How Do You Become an Underwater Welder?
Here's how to become an underwater welder in three steps, following the American Welding Society's career path. Earn AWS welding certifications, especially in structural or pipe welding. Complete training at an accredited diving school. Then build supervised experience as an underwater welder, in wet and dry welding on ships, pipelines, and offshore platforms.
How to Become an Underwater Welder in Three Steps
Learn to Weld Above Water
AWS recommends starting with welding certification, especially in structural or pipe welding. A community-college welding certificate is the usual route; see the best welding schools in Texas for costs and program lengths.
Attend a Commercial Diving School
You need commercial diver certification from an accredited diving school. Some underwater welding schools, such as Divers Institute of Technology in Seattle, build welding and underwater welding into a 28-week diving program.
Build Underwater Experience
ADCI certification cards require recorded evidence of training and on-the-job experience, and its categories start with entry-level tender/diver.
Skip the SCUBA Shortcut
ADCI says recreational SCUBA certificates don't qualify you for commercial diving, and OSHA regulates underwater welding as part of commercial diving operations.
Underwater Welding Schools: What to Look for
Underwater welding schools are really commercial diving schools that teach welding. Look for accreditation, a program built to ADCI consensus standards, open-water training hours, and a dedicated underwater welding course. Divers Institute of Technology, for example, lists 900 hours of open-water training, 13 industry-recognized certifications, and a diploma within its 28-week course.
If you don't weld yet, start with a local welding certificate. AWS recommends structural or pipe welding certification before you enroll in underwater welding schools.
Underwater Welder Salary
BLS doesn't publish a separate underwater welder salary. Commercial divers, the closest occupation it tracks, earn a median of $72,990 a year, or $35.09 an hour, across about 3,450 U.S. jobs.
The spread is wide. The middle half of commercial divers earned between $54,810 and $101,550, and the gap between the 10th percentile ($43,330) and the 90th ($157,790) is more than $114,000, which reflects how much depth, risk and experience change the work.
The American Welding Society cites Lightcast 2025 figures for underwater welders: $62,000 at entry level, a $68,000 median, and $100,000 or more with experience. AWS adds that hazard pay, per diem, and overtime can raise total pay.
Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, commercial divers (SOC 49-9092).
How to Become an Underwater Welder: The Welding Certifications to Earn First
AWS recommends structural or pipe welding certification before diving school, and both are core test areas in the AWS Certified Welder program. The test is performance-based with no prerequisite courses: you weld to a procedure at an AWS Accredited Test Facility, and an AWS Certified Welding Inspector inspects the result. The program's test areas include structural steel, petroleum pipelines, sheet metal and chemical refinery work.
A college welding certificate is the usual way to get ready for those tests. Welding programs teach stick, MIG, flux-cored and TIG welding with blueprint reading, and many list pipe welding as an advanced course. See how to become a structural welder and how to become a pipe welder for the land-based paths.
Job Outlook for Commercial Divers
Commercial diving is a small occupation: BLS counts about 4,000 jobs in 2025 and projects 4,200 by 2035, growth of 4.8% against 3.5% for all occupations. That works out to about 400 openings a year from growth and replacement. BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award, such as a commercial diving school diploma, as the typical entry education.
| Career | Median pay | Growth 2025–35 |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial divers (underwater welders) | $72,990 | +4.8% |
| Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers | $53,750 | +2.4% |
| Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters | $63,800 | +6.8% |
| Structural iron and steel workers | $62,780 | +3.1% |
Sources: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35.
Underwater Welder Salary by State: Washington Pays the Most
BLS publishes commercial diver pay for 19 states; the rest have too few divers to report. Washington has the highest median, $161,800, and Texas the lowest, $46,490.
| State | Median pay | Top 10% earn more than | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $161,800 | $250,960 | |
| New York | $157,800 | $157,820 | 170 |
| Rhode Island | $126,320 | $126,340 | |
| California | $101,540 | $152,760 | 310 |
| Hawaii | $95,750 | $134,060 | 70 |
| New Jersey | $86,920 | $144,470 | |
| Arizona | $85,990 | $92,530 | |
| Vermont | $85,780 | $101,690 | 80 |
| Indiana | $83,510 | $104,980 | |
| Maine | $74,610 | $80,110 | |
| Kentucky | $63,550 | $84,950 | |
| Missouri | $63,030 | $89,530 | |
| Virginia | $62,340 | $97,100 | |
| Louisiana | $62,230 | $99,160 | 230 |
| Connecticut | $59,690 | $83,700 | 120 |
| Michigan | $54,620 | $76,450 | 80 |
| Florida | $49,640 | $70,120 | 370 |
| South Carolina | $49,260 | $92,720 | 30 |
| Texas | $46,490 | $62,510 |
By metro area, the highest median is in Providence–Warwick (RI–MA) ($126,320), followed by San Diego–Chula Vista–Carlsbad (CA) and Urban Honolulu (HI). These are the metro areas where BLS publishes a commercial diver median:
| Metro area | Median pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Providence–Warwick (RI–MA) | $126,320 | |
| San Diego–Chula Vista–Carlsbad (CA) | $101,550 | 60 |
| Urban Honolulu (HI) | $95,750 | 50 |
| New York–Newark–Jersey City (NY–NJ) | $89,130 | |
| Philadelphia–Camden–Wilmington (PA–NJ–DE–MD) | $84,200 | 50 |
| Virginia Beach–Chesapeake–Norfolk (VA–NC) | $62,820 | 90 |
| Hartford–West Hartford–East Hartford (CT) | $59,690 | 70 |
| Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach (FL) | $55,440 | 90 |
| Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands (TX) | $50,920 | 100 |
| Jacksonville (FL) | $49,640 | 40 |
Commercial divers, SOC 49-9092, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, state and metropolitan area estimates. Blank cells were suppressed by BLS.
Is Underwater Welding a Good Career?
What Works in Its Favor
- Median pay of $72,990, about 36% above the welder median.
- The top 10% of commercial divers earn more than $157,790.
- AWS notes hazard pay, per diem and overtime can raise total pay.
What to Weigh First
- Two sets of training: welding certification and a commercial diving program (28 weeks at Divers Institute of Technology, for example).
- A small field: about 400 openings a year nationwide.
- OSHA regulates the work as commercial diving, and recreational SCUBA cards don't count.
Underwater Welder FAQ
How Long Does It Take to Be an Underwater Welder?
Plan for three stages: welding training and AWS certification, a commercial diving program, then supervised underwater work. As one example, Divers Institute of Technology's diving course runs 28 weeks and includes underwater welding. Welding certificates at the colleges we cover take from a few months to about a year.
Do Underwater Welders Make $100 an Hour?
Very few do. BLS doesn't track underwater welders separately; for commercial divers, the closest occupation, the median is $35.09 an hour, and even the top 10% earn more than $157,790 a year (May 2025).
How Much Do Underwater Welders Earn?
Pay varies widely with depth, risk, and experience. The American Welding Society cites a $68,000 median from Lightcast 2025, and BLS puts the commercial diver median at $72,990 a year.
Can Underwater Welders Make $300,000 a Year?
BLS data doesn't show it. The top 10% of commercial divers earn more than $157,790 a year (May 2025), and the highest state median is $161,800 in Washington.
Is Underwater Welding Good Money?
Compared with welding on land, yes: the commercial diver median of $72,990 is about 36% above the $53,750 median for welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers (BLS, May 2025).
Is Underwater Welding a Growing Field?
BLS projects commercial diver employment to grow 4.8% from 2025 to 2035, from about 4,000 to 4,200 jobs, with roughly 400 openings a year. It's a small field.
Can You Become an Underwater Welder With a SCUBA Certification?
No. The Association of Diving Contractors International says recreational SCUBA cards aren't acceptable under OSHA regulations or ADCI standards for commercial diver training.
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Sources
Reviewed September 24, 2026.