Part of the reason I dive is the adventure associated with it. This job the Fisher group offers should be very carefully considered. I don't need their job but it was interesting to ponder what they propose. And I'm not to trying to be critical but I see what I see.
My take, and this is only MY take, as others need to develop their own, is that this is one miserable job no matter how much you like diving and no matter how much upside there could be due to the 1/2 of one percent bonus which you may or may not ever see depending on what is found, if anything, during your tenure with them:
* Why require incorporation? I assume with confidence that it is an attempt not to make you an Employee, with its associated costs to the Employer (FICA); liability insurance, other benefit(s), possible Overtime pay, assorted labor laws etc..; I've read the IRS code for what constitutes an Independent Contractor (I'm one of them and have been for 35 years) and this gig may have issues as it pertains to Employee vs. I/C;
Requiring that you use all of your own gear except tanks clearly says to me "Independent Contractor". I'm surprised they don't require your own tanks
as well.
* You will spend approx. a week's pay just to incorporate ($450);
* You may need to follow OSHA commercial diving guidelines, which are extremely detailed-one might say, onerous; You should have your own Worker's Comp and Liability Insurance if my take on OSHA is correct; Even if it's not, you still need your own insurance; Who is going to pay if you get hurt/bent etc.?;
* 5-10 day stretches as sea, possibly to 14 days, working sun-up to sun-down? Assume an average of 7 days, sun-up to sun-down (14 hours+-)-that's a 98 hour work week divided by $450 = $4.59/hour-and that's before Income taxes; Not even minimum wage-pathetic pay for really hard work;
* For pay that bad one has to cook for the others? Clean toilets? Service the boat including grinding/chipping/painting? Sleep in a bunk with a tiny storage area for clothes?;
* Live on the boat 1 year minimum as there are no accomodations at all on land? In 2007 when I was diving the Keys I toured the Turtle Hospital in Marathon-and don't quote me on this but I swear I was told that some Employees lived on the premises because it was a former motel-that would work nicely for some of them for sure; Great idea-your own bed, shower etc.-certainly decent accomodations if you needed to live there;
Given that the Fishers must all be multi-millionaires each, it would be nice if they could buy a 4-family house somewhere or something to that effect for housing for the Independent Contractor/Employee or whatever you end up being; Considering that they provide nothing else besides $450/week in pay it's not too
much to ask for-a real roof over your head;
