13 Best Careers At Sea: Incredible & Lucrative Professions NOT for the Faint of Heart!

Is there anything finer than spending your days out on the open ocean? Amazingly, there’s a way to combine your love of the water with cold hard cash, by taking a lucrative job out on the high seas. If you were a mermaid in a former life, one of these incredible professions could be right up your alley!

Oil Driller
Number Thirteen: Oil Driller. Oil drillers are the folks who mine the seabed for black gold and make a pretty penny doing it. Drillers can be laypeople or in charge of others, and many higher-level professionals are responsible for understanding the environmental requirements necessary to do the job at peak performance.

Scuba Instructor
Number Twelve: Scuba Instructor. Anyone who loves working with the general public and getting wet at the same time will shine as a scuba instructor. You can do this job from just about anywhere in the world, and see tons of breathtaking, exotic beaches in the process.

Aquaculture Worker
Number Eleven: Aquaculture Worker. Aquaculture workers are basically underwater farmers that keep all of the little lifeforms and foliage below the waves up to scratch. A high school education is all that you need to get your feet wet as an aquaculture worker, but be prepared to put in some long days.

Undersea Photographer
Number Ten: Undersea Photographer. This job is the perfect match for anyone who feels at home in the murky depths- and knows how to snag a killer snap in conditions that might be less than ideal. Apex undersea photographers make big bucks selling their pics, but it’s not easy to master the underwater photography game.

Hydrologist
Number Nine: Hydrologist. Hydrologists are water nerds of the highest order. These folks are immersed in what’s going on in our oceans, lakes, ponds, and rivers- and it’s their job to make sure that we have enough of the liquid stuff to survive.

Ship Captain
Number Eight: Ship Captain. If you have nerves of steel, a taste for the briny life, and just a touch of ego, being a ship captain might be just the ticket. Ship captains come in all shapes and sizes and then run commercial fishing vessels, ferries, tour boats, and much more.

Ocean Engineer
Number Seven: Ocean Engineer. If you’re not cut out for working on the oil rig, why not consider a career where you can build the equipment? Ocean engineers are technical wizards that explore how to tap into the goodies in our seafloor safely and effectively.

Marine Researcher
Number Six: Marine Researcher. Where ocean engineers deal with the way we interact with the oceans- and give us a safe context to do it- marine researchers are more interested in the plant life that calls the world beneath the waves their home.

Commercial Fisherman
Number Five: Commercial Fisherman. The Discovery Channel gave us “The Deadliest Catch,”; a gritty and compelling glimpse into the day-to-day life of some of the toughest people on earth. Commercial fishermen aren’t just gracing the small screen, though; there are plenty of them who haven’t made their television debuts, and you can join them!

Marine Biologist
Number Four: Marine Biologist. There’s a thin but important line between marine researchers and marine biologists- where marine researchers are stewards or the seas; marine biologists are experts on specific animals in aquatic environments.

Underwater Archeologist
Number Three: Underwater Archeologist. If you’ve ever wanted to dig deep into the secrets of our oceans’ floors, underwater archeologist is your absolute dream job.

Cruise Ship Interior Designer
Number Two: Cruise Ship Interior Designer. While this job won’t take you below the waves, you’ll still be crafting an experience for those who wish to set sail and do so with comfort and the unlimited midnight buffet.

Deep-Sea Diver
Number One: Deep-Sea Diver. Technology has allowed us to explore brave new depths of our oceans with robots and machines, but sometimes there’s simply no substitute for the human touch. Enter deep-sea divers; ocean enthusiasts with nerves of steel who swim far below the waves to get stuff done.

Do you have experience practicing any of the jobs we mentioned? If so, share your story in the comments below. Thanks for watching and don’t forget to subscribe to What Lurks Below.