While Spencer Grant’s friends are writing college freshman English papers, sitting in large lecture halls and cramming for tests in the library, he’ll be experiencing a very different kind of education – deep in the water. Grant, 18, is pursuing an unusual career path, that of a commercial diver.

In early September, he’ll begin a five-month program at Divers Academy International in Erial, New Jersey, which provides 720 hours of practical experience and classroom training.

“It’s very hands on, and there’s a lot to learn in a short amount of time,” said Grant, who recently graduated from Pelham High School. “I’m very excited about going.”

The curriculum of the academy’s deep-sea diving program covers a wide range, including study in performing offshore oil operations, hazardous waste operations and emergency response, underwater welding and cutting, and bridge inspections.

The school owns a spring-fed 32- acre quarry where students dive from a large barge.

“I’m going to be busy,” Grant said.

Grant, who enjoys scuba diving with an uncle off Salisbury Beach, became interested in the academy after seeing an advertisement for the school in a magazine. He and his mother, Ellen, toured the school last spring.

“The more I learned about it and was exposed to it, I knew it was something I really wanted to do,” he said.

As part of the school’s application process, Grant had to undergo medical tests and had X-rays taken throughout his body to prove he had no health problems that would restrict him from training. Students must be physically fit to undergo the program.

A career in commercial diving can be exciting and adventurous, and there is a variety of offshore and inland work that can be found after graduating, according to the school.

Academy graduates have gone on to build structures and maintain platforms for oil and gas companies, conduct repairs around radiation hotspots, fix bridges and piers, repair pipelines and perform other types of hazardous materials work, and done other duties.

“You could end up all over the world,” said his father, Michael. “It’s a gypsy life, somewhat.”

Ellen Grant said her son, who will graduate with several high-level certifications, is the type of person who wants to work outside, rather than be in a 9-to-5 job inside four walls. She admits that she’s nervous about him doing dangerous work deep in the water.

“It’s a very dangerous occupation,” she said. “But after going down and visiting the school, we found out they compromise nothing for safety.”

Like her husband, she fully supports her son’s decision to become a commercial diver. They know he’s following his passion.

“If he loves it and wants to continue in a career in it afterwards, we’re behind him a thousand percent,” she said.