BeginAgain
Jr. Member
Hi everyone! I'm brand new to the site but just wanted to share a little about myself. I'm 29, born and raised in Las Vegas and currently divorcing. Lived in Mexico the past year and a half. My wife of 7 years and mother of my two girls walked out on me, taking my two toddler girls with her during my first semester of medical school in Mexico last April (it was a U.S. accredited school). I was crushed and dropped out of school and spent the entire Summer in a deep depression. I had always wanted to be an archaeologist/treasure hunter as a kid growing up watching TV specials on things like the Maya in the Yucatan and the Spanish galleons. Then in 2003 or so Mel Fisher's Treasures opened a retail store in Las Vegas. Stumbled upon the store, not really knowing the story of the Fishers. I was HOOKED IMMEDIATELY and knew that someday I wanted to be diving for gold and silver off the Florida coast. I looked into switching my major from a dual Biology/Spanish major to Maritime Studies at UWF. But I got married the next year to a beautiful girl I had met in Mexico City while studying abroad and the dream faded away as the reality of married life set in. I never stopped being an armchair treasure diver though! Reading every book I could find, using my skills as a Supreme Court Certified Spanish interpreter/translator to do my own "research" on certain wrecks all over the world.
Anyways... So here I am! I'm selling almost everything I have here in San Diego, CA and getting ready to move to Florida to get established with a job and an apartment before the January semester begins at UWF. What I haven't decided yet is where I'm going to live. The BA program can be completed online or at the brick and mortar school in Pensacola (either way there is still a shipwreck archaeology field course during the Summer). Tuition is also a LOT cheaper for the online program for obvious reasons.
The only thing keeping me from making the decision to move directly to Pensacola is the enticing idea of moving to the "Treasure Coast" instead and doing the UWF program online and that way I can spend all my extra time hunting on the beaches and in the water (I'm not PADI certified yet but will be soon. I am an avid snorkeler though and I love free diving).
Does anyone have any advice for a newcomer who is ready to dive into this hobby and make a career out of it? By the way, I have no desire to use my degree to eventually work for the government. I want to be a treasure hunter and possibly work for Odyssey or the Mel Fisher company or some other treasure salvage company someday. Maybe even start my own company!
Any comments, advice, suggestions are welcome and much appreciated!
Jake
Anyways... So here I am! I'm selling almost everything I have here in San Diego, CA and getting ready to move to Florida to get established with a job and an apartment before the January semester begins at UWF. What I haven't decided yet is where I'm going to live. The BA program can be completed online or at the brick and mortar school in Pensacola (either way there is still a shipwreck archaeology field course during the Summer). Tuition is also a LOT cheaper for the online program for obvious reasons.
The only thing keeping me from making the decision to move directly to Pensacola is the enticing idea of moving to the "Treasure Coast" instead and doing the UWF program online and that way I can spend all my extra time hunting on the beaches and in the water (I'm not PADI certified yet but will be soon. I am an avid snorkeler though and I love free diving).
Does anyone have any advice for a newcomer who is ready to dive into this hobby and make a career out of it? By the way, I have no desire to use my degree to eventually work for the government. I want to be a treasure hunter and possibly work for Odyssey or the Mel Fisher company or some other treasure salvage company someday. Maybe even start my own company!
Any comments, advice, suggestions are welcome and much appreciated!
Jake
![:-\](https://www.treasurenet.com/smilies/undecided.gif "Undecided :-\")
. If you're ultimately looking to being the on hand Archie for treasure salvage, then I suspect the suggestions for Mel Fisher's program are your best bet.
Not necessarily as an "archaeologist". This just seems like a great way for a newbie from the west coast with no experience to get into the field! I would much rather prefer to be able to just jump right into a working salvage operation, but with no experience and no money to invest that just 'aint gonna happen! So the plan is to let Uncle Sam pay for me to finish my degree in Maritime Studies at UWF and turn me into a marketable asset over the next year and a half so that my chances of landing a job as part of the crew of a working salvage operation are increased. 
All I need is a place to sleep, internet access, 1 or 2 meals a day and a reason to get out of bed every morning and into the water and I'm set! If anyone needs a crew member and has a boat that can accommodate at least 1 person in a comfortable live-aboard type situation (read: stove, toilet, sink and shower), I'd be willing to work for even less as far as wages go. I'm mechanically inclined, speak 100% fluent Spanish, read and write basic Arabic, grew up in a family that had boats and used them my whole childhood and adolescence, I'm a professional Spanish translator and former translation business owner, I was finishing a degree in Emergency Management and Spanish before I switched to Maritime Studies, I've worked 10+ years in the legal field, attended 1 semester of medical school and have basic medical training (sutures, first aid, etc.). My friends call me "Jake of all trades" lol. I think I'd be able to pull my weight and be a good addition to any Florida salvage endeavor. If anyone needs a drug/alcohol free crewmember with no loose ends or drama, I'm your man.
, kinda like how the CIA trained the Mujahideen in Afghanistan in the 80's only to be fighting them 20-30 years later as the Taliban and Al Qaeda... but I digress.
