What would you get if you put divers together with construction workers? Commercial divers with underwater construction abilities. Building things underwater may sound like a far-fetched futuristic profile, but it is the best-kept secret of the construction industry. In Houston, Texas, a trade and technical school that trains people specifically for diving and construction has sprouted some of today’s most specialized workers. The Ocean Corporation (http://www.oceancorp.com), a veteran in the construction and diving fields, has existed since 1969. In one academic year, its students gain exposure of hands-on, production-based work. John Wood, president and owner of the Ocean Corporation, got into the business after graduating from Rice University with a degree in finance accounting. Since coming to the Ocean Corporation in 1988, Wood has realized that “four-year schools aren’t for everybody. You can get training and begin a real-life career and still remain successful with an above-average, first-year pay of $30,000 to $40,000. This school is for someone who doesn’t want to go to a four-year school, but wants the hands-on learning experience to find a job they really love.” The Ocean Corporation is located in the heart of the petrochemical industry near the Gulf of Mexico. Graduates work on ships, dams, pipelines or in search and recovery. With more jobs available than graduates to work them, this industry allows most graduates to find career openings in their areas of expertise. To have a career in the diving industry, you have to have a certain sense of unity with your colleagues. “It is filled with people that you trust with your life, where people measure you on what you do, not who you are,” Wood says. “It’s not about getting paid, it’s about doing something you love to do and have interest in. It needs to be recognized that not everybody needs college. Like the old saying, ‘Success is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.’ With this in mind, as long as you work hard and do what you have interest in, you can’t go wrong.” The Ocean Corporation also offers a certificate program for an above-water career in nondestructive testing (NDT). Those in the NDT field do welding inspections for refineries, airplanes, nuclear plants—even space shuttles. This is done through six certifiable techniques: ultrasound, mag particle, dye penetrant, visual inspections, eddy current and X-ray. Graduates of The Ocean Corporation’s 30-week certificate program are hired by inspection companies to be contracted out or by large corporations in need of their own on-hand tester.
