Come Dive With Us!

"The sea, once it casts it's spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." ~Jacques Yves Cousteau

While taking a break from your hectic schedule, you plan an outing for your family and friends at the Georgia Aquarium. Perhaps you've dabbled in the world of SCUBA diving, but leaving your commitments behind to explore a tropical reef is not something that you can easily pencil into your datebook or your wallet. So there you sit, beneath the vast expanse of the Ocean Voyager windows thinking about what it would be like to swim on the other side of that glass. You know there are volunteers who get to dive with all of the amazing creatures before you, but they certainly aren't anyone you know. So how do they do it? How does the everyday-person get to experience life beneath the surface?

Here at the Georgia Aquarium, our volunteers make up the backbone of our facility. Whether you have a special knack for working with the public or you thrive behind the scenes, we appreciate the support of people from all walks of life. In addition, if you feel that you would benefit our facility by donating a portion of your time to the water and you have the proper qualifications, then there are steps that you may take which will help you enter into our volunteer dive program.
The program, which generally utilizes its volunteers for exhibit maintenance, also allows for other opportunities varying from SCUBA equipment servicing to field diving and research. To be considered, volunteers must first hold a current diving certification with an internationally recognized agency such as PADI or SSI, and have logged at least 20 dives. In addition, we also require our divers to have up-to-date Oxygen Administration, AED, First Aid, and CPR certifications. While we do not offer the initial classes required for these credentials, you can check with your local dive shop to find the proper courses for these certificates.
Once these requirements are met, we simply ask that volunteers log a minimum of 32 hours of service with other areas of the aquarium first because we believe that commitment, along with a basic understanding of our facility-wide programs, is extremely important. At the completion of these hours, volunteers will then be able to submit an application to the dive program where they will be asked to not only pass an interview, but a swim test and medical evaluation. These physical exams, while not typical of the normal employment process, are necessary since diving requires a certain level of fitness and general well being.

In regards to the medical evaluation, it is important to note that the payment for this exam is $370 and is the responsibility of the volunteer; however, all personal money put towards this exam will be refunded once the volunteer has met their initial commitment. The swim test, however, which is a standard American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) exam is administered by the Georgia Aquarium staff at no cost to the volunteer. This test, which allows us to make sure that all possible candidates are athletically fit enough to fulfill their volunteer diver job description, covers both swimming and diving skills. In summary, we ask that applicants be able to swim underwater for 25 yards without surfacing, as well as 400 yards continuously (using any stroke desired) in 12 minutes or less. In addition, we also require that our volunteers be able to transport another person of equal size 25 yards and that each applicant be able to tread water for a 10-minute period.

Once the swimming portion is complete, the assessment concludes with several skill tests which exhibit general dive competence (i.e. mask clearing, gear removal and replacement while submerged), along with a demonstration of rescue skills for an unconscious diver and air sharing.

At the completion of your successful swim test and physical, should you receive acceptance into the dive program, you must then be able to commit to at least two dives per month or 24 dives and 12 non-diving shifts (48 hrs) per year. These numbers, however, are the minimum and should you choose to dedicate more of your time, a schedule may be worked out through the dive and volunteer department.

While the application process may seem somewhat daunting, most portions are completed in a timely manner and well worth the extra effort that our dive program entails. At the end of the day, perhaps the divers on the other side of the window no longer have to be nameless faces. Come see the world from our side of the glass...you are an everyday-person, but you too can experience life beneath the surfaces of the Georgia Aquarium.

For more information on volunteering at the Georgia Aquarium please visit http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/joinOurTeam/volunteer.aspx and for more information on the volunteer dive program please contact Elliott Jessup at ejessup@georgiaaquarium.org