Perform underwater ship maintenance, salvage, and construction. Conduct deep sea diving operations, submarine rescue, and underwater demolition support.
ASVAB VE+AR: 105 and MC: 51
Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Confirm with a recruiter.
Navy Divers handle salvage, ship husbandry, underwater construction, repair and search and recovery, using everything from scuba to surface supplied diving systems. A working day can mean tending a diver from a barge, standing chamber watch, running a dive station, or being the person in the water cutting, welding or rigging. Visibility is frequently near zero, the water is cold, and the job is physically demanding before you account for the equipment you wear. Duty stations include mobile diving and salvage units, ship repair facilities and support to special operations, with deployments and short notice travel common. The pipeline is hard and attrition is real, and the physical standard never relaxes once you are qualified.
You learn diving physics and physiology, decompression planning, gas management and the operation of surface supplied and mixed gas systems. Underwater work teaches rigging, lifting, salvage technique, underwater cutting and welding, and hydraulic tool operation when you cannot see your own hands. Diving medicine training covers recompression chamber operation and the recognition and treatment of pressure related injuries. Supervisory qualification adds dive planning, risk assessment and running a station where you are responsible for other people's lives directly. You also develop small boat operations, seamanship and the equipment maintenance that keeps life support gear genuinely trustworthy.
Diving builds calm in conditions that make most people panic, because the correct response to a problem underwater is always to slow down. You develop physical toughness and the willingness to get back into cold water after a long and thoroughly miserable day. The job grows absolute reliability as a habit, since a diver's life is held in the hands of the people topside. Working a checklist every single time teaches a discipline that is enforced by physics rather than by any supervisor. Divers tend to be understated, durable people with a high tolerance for discomfort and a low tolerance for careless work.
This rating is a real partial exception among special operations fields, because military dive experience maps toward commercial diving credentials and paid work. Offshore energy, inland marine construction, bridge and dam inspection and port maintenance all hire former Navy divers, and documented dive hours and hyperbaric training shorten the road to civilian certification. Public safety diving with police and fire agencies, and underwater inspection with engineering firms, are realistic alternatives. Topside careers in salvage, marine construction, rigging supervision and dive operations management use the same knowledge without the water. Others convert the leadership record and clearance into contractor training roles or an engineering degree on service benefits.
Published personal accounts with source links. Each describes an individual experience, not a typical assignment or a guarantee of your own experience.
“I decided to join the Navy to travel and dive around the world.”
“Since I’ve been in, I’ve enjoyed the comradery of the diver community.”
“I’m enjoying the ride and like doing ship husbandry.”
“After I graduated dive school, I wasn’t a big guy and wanted to challenge myself and do something difficult.”
Quotes are from U.S. government public-domain news stories (DVIDS, army.mil and other official sources). Individuals and units are named as reported at time of publication.
You open the day inspecting dive gear, checking gas mixtures, and briefing the dive plan with your team on the pier. Your work is conducting underwater ship husbandry, salvage, and construction, and supporting submarine rescue and underwater demolition. Suiting up for hull inspections, welding, or salvage dives and tending your divers topside defines your day in and around the water.
No suitable exact-MOS or related career-field video has been verified for this page yet. No unrelated video or search-results page is substituted.
$43,902–$74,948
2026 basic pay only; the same grade and service time pay the same across jobs. Promotions are assumed, not promised. Excludes allowances, bonuses and special pays.
Possibilities for serving Sailors, including those in support roles—not guaranteed admission or awards. Individual eligibility, assignment, selection, available training or competition places and successful qualification apply.
Assignment-dependent qualification and insignia earned aboard a qualifying surface ship or afloat staff—not automatically awarded for this rating.
For enlisted Sailors in an eligible surface assignment, including support ratings. Complete the command's current qualification standards, assessments and approval process. A shore or submarine assignment alone does not establish eligibility; confirm current enrollment rules with the command.
Assignment-dependent aviation qualification and insignia; support Sailors may qualify at authorized aviation commands.
Requires a qualifying aviation assignment or an authorized support-command arrangement, required in-rating technical qualifications and command approval. Current enrollment and pay-grade prerequisites must be checked; this is not a promotion or a badge awarded just for holding this rating.
Restricted to qualifying expeditionary assignments; recognizes tested field and unit-specific proficiency, including support duties.
Requires assignment to a command authorized to administer EXW and completion of its general and unit-specific personnel qualification standards and approval process. Published NSW program evidence establishes this route, not that every Navy unit offers it. Confirm current command authorization and prerequisites.
Sources reviewed . Confirm current course and badge requirements with official school guidance and your unit.
For Navy ND Navy Diver, official service-wide guidance and any exact feeder-list matches are distinguished below from unverified specialty-specific requirements. Ranks are not separate jobs, and these possibilities are not guaranteed promotions or available contracts.
Examples of higher service ranks
These are service-wide rank names, not a verified promotion ladder for this specialty. Examples are not exhaustive; appointments sharing a pay grade are not additional promotion steps.
Official military rank referenceThe Navy directs enlisted Sailors to rating-specific Learning and Development Roadmaps (LaDRs), and officers to their community managers and officer career-progression guidance. Rating conversion and commissioning are separate application paths, not automatic promotions.
Navy career planning: LaDRs, officer progression, and commissioningService-level application reference—not a verified next step for this listing
Limited Duty Officer (LDO) and Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) appointments require separate applications and program-specific qualifications. The reviewed active-duty page contains FY28 cycle requirements, not Reserve eligibility. Its 1 October 2026 application deadline has passed; this is not an open application offer or a verified designator match for this listing.
Navy active-duty LDO/CWO applicant requirementsSpecialty-specific advancement, senior assignments, and eligibility for a different personnel category have not been verified for this listing. No feeder eligibility or automatic transition to another specialty is implied.
Advancement depends on current service rules, performance, required education, qualifications, selection, and authorized positions—not simply years served. Confirm current requirements with an official recruiter or career counselor.
Related military jobs below are for exploration, not promised progression or confirmed transfer paths.
Sources reviewed 2026-10-03. This is a partial evidence review, not verification of every advancement route for this specialty. Source retrieval dates do not replace policy effective dates.
Career-field mappings, not automatic qualifications. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024 national medians). O*NET links explain each occupation; military experience does not guarantee a job or salary.
Perform underwater ship maintenance, salvage, and construction. Conduct deep sea diving operations, submarine rescue, and underwater demolition support.
Navy Divers handle salvage, ship husbandry, underwater construction, repair and search and recovery, using everything from scuba to surface supplied diving systems. A working day can mean tending a diver from a barge, standing chamber watch, running a dive station, or being the person in the water cutting, welding or rigging. Visibility is frequently near zero, the water is cold, and the job is physically demanding before you account for the equipment you wear. Duty stations include mobile diving and salvage units, ship repair facilities and support to special operations, with deployments and short notice travel common. The pipeline is hard and attrition is real, and the physical standard never relaxes once you are qualified.
You learn diving physics and physiology, decompression planning, gas management and the operation of surface supplied and mixed gas systems. Underwater work teaches rigging, lifting, salvage technique, underwater cutting and welding, and hydraulic tool operation when you cannot see your own hands. Diving medicine training covers recompression chamber operation and the recognition and treatment of pressure related injuries. Supervisory qualification adds dive planning, risk assessment and running a station where you are responsible for other people's lives directly. You also develop small boat operations, seamanship and the equipment maintenance that keeps life support gear genuinely trustworthy.
This rating is a real partial exception among special operations fields, because military dive experience maps toward commercial diving credentials and paid work. Offshore energy, inland marine construction, bridge and dam inspection and port maintenance all hire former Navy divers, and documented dive hours and hyperbaric training shorten the road to civilian certification. Public safety diving with police and fire agencies, and underwater inspection with engineering firms, are realistic alternatives. Topside careers in salvage, marine construction, rigging supervision and dive operations management use the same knowledge without the water. Others convert the leadership record and clearance into contractor training roles or an engineering degree on service benefits.
ASVAB VE+AR: 105 and MC: 51. This is the catalog's listed requirement, not an individual eligibility decision. Confirm the current standard and any exceptions with the service.
This specialty can be pursued through an initial enlistment, subject to eligibility and available contracts. Confirm the current status of this specific classification with an official recruiter.
Catalog sources consulted: 2026-09-26. This is not an entry-by-entry verification date. No record-specific verification date is recorded. Occupation audit evidence reviewed: 2026-09-26; this does not re-verify every requirement.
Official branch occupation evidence
Occupation identified. This occupation was identified in the cited source. This does not verify requirements, benefits, or a current opening.
Navy enlisted occupational standards, NAVPERS 18068F, July 2026, Appendix B (rating enumeration) · reviewed 2026-09-26
Confirmed. Catalog evidence is not an inventory of open contracts.
No dated public inventory confirmed a currently open recruiting contract for this role. This does not mean there are no openings. Confirm current eligibility and offers with an official recruiter.
Bonus-listed — Navy, as of 2026-09-27. Max bonus $20,000Published amount: $20,000Max bonus $20,000 is a display ceiling, including unconfirmed figures and illustrative estimates, not a confirmed offer. Separate programs are not added together.
Latest source review — 2026-10-25
The October 2 CNRC message, effective for initial classification/reclassification after October 3, supersedes the August message and confirms the Navy.com source rates. Funding is stated through December 11, 2026; individual contracts remain unverified. Most source rates cover October–December FY27, while named special-operations and nuclear programs cover October–September FY27. Its shipping table lists MU $10,000 and Nuclear Field $20,000, differing from the website's older up-to-$25,000 shipping headline. The table's FY27 window is October 1, 2026–September 30, 2027; the surrounding prose has inconsistent year wording. Elevated-PST bonus remains $20,000. The $140,000 headline includes loan repayment, not cash signing bonus alone. AECF/AV-to-rating mapping conflicts remain unresolved.
Historical amounts are retained. A displayed maximum is not a guaranteed payment. Confirm current written contract terms.
Bonus range review — 2026-10-10
Current published source rate: $20,000 (ND-ATF). Conditional planning range: $0–$20,000. $0 means no eligible or available bonus; the upper endpoint is from the listed program amount, not a likely payout or guaranteed offer. Historical/expired amounts do not verify a current offer. Do not add separate programs without written stacking authorization. Older amounts are retained as historical evidence; use this dated source comparison rather than assuming they are still payable. Source-rate payment follows qualifying A/C school completion.
Range evidenceND-ATF. October 2 message applies after October 3, 2026 classification/reclassification. Named ATF/special-operations rates cover FY27; HM sub-track windows differ. Source-rate payment requires specified training/NEC milestones. Funding stated through December 11, 2026; current individual contracts not verified. Older amounts remain historical evidence. Confirm governing contract before relying on a range.
Latest source review — 2026-10-25
The October 2 CNRC message, effective for initial classification/reclassification after October 3, supersedes the August message and confirms the Navy.com source rates. Funding is stated through December 11, 2026; individual contracts remain unverified. Most source rates cover October–December FY27, while named special-operations and nuclear programs cover October–September FY27. Its shipping table lists MU $10,000 and Nuclear Field $20,000, differing from the website's older up-to-$25,000 shipping headline. The table's FY27 window is October 1, 2026–September 30, 2027; the surrounding prose has inconsistent year wording. Elevated-PST bonus remains $20,000. The $140,000 headline includes loan repayment, not cash signing bonus alone. AECF/AV-to-rating mapping conflicts remain unresolved.
Historical amounts are retained. A displayed maximum is not a guaranteed payment. Confirm current written contract terms.
Range review 2026-10-25: Conditional planning range: $0–$20,000. $0 means no eligible or available bonus; the upper endpoint is from the listed program amount, not a likely payout or guaranteed offer. Historical/expired amounts do not verify a current offer. Do not add separate programs without written stacking authorization.
Reviewed 2026-10-25; program ends 2027-09-30. Not a guaranteed offer.
SourceRequires the program-specific elevated scores at the 14-day shipping PST. HM applies ONLY to SOIDC, DMT or SMT tracks, not general Hospital Corpsman. Separate from the existing source-rate bonus; confirm contract and stacking rules.
Latest source review — 2026-10-25
The October 2 CNRC message, effective for initial classification/reclassification after October 3, supersedes the August message and confirms the Navy.com source rates. Funding is stated through December 11, 2026; individual contracts remain unverified. Most source rates cover October–December FY27, while named special-operations and nuclear programs cover October–September FY27. Its shipping table lists MU $10,000 and Nuclear Field $20,000, differing from the website's older up-to-$25,000 shipping headline. The table's FY27 window is October 1, 2026–September 30, 2027; the surrounding prose has inconsistent year wording. Elevated-PST bonus remains $20,000. The $140,000 headline includes loan repayment, not cash signing bonus alone. AECF/AV-to-rating mapping conflicts remain unresolved.
Historical amounts are retained. A displayed maximum is not a guaranteed payment. Confirm current written contract terms.
Range review 2026-10-10: Conditional planning range: $0–$20,000. $0 means no eligible or available bonus; the upper endpoint is from the listed program amount, not a likely payout or guaranteed offer. Historical/expired amounts do not verify a current offer. Do not add separate programs without written stacking authorization.
Reviewed 2026-10-03. Not a guaranteed offer.
SourcePublished enlistment program: $20,000.
A listed program does not guarantee a bonus, job assignment or an available slot. Confirm your exact contract, component, ship date and eligibility with a recruiter.
Navy.com enlistment bonus listDeployment likelihood: Moderate*
Separate from base pay; eligibility and amounts depend on assignment and qualifications. See the linked military-pay scenario for itemized assumptions and totals.
* Estimated. Rank progression and specialty-pay eligibility are illustrative assumptions. Deployment likelihood, when shown, is inferred from similar specialties in the branch and career field, not a published specialty deployment rate.
Descriptions may change. No military role is free from risk of injury or death, including non-combat work. Catalog review dates do not establish current openings or re-verification of every requirement.
Recruiting signals reflect what each branch published on the dates shown. They are not offers, and they do not mean a contract is open for you. Eligibility depends on your ASVAB scores, medical qualification, security clearance eligibility, and ship date. Confirm everything with an official recruiter. See our Disclaimer and Terms.