Choosing the right school to pursue your goals as a commercial diver is the most important career decision you'll make. Find out what it takes! Select a challenging career with CDA.
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Not all programs are created equally, Do the research before you dive in! Learn More!
CDA Technical Institute (CDA) is the only fully-accredited diver training program with IMCA-recognized training, on-campus housing and a full meal plan.
CDA offers a comprehensive and rigorous 20 week program. Become a world class diver. A CDA diver.
And so the adventure begins...
Not everyone is cut out to be a commercial diver/underwater welder. Do you have what it takes for this career?
Age: 18 or older
Ability to Swim: Yes
Respiration: 15/MIN
Mechanical Ability: Yes
High school GRAD or GED: YES
To be a commercial diver, you could be working in confined space, dark water, limited visibility. The career requires commitment, dedication, and a strong work ethic.
All students at CDA must be 18 years of age, have a strong work ethic, be in good physical condition, have completed high school, (or earned a GED) and pass an entracne interview. Want to get started? You can apply now!
Mechanical skills are a must
Having passed the requirements, the candidate is accepted as one of the elite students at CDA Technical Institute.
Course Work: Rigorous and comprehensive. Be prepared for long days of classwork, practical applications, and studying.
Course work includes all CSA standards for DCBC certification:
Diving Physics
Diving Physiology, Decompression, & Emergency Management Procedures
Diving Equipment, Systems, & Procedures
Practical Use of Diving Equipment
Diving Hazards & Legislation
Diver Communication Systems
Rigging
Underwater Inspections & Searches
Hand & Power Tools
Water Jetting, Airlifts, Venturi Dredges, & Lift Bags
Cutting & Welding Equipment
Underwater Explosives
Underwater Construction Techniques
Hyperbaric Chamber Operations
Want to learn more? Request a catalog.
Dive Medicine: Covers Physiology, Decompression, HazMat and Safety.
Top Side Training teaches diver communications
CDA's Blackwater training fully prepares you for the real world conditions of a commercial diver.
CDA offers 3,000 minutes of bottom time, deep water as well as rigorous training in a dark, swift tidal current, limited visibility environment. Learn more about what makes CDA better.
Deepwater Training
After 20 weeks of hard work with experienced instructors, you are a world class diver ... a CDA diver!
20 weeks later ...
Graduation Day ...
CDA offers career assistance and we invite dive companies to visit CDA to recruit our graduates. CDA has a full-time career services coordinator who works closely with each graduate to ensure their success. Have more questions? Check out our FAQs.
The Career
What do commercial divers do?
Commercial diving is industrial construction that takes place underwater. Commercial divers work all over the world, and are experts in underwater welding, underwater salvage and recovery, underwater inspection, and installation.
After all the reseach I've done and instructors I've talked to, CDA is bar-none the premier dive school in all of America.
Cameron Duncan Graduate, CDA
Inside CDA
I want to be an Underwater Welder
CDA's internationally-recognized training includes a comprehensive underwater welding program that goes beyond industry standards. Our instructors spend one-on-time time with each student to perfect their skills.
CDA's training is more than just underwater welding. A successful underwater welder needs to be highly trained and proficient in all facets of commercial diving. This is where CDA graduates excel.
With advanced training and multiple certifications, CDA graduates are highly sought-after by leading dive companies. Become a World Class Diver: A CDA Diver.
CDA Technical Institute (CDA), formerly Commercial Diving Academy, is the ONLY fully-accredited diver training program with IMCA-recognized training, on-campus housing and a full meal plan. CDA’s training is complete, comprehensive and intensive to ensure our graduates are recruited by the industry’s leading dive companies.
