3. Keep in touch with contractors, marinas and engineers who hire divers.
  4. Keep an up-to-date online profile with your certificates, photos of your work and your service area. Our guide to getting diving and hull-cleaning clients covers the marketing side.

Finding work through DiverHire

DiverHire is a new marketplace in public beta, with only a few jobs and divers on it so far, so treat it as one extra channel rather than a main source of work. You can create a free diver profile, list your certificates and service area, and bid on jobs that clients post at diverhire.com/jobs. DiverHire takes no fee on jobs: you and the client agree the price and payment directly, and DiverHire does not employ you or do the work. Uploaded certificates get a check-mark badge once an admin has reviewed and approved them. Check every job and client yourself, and make sure your insurance and qualifications cover the work.

Sources

Last updated: September 2026. Prices and rules change; confirm with local providers.

Hire or find work

More guides