How to become an underwater diver

Official title: Underwater divers

Also called: Oyster diver, Salvage frogman, Sponge diver, Underwater worker

Underwater divers work under the surface of water, with or without the aid of underwater breathing apparatus, to inspect, install, repair and remove equipment and structures, conduct tests or experiments, rig explosives, photograph structures or marine life, collect various forms of aquatic life for commercial or research purposes, and find and recover missing items and persons.

Main tasks

• Taking safety precautions, such as monitoring dive lengths and depths, and registering with authorities before diving expeditions begin
• Checking and maintaining diving equipment such as helmets, masks, air tanks, diving suits, harnesses and gauges
• Descending into water with the aid of diver helpers, using scuba gear or diving suits
• Working under water to lay and repair bridges, piers and harbour-wall foundations
• Inspecting for suspected damage and making minor repairs to ships’ hulls and underwater installations
• Reporting on the condition of wrecked ships
• Removing underwater obstructions
• Drilling holes for underwater blasting
• Performing various underwater tasks connected with salvage work or recovering dead bodies
• Gathering shellfish, sponges and other aquatic life forms

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: HK$21,000 a month
• About 387,500 people in 2025, and about 403,200 projected by 2028. (+4.1%)
• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Related jobs

• Craft and related workers not elsewhere classified
• Product graders and testers (excluding foods and beverages)
• Shotfirers and blasters
• Fumigators and other pest and weed controllers

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Questions people ask

Do you need a degree to become an underwater diver?

Usually not. Only 8% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of an underwater diver?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
• Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
• Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), retrieved 4 October 2026
• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Updated 4 October 2026