When examining underwater career opportunities, you may wonder about the difference between offshore and inland commercial diving. Here are 4 key points to take into consideration:

1. Offshore commercial diving in the U.S. is focused predominantly on the oil rigs and petro pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico. Inland commercial diving has significantly more diversity, encompassing bridge work, water treatment facilities, hydroelectric plants, dams, nuclear plants, etc.
   
   
2. Because offshore commercial diving mostly involves oil and gas, it is very much subject to the oil market. When the market is down, i.e., due to political factors or industry regulations, then jobs can become scarce. Inland commercial diving jobs, due their diversity, tend to be steady and divers are correspondingly in high demand.
   
   
3. Salaries can vary widely due to location. Most offshore underwater career opportunities are not governed by union wages, and may therefore pay less than comparable inland commercial diving jobs. Cost of living, however, should also be taken into account when calculating salary.
   
   
4. In offshore commercial diving, new divers typically are first employed as dive tenders. This “apprenticeship” may last up to two years, and carries a significantly lower salary than that received by divers. Most inland commercial diving companies place new divers into the dive rotation immediately.
   
   

Both offshore and inland commercial diving offer excellent underwater career opportunities. Simply determine what is most important to you, and dive in!