I think the ROV schools would have you think that a course is required, but that’s understandable, it’s also not a legal requirement as in say HSE certs for divers. The trouble is there is no evidence that anyone having completed an ROV course is any more use, or desirable to an employer, than someone that hasn’t.
I’m an ex sat diver but had a good few years if mechanical apprenticeship and on the job experience behind me before switching over to ROV’s.
No-one with neither Mech or Elec training/experience should be looking at taking an ROV course or trying to get into ROV’s for no other reason than the job requirements do not match their experience. IN the broader concept this isn’t new to ROV’s.. it’s a long standing land/sea based requirement for all types of technical vocations.
I suggest you’d be better looking at using your contacts in the diving game to get into LST and then on to LSS. With CSWIP you still need to be pretty computer savvy to get by as a CSWIP 3.4 inspection person. CSWIP is not everyone’s cup of tea either.. but with LST for sure you already know the in’s and outs of that side of things and would settle in far more readily that ROV.
BTW.. the industry is a long way off replacing divers with ROV’s. In the late 80’s I remember hearing that one… here we are in 2011 still locking plenty of divers out of the bell!
I had the feeling about being a bit late, when it comes to a tech background and my wife even says the same thing!
3.4u is something, but while i am more than computer savvy, maybe it would bore me to the point of not being able to learn. But i am now going to give it some thought.
LST might be it then, and i would actually like doing it too.
ROV seems like a really nice job though.