Day in the Life of an Engineer Diver | Bulkhead Inspection on Lake Michigan

Join me on a typical day as a civil structural engineer and commercial diver. In this video, I take you through the full dive process — from gearing up on the boat, suiting out with helmet and comms, splashing into Lake Michigan, and performing a detailed inspection of a steel sheet pile bulkhead near Chicago. I walk step-by-step through how we perform ultrasonic thickness (UT) readings, why they matter for structural inspections, and how this data helps assess long-term integrity of waterfront structures. Along the way, I point out some of the invasive zebra and quagga mussels that have taken over much of the lake. This was an 8,000-foot bulkhead inspection with fantastic visibility — giving you a rare look at what engineer divers actually see and do underwater. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to mix engineering with commercial diving, or how infrastructure is inspected below the surface, this video is for you. Timestamps 00:00 Intro – Day in the life of an Engineer Diver 01:00 On the boat, suiting up with gear 04:20 Splash in – starting the dive 06:08 dead things on bottom 06:35 Zebra & quagga mussels explained 05:15 Sheet pile bulkhead inspection process 09:10 How ultrasonic (UT) readings are taken and why 13:10 Diver fouled 14:00 Standard bulkhead inspection procedures 18:50 Challenges of taking UT’s underwater with heavy corrosion 21:42 Great visibility from here to the end of the video 22:22 Dive helmet overview 23:18 Cut finger 33:20 Wrap up #CommercialDiver #EngineerDiver #CivilEngineering #StructuralInspection #LakeMichigan #underwaterinspection