Most people decide on a trade school without ever setting foot in one. That is a lot to commit to sight unseen — thirty weeks, real money, and a career that depends on whether the training was any good.
So walk the campus first. The tour below covers our 4.2-acre facility on Rockley Road in southwest Houston, where commercial diving and nondestructive testing students train every weekday. Click through it at your own pace. Nothing is staged for the camera.
Use the arrows to move between areas. On mobile, drag to look around.
What you’re looking at
The campus sits at 10840 Rockley Road, just outside Beltway 8 and Highway 59. The Ocean Corporation has trained here since 1987 and expanded onto the adjacent property in 1990, bringing the campus to 4.2 acres.
Dive tanks
Our dive tanks run up to 24 feet deep. Students log their first working dives here — not recreational swims, but surface-supplied dives with a helmet, an umbilical, and a job to complete on the bottom. You will spend a lot of hours in this water before you ever see the Gulf.
Recompression chamber
Chamber operations are part of the Ultimate Diver Training program, not an add-on. Commercial dive teams are required to have chamber capability on site, and every diver on the team is expected to know how to run it. Students train on the same procedures they will be held to offshore.
Underwater welding and cutting
Wet welding, burning, and cutting are taught in the water, with the same equipment used on inland and offshore jobs. Our facilities have been used by outside organizations for equipment qualification testing, including Lloyd’s of London Hardsuit qualifications and trials of the Integra SEAStallion diamond wire cutting machine.
Nondestructive testing labs
NDT students work across the core inspection methods — ultrasonic, radiographic, magnetic particle, liquid penetrant, visual, and eddy current — on real weld coupons and castings with real flaws in them. Most schools teach two or three methods. Broad method coverage is the reason an Ocean Corporation NDT graduate can walk into refineries, aerospace shops, and pipeline work rather than one narrow lane.
Classrooms
Classes run five hours a day, so most students hold a part-time job while they train. Classroom time is where the theory behind the practical work gets built — physics, decompression tables, weld metallurgy, inspection standards. The people who last in this work understand why the procedure exists, not just what it says.
ROV and drone training
Inspection work is moving toward remote deployment, and the campus supports ROV and drone training alongside the hands-on work. Remote vehicles are not replacing divers and inspectors. They are becoming another tool the same person is expected to run.
The people who teach here
Instructors here worked the jobs first. You are being taught by people who will still be reachable after you graduate.
More than sixteen years of commercial diving experience, and a dive supervisor at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory.
41 years working the Gulf Coast, from Navy search and rescue swimmer to saturation diving supervisor.
26 years of weld inspection, an AWS Certified Welding Inspector credential, and Level II certifications across MT, PT, RT, and UT.
Where graduates ended up
The skills that I got here were invaluable to me when I got to work, either offshore, inland, or at NASA.
Arthur LevineNeutral Buoyancy Laboratory Systems Operations Lead, NASA Johnson Space Center
I would say that it’s probably the most substantial foothold, with respect to my education, that propelled me to where I am today.
Bryan NichollsPresident and COO, U.S. Underwater Services
I wouldn’t be where I’m at if I didn’t come to Ocean Corp when I did.
Andrew FurgasonNDE Manager, Element Materials Technology — ASNT Level III UT, RT, MT, PT
What the training actually asks of you
Both programs run 30 weeks, and both are demanding. We would rather you hear that now than find it out in week four.
Commercial diving is physical work in cold, dark water with a schedule that does not care how you feel that morning. It rewards people who show up and stay calm. Nondestructive testing is less physical and more exacting — you are the person who decides whether a weld holds, and being approximately right is not a category that exists.
New cohorts start roughly every five weeks, so you are rarely more than a month or so from a start date. Diving graduates earn ADCI certification, the entry credential recognized across the industry, and the program is a step toward international IMCA work once you have offshore experience behind you. NDT training aligns to ASNT standards across the core methods.
The Ocean Corporation is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges and has trained divers and inspectors in Houston since 1969.
Seen enough to have questions?
An admissions advisor can walk you through start dates, funding, and what your first week looks like. No obligation, and no one will pressure you into a decision you are not ready to make.
Frequently asked questions
Can I visit the campus in person?
Yes, and we would rather you did. The virtual tour is for people who cannot get to Houston easily. If you can, come walk it, meet an instructor, and watch a class run. Contact admissions to schedule a visit.
Where is the campus?
10840 Rockley Road, Houston, TX 77099, just outside Beltway 8 and Highway 59 in southwest Houston.
Do I need any experience to start?
No. Both programs assume you are starting from zero. Diving students do need to pass a commercial diving physical, and NDT students need adequate near vision and color perception for the inspection methods.
How long are the programs?
Thirty weeks for both. Classes run five hours a day, which is deliberate — it leaves room for a part-time job while you train.
When can I start?
New cohorts begin about every five weeks throughout the year. Admissions can give you the next available date for either program.
How do people pay for this?
Most students use some combination of federal financial aid, VA education benefits, and payment plans. The financial aid office will walk you through what you qualify for before you commit to anything. Financial aid information.
Is housing available?
The Ocean Corporation does not operate dormitories, but admissions maintains housing information for out-of-town students and can point you toward options near campus.