# 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.

- **SOC code:** 49-9092.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-49-9092-00
- **Also known as:** Commercial Diver, Diver, Diver Tender, Tender, Hard Hat Diver, Non Destructive Testing Under Water Welder (NDT U/W Welder), Salvage Diver, Aquarium Diver
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- 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.
- Repair ships, bridge foundations, or other structures below the water line, using caulk, bolts, and hand tools.
- Recover objects by placing rigging around sunken objects, hooking rigging to crane lines, and operating winches, derricks, or cranes to raise objects.
- Operate underwater video, sonar, recording, or related equipment to investigate underwater structures or marine life.
- Take test samples or photographs to assess the condition of vessels or structures.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Mechanical _(knowledge)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Arm-Hand Steadiness _(ability)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_
- Control Precision _(ability)_
- Multilimb Coordination _(ability)_
- Building and Construction _(knowledge)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Operations Monitoring _(transferable_skill)_
- Manual Dexterity _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Finger Dexterity _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Physics _(Specialized Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Time Management _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Equipment Maintenance _(Specialized Skill)_
- Depth Perception _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Diving logbook software
- Diving table software
- Dynamic positioning DP software
- Remote operated vehicle ROV dive log software
- Web browser software

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 16th percentile (Low) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 14th percentile (Low) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 18th percentile (Low) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 24th percentile (Low) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 33rd percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 8.5% growth (Growing fast); 0.4k annual openings; 4.2k → 4.5k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $61,130; 3,430 employed.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-49-9092-00_