Best degree programs for Commercial Divers, ranked by enrollment
1 college programs and 7 schools train Commercial Divers. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $72,990 median wage, 3,450 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
1 college programs at 7 schools train commercial divers, graduating 504 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Diver, Professional and Instructor. The job pays a median of $72,990 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About 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.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
1 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 49.0304 | 504 | 100.0% | 7 | $74,822 | $24,686 |
Top 7 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Divers Institute of Technology Seattle, WA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 224 | Diver, Professional and Instructor | 91% | $41,660 | — |
| 2 | Ocean Corporation Houston, TX Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 127 | Diver, Professional and Instructor | 92% | $32,464 | — |
| 3 | Commercial Divers International Goodyear, AZ Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 107 | Diver, Professional and Instructor | 70% | $36,739 | — |
| 4 | Santa Barbara City College Santa Barbara, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Diver, Professional and Instructor | 34% | — | — |
| 5 | University of Alaska Southeast Juneau, AK Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Diver, Professional and Instructor | 28% | — | 63% |
| 6 | South Louisiana Community College Lafayette, LA Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Diver, Professional and Instructor | 30% | — | — |
| 7 | The College of the Florida Keys Key West, FL Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Diver, Professional and Instructor | 34% | — | — |
What commercial divers earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washingtonlimited | $161,800 | — | — | 1 | 224 |
| Texaslimited | $46,490 | — | — | 1 | 127 |
| Arizonalimited | $85,990 | — | — | 1 | 107 |
| Californialimited | $101,540 | 310 | 0.76× | 1 | 14 |
| Louisianalimited | $62,230 | 230 | 5.40× | 1 | 10 |
| Floridalimited | $49,640 | 370 | 1.69× | 1 | 8 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- 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.
- Communicate with workers on the surface while underwater, using signal lines or telephones.
- Descend into water with the aid of diver helpers, using scuba gear or diving suits.
- Obtain information about diving tasks and environmental conditions.
- Supervise or train other divers, including hobby divers.
- Inspect the condition of underwater steel or wood structures.
- 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.
Skills
- Critical Thinking3.9
- Active Listening3.8
- Speaking3.6
- Reading Comprehension3.3
- Monitoring3.1
- Writing3.0
- Active Learning3.0
- Learning Strategies2.9
Knowledge areas
- Mechanical4.1
- Building and Construction3.8
- Physics3.5
- Customer and Personal Service3.2
- Mathematics3.1
- Public Safety and Security3.1
Abilities
- Oral Comprehension4.1
- Oral Expression4.0
- Arm-Hand Steadiness4.0
- Problem Sensitivity4.0
- Multilimb Coordination3.9
- Control Precision3.9
Core activities
- Performing General Physical Activities4.4
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials4.2
- Handling and Moving Objects4.2
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.2
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.2
- Getting Information4.1
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Commercial Diver
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Commercial Divers1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 49.0304Diver, Professional and Instructor
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Commercial Diver?+
Postsecondary nondegree award is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Diver, Professional and Instructor, which awarded 504 degrees in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Commercial Diver?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Marine Transportation. Together they graduate about 504 people a year.
How much do commercial divers earn?+
The median is $72,990 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $43,330 at the 10th percentile to $157,790 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for commercial divers growing?+
BLS projects a +8.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, much faster than average, with roughly 400 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
7 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do commercial divers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Diver, Tender, Diver Tender, Commercial Diver among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 49-9092.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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