Challenge: Your Job/ Not For the Faint of Heart/Welder & Diver | I work as an underwater/hyperbaric welder, regular welder, mechanic, and heavy equipment operator (moslty cranes) on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Like many folks from poor, rural towns, I didn’t have any real opportunities for college so I joined the Navy when I graduated at 17. I was already a talented welder so underwater welding was a no brainer for me. It’s an intense and dangerous job, but I love it and am proud to be a woman in this male dominated field!