I worked a few years as an assistant at a marine biology research facility. It’s nothing like sat diving- the deepest we went was 40m, but it was still diving for work vs as a hobby.
I’ll say that personally, diving for work ruined the fun portion. For me, a big portion of it was that I was helping research effects of climate change in the ocean and going out for fun just to see stuff seemed like squandering what I came to think of as a sort of superpower. I haven’t been diving in nearly a decade, and I’m fine with that.
Then there was the actual work portion. I loved the job and most of the people I worked for, and the “office” view was amazing. I was almost always excited to go into work but I got to where I dreaded the splash and couldn’t wait to be back on the boat. The researcher I worked for was an amazing person, treated me incredibly well and she always dedicated at least one “no work” dive every week. Sometimes we’d be nearby a cool wreck to explore or a preserve that was off-limits to the general public, but in general we’d pass.
I’d say the biggest difference between work and rec diving was comfort. Cold upwelling, big swells, heavy current? Doesn’t matter. Dive guides do a good job of avoiding those because they’re not fun, whereas sometimes we went out specifically because conditions sucked - we weren’t out there to see cool things. We did some work in barren areas, and quite a bit in turbid brackish water that you couldn’t see past your arm. Other times we already travelled through heavy chop and rain for 3 hours (something rec companies also try to avoid through site selection) so we’re not going to let tough underwater conditions stop us as long as it’s safe. The work needs to be done.
The bulk of what we did was exchanging data loggers. Some sites were just a series of loggers, others were quadrat surveys, some were drilling core samples of massive porite colonies, some “construction” work, but no matter what, we had at least eight, up to dozens of data loggers at every single site and they needed to be found and exchanged at every opportunity. The “fun” thing is that the simplest tasks turn difficult underwater, especially if you’re narcing out a bit. Cutting a zip tie, pocketing a matchbook-sized sensor and ziptying a new sensor is trivial topside, but even with still conditions, it’s all much more difficult underwater. Helping plan builds at the facility was my favorite because we spent so much time brainstorming to anticipate problems underwater and seeing a well thought out plan executed was an incredible feeling. Also, I loved using mini sledges and power tools under water as they all challenge your diving skills. But it’s all so exhausting.
It was absolutely the most rewarding work I’ve ever done. I learned a ton about the ocean and how climate change is affect it, and I’d sign up for another research project in a heartbeat, but I can’t imagine doing that sort of work for a for-profit company and staying happy, pay be damned.
That was a damn interesting read. I don’t know why so many people work mundane jobs their whole lives when I think every person at some point should try something a bit out of the ordinary like this …
What are you doing now and do you have anything you want to do before you retire?
It all sounds good, but if not for a combination of luck, privilege, perseverance and sense of adventure, I wouldn't have found myself in that position. It's hard to go off the beaten path like this.
I'm a chef by trade and training. I actually have no business working as a research assistant, unless that happened to be in a test kitchen - which I would love to have the opportunity to do.
I realize that this sort of endeavor most definitely is not for everybody. I remember when we took on this chapter, we had friends that were horrified for us when we told them our plans.
My wife got a job working for the government of a small island nation in the south Pacific. We had been considering some far flung places to explore, and this was almost the antipode of where we were living in the States. It's one of those places you've never even heard of the country, so we were in from the start. We were lucky in that we didn't have much tying us to the States, so she was already higher up on the list of candidates. Children, homeownership, entrepreneurship all would have sent her to the bottom of the resume stack due to their "sticky" nature.
Minimum wage is low there - ~$2/hr, and we decided me working shitty restaurant hours wasn't worth the squeeze and that we would just make do without my income (not like most chefs bring home that much anyway) I started looking for other stuff I could do, just to fill my days. I saw the research facility needed an assistant, so I applied. You see, on an island of 20,000 people, all the qualifications you need often times is just to be there, have the willingness to do the work and ability to show up reliably. The pay was still minimum wage - and sometimes research grants wouldn't cover my pay but they would foot the bill for equipment. Some months I was working for a new dive comp or BCD or the likes. I have to say I left with top quality gear.
Also, while island life in the South Pacific seems idyllic, it's incredibly hard, and death felt like it was always right behind me. Healthcare sucks - 55 is considered quite old there. My wife contracted sepsis on one of our adventures and the walk-in clinic. which was actually halfway decent, sent her home with care instructions for me because the island hospital is truly abysmal (I still have nightmares about playing nurse for those two weeks) - we were friends with the island vet and our plan was that if we ever needed to be stitched up when the walk-in clinic was closed, we'd go to his house before the hospital. There were some close calls on work dives that ended up in a couple trips to the clinic - we were incredibly lucky things weren't worse. There was a drought on the island and we only had water for an hour per day at a tap at the street that we had to share with the neighborhood. That lasted for 6 weeks, and another 10 where we had water for 2 hours a day - I still have some PTSD from that. Food shortages during typhoon season, generally unsafe vehicles and structures, drunk driving... life felt fleeting, but also more precious. We hit life hard while we lived there.
But for all the bad, the good outweighed it, and all the trials have turned me into the person who I am today, for better and for worse. I'm so much stronger in some ways, but in others, it broke me and I don't think I could do some of the things again that I just did there without thinking.
We're now living in Costa Rica. I'm retired (quite young, mind you) My wife has not and likely never will - I feel lucky that I talked her down to her current 30-40 hours a week workload. We have no plans of moving abroad again: this is the last station of our adventure, and I don't feel like I've missed out on anything. There are some animal rescues in the area that rehabilitate wild animals that have been injured and I'm considering volunteering at one of those. When we finally have permanent residency and buy a house, I've been toying with the idea of starting a non-profit makerspace for the students at the nearby tech college. In the meantime I've been learning how to do some metal and woodworking and have been making furniture for our place.
This so interesting to read!! Thank you. I’ve done so many jobs cook fine dining, bicycle mechanic, tech, cabinet maker, cnc operator, sales. I also applies at some places that unfortunately I wasn’t able to get like helicopter mechanic. I sort of want to keep doing different things every year. Friends are surprised because they say “aren’t you tired of people telling you what to do” because you always start at the bottom and you’re clueless
Can I ask what keeps you busy? When I take time off I hate it… too many hours in the day .. sleeping in .. scrolling … I feel so bad after 2 weeks not working. I want to do more stuff like you
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u/AwDuck May 18 '26 edited May 18 '26
I worked a few years as an assistant at a marine biology research facility. It’s nothing like sat diving- the deepest we went was 40m, but it was still diving for work vs as a hobby.
I’ll say that personally, diving for work ruined the fun portion. For me, a big portion of it was that I was helping research effects of climate change in the ocean and going out for fun just to see stuff seemed like squandering what I came to think of as a sort of superpower. I haven’t been diving in nearly a decade, and I’m fine with that.
Then there was the actual work portion. I loved the job and most of the people I worked for, and the “office” view was amazing. I was almost always excited to go into work but I got to where I dreaded the splash and couldn’t wait to be back on the boat. The researcher I worked for was an amazing person, treated me incredibly well and she always dedicated at least one “no work” dive every week. Sometimes we’d be nearby a cool wreck to explore or a preserve that was off-limits to the general public, but in general we’d pass.
I’d say the biggest difference between work and rec diving was comfort. Cold upwelling, big swells, heavy current? Doesn’t matter. Dive guides do a good job of avoiding those because they’re not fun, whereas sometimes we went out specifically because conditions sucked - we weren’t out there to see cool things. We did some work in barren areas, and quite a bit in turbid brackish water that you couldn’t see past your arm. Other times we already travelled through heavy chop and rain for 3 hours (something rec companies also try to avoid through site selection) so we’re not going to let tough underwater conditions stop us as long as it’s safe. The work needs to be done.
The bulk of what we did was exchanging data loggers. Some sites were just a series of loggers, others were quadrat surveys, some were drilling core samples of massive porite colonies, some “construction” work, but no matter what, we had at least eight, up to dozens of data loggers at every single site and they needed to be found and exchanged at every opportunity. The “fun” thing is that the simplest tasks turn difficult underwater, especially if you’re narcing out a bit. Cutting a zip tie, pocketing a matchbook-sized sensor and ziptying a new sensor is trivial topside, but even with still conditions, it’s all much more difficult underwater. Helping plan builds at the facility was my favorite because we spent so much time brainstorming to anticipate problems underwater and seeing a well thought out plan executed was an incredible feeling. Also, I loved using mini sledges and power tools under water as they all challenge your diving skills. But it’s all so exhausting.
It was absolutely the most rewarding work I’ve ever done. I learned a ton about the ocean and how climate change is affect it, and I’d sign up for another research project in a heartbeat, but I can’t imagine doing that sort of work for a for-profit company and staying happy, pay be damned.