Have you ever imagined how much do underwater welders make in the high sea or river? No doubt the job entails many risks but is very lucrative as you can earn a handsome salary.
It is also interesting that this job requires a little educational qualification. But you have first to join a diving school to excel in the diving skill and then even acquiesce expertise in welding job.
The job market all over the world always has a demand for underwater welders. The position is very demanding, and you must be super fit physically and equipped with the best welding machines for Money, excelled diving skills, and welding expertise. Most of the welders earn up to $ 25,000 to $100,000 annually.
Onshore Welders
This job is mainly connected with civil works usually performed on dams, docks, bridges, etc. The people engaged with the job are also assigned the task of inspecting and doing repair works on dam walls and checking sewer pipes, and cutting underwater debris in addition to their primary job of performing various tasks inland.
Since inland welders work in the freshwater of rivers and lakes, their diving gears are not affected by corrosion. These workers are not expected to work on oil and gas pipelines or structures. Most welders doing onshore welding earn from $ 25,000 to $ 80,000.
Offshore Welders
The offshore welders work in oceans, gulfs, and seas. While performing their job, they get support from the station, mostly built on the boat, etc., where they prepare the materials for welding, etc.
All the offshore welders are certified divers who are mostly engaged with oil and gas companies for maintenance and other works on the high seas. They also work for extracting and transporting oil under the sea bed, which is an uphill task.
The people connected with this job mostly spend days and weeks under the water. They have to bear the brunt of ever-changing bad weather, low visibility, and constantly mounting water pressure.
The usual schedule for welding starts in April and ends in November. The job is often for adventurous souls who intend to earn a lot of money in a short time, but meek should keep away. Most welders doing onshore welding earn from $ 40,000 to $ 100,000.
Factors on which the salary of Underwater welding depends
Experience:
A person having the credit of experience in the profession of underwater welding fetches a hefty amount of salary. In this profession, experience plays a vital role in determining pay and allowances.
The more a person has experienced, the higher he will demand compensation from his employer. In most cases, the employers concede to their demand for monetary benefits and their perks and privileges.
Location:
Multinational companies hire a welder working underwater for their projects spread in different countries, and their salaries often vary from country to country.
Even though they are working with individual companies, their pays and allowances are fixed, keeping in view the general structure of salaries and allowances of other employees but mostly higher because of their nature.
Certification:
A person with a welding certificate from a reputed institute is treated well by the employers and preferred in selecting jobs than the persons having no certificate or certificate from ordinary organizations. Such persons have more demand in the work market and remain out of a job after completing a project for less time.
Environment:
The underwater welders have to face harsh weather conditions such as sub-zero temperature, low visibility, and powerful water waves with huge power at work sites.
The enduring of adverse and unstable environmental conditions makes them one of the highest paying welding jobs. No ordinary person can withhold weather conditions, so only men with mettle can adopt this profession.
Depth of work:
The payment of workers is based on the location of the project under the sea. If it is very deep into the sea, then remuneration will also be higher because of the hardship and risk involved in the job.
Techniques of Underwater Welding
Underwater welding can be done in two ways
Wet Welding
The welding process, carried out under the water and is exposed to water, is called wet welding. During this process, a waterproof stick designed for such work is used.
Wet welding allows the welder a great measure of freedom of movement, is effective and economical. The power supply is connected to the base on the surface.
- Equipment for wet underwater welding: The welder to be provided with equipment appropriate to working conditions. The equipment must be updated and maintained following the standard regulations.
- Diving equipment: The equipment required for the working of welders are diving suits, drysuits, full face masks, surface supply, umbilical cord, air tank at the surface with compressor filling the air. All the equipment should be of acceptable quality and grade for the welder’s facilitation and to prevent the risk of a breakdown in continuity of work.
- Welding power source: The power source must be arranged to adjust to underwater welding conditions. It may be ensured that the intensive dynamic behavior of the power is necessary for greater depth.
- Safety switch: The electrical circuit must have a safety switch so that the flow of current be controlled to maintain the supply or cut it off in case of an accident.
- Communication system: A communication system should be established between the welder and the surface station for coordination.
- Special mechanical tools system: The tools such as electric drive are not used for safety reasons; instead hydraulic, and pneumatic tools must be preferred.
Dry Underwater Welding
The dry underwater welding procedure is adopted when work is required to be done deep into the water. The dry process is performed in a sealed chamber filled with helium gas and oxygen. In this way, the conditions are created for welders to breathe easily and work efficiently for high-quality welding joints.
This chamber is mostly constructed with steel, plywood, and canvas, etc. Its size and configurations are fixed, keeping in view the area and number of welders accommodated in the chamber. In this process, gas tungsten arc welding is used to ensure a good quality of work.
This is a David Johnson. I have been in this field since 15 years.