By: Jeromy Parmar, 2025 FL HTC Intern
Jeromy Parmar: What’s your position here at COMIT?
Jacob Stock: I am a hydrographic surveyor here at COMIT where I wear a lot of hats. I do our hydrographic surveys, but I also work with outfitting our vessels, and training grad students and interns. I do a lot of little things too, that you wouldn't even think of. I can hopefully get to the point where I’m doing and publishing my own research as well.
JP: What was your background before this?
IMAGE ABOVE: Jacob Stock, COMIT hydrographic surveyor, discusses his career path which started in the Navy.
JS: Coming out of high school, I joined the Navy where I was a sonar technician on a destroyer. I put data collection packages on different platforms. We did a lot of ray tracing and sound propagation within the water column.
After doing that for six years I got out and realized I could get paid for it outside of the military. I switched to the College of Charleston Benthic and Acoustic Mapping program, and I got a four-year degree there. That’s when I ended up meeting Matt Hommeyer, and he offered me this position. I also do contract work on the side, so some ocean exploration, mainly through the Ocean Exploration Trust, and on the Nautilus.
JP: What drew you towards this field?
JS: I think travel. That's how I got to go to Japan for a few years. But even after the military, I traveled a lot for conferences. I’ve traveled for contracting gigs to Hawaii, American Samoa, the Solomon Islands, and even just around the state. I hate being behind a desk all the time, but I also don't want to be gone all the time and never see my family, so it's a balancing act.
JP: Did you make any particular choice that set you up for success?
JS: A lot of people tell you that you need to find your passion, but in reality, you really create your passion. If you told me when I was just going into college or right before I was in the Navy that I was going to be working here - I would have never guessed.
But I got passionate about something that I was good at. I took ownership of something, I worked towards a goal, and I became good, and I started to enjoy my own career and cultivate my own passions.
My advice is to take advantage of things, even if you just have a slight interest, go out and try them. And don't feel like you need to have this perfect job or this perfect position. You find that you take a little bit out of each of these, and you'll slowly make your own passion and something that you really want to do with your life.
JP: What’s the best advice you have for someone looking to get into this field?
JS: I would say getting into a good program that has not just the knowledge base, but also the connections, more than anything. A lot of our industry is so small, and you really must know people. Most of my jobs I got were through connections I made at conferences or through the program I was in at Charleston. Meet as many people as you can and build out your own network.