Just found out the North Sea has a 90% dropout rate for new divers in their first year

I was reading some stats from IMCA the other night and that number hit me hard. I always knew it was tough up there but almost everyone leaves within 12 months? That's wild. Makes me think about how lucky I am working inshore in the Gulf where conditions are way more forgiving. Has anyone here actually worked a North Sea season and stuck with it?

3 comments

3 Comments

daniel_gonzalez1mo ago

...and that reminds me of my buddy Rico who did a season in the Ekofisk field back in 2015. He said the first month was pure misery, swore he was going to quit every single day, but by the end of year two he was so used to the cold and the dark that coming back to shore felt weird. He made enough in three years to buy a house cash in Texas, but he also jokes that his brain is still half frozen up there, so I guess you trade one thing for another.

mianelson1mo ago

Man that 90% dropout rate is brutal but I totally get it. I did a six month hitch up in the Norwegian sector back in 2017 and I was ready to quit after two weeks. The cold alone is something you just cant prepare for, plus the constant low visibility and rough seas make every dive feel like a fight. I remember my first real deep dive up there and I was just thinking "what am I doing with my life" the whole time. The money is good but man it comes at a cost. I stuck out the full season but I havent been back since, no shame in walking away from that kind of work.

smith.parker1mo ago

Reminds me of how a lot of people talk about their first year of marriage or having a kid. Everyone says it's hard, but you don't really get it until you're in it, shivering in the dark wondering if you made a huge mistake. Sometimes the reward is just surviving the thing, not sticking around forever.