Divemaster/Instructor internships/courses etc.

[Manta Dave]

Hi, I am considering doing my DM and pursuing a career in diving, and am perplexed by the options available - seemingly from 4day courses to 4month courses, with the costs varying seemingly the same, and a list of 'extras' - padi fes, equipment etc. which are sometimes mentioned, also some courses 'include' full set of gear (include, but you're effectively paying for them) whereas some require that you have a 'presentable/good looking' set of gear...

Ideally I'd be doing it somewhere nice (read:hot, cheap,friendly) where the cost of living isn't too high, and doing an internship-type course whereby I'd stand a good chance of getting a job in said nice place afterwards (paying enough to get by) where I'm not going to be paid a pound an hour to work 24/7 with little diving included!

just hoping for some advice on this - hopefully by someone who has done it before!

[Rod]

[quote=Manta Dave]

Ideally I'd be doing it somewhere nice (read:hot, cheap,friendly) where the cost of living isn't too high, and doing an internship-type course whereby I'd stand a good chance of getting a job in said nice place afterwards (paying enough to get by) where I'm not going to be paid a pound an hour to work 24/7 with little diving included!

QUOTE]

Hmmm
Firstly a pound an hour is rather a high wage as an Instructor. You normally get around $500 per month which works out at about $15 a day for a 10-12 hour day.
Secondly I would recommend you do an internship rather than a course.
Thirdly I would strongly recommend you have all your own kit rather than hire/borrow.
If you need to worry about the various costs involved then you can not afford it !!

[Manta Dave]

the costs point is true, however i can save up to get enough for my gear and to get me started - wasnt meaning literal on the wage point, just saying ideally i would like to get enough to live off (it must be possible right)

[Rod]

Originally Posted by Manta Dave

the costs point is true, however i can save up to get enough for my gear and to get me started - wasnt meaning literal on the wage point, just saying ideally i would like to get enough to live off (it must be possible right)

Dave,

I have just sent you a PM have a good read of it. You may find it a little depressing.

Rod

[NotDeadYet]

Be careful with internship options, many places use them as free labour. A few of the centres I saw in Thailand were doing exactly this. Then when they got the DM cert it was the usual unpaid but free diving line... free as long as you were guiding customers...

I was talking to a guy out there who booked it through a gap year travel company and got all training, books, accom, etc, up to DM for pretty much peanuts. Might be worth a look.

[Fiona]

You don't say what level you are at the moment.

[Benjiballs]

I'm crossing over to DM from BSAC Dive Leader. I'm doing a kind of half course, half internship, whereby I pay less and take part in instruction of OW and AOW courses, plus various spercialist courses (especially dry suit). Saying that, if I had the option of doing a pure internship (ie. money, no job, no girlfriend) then I'd probably go for it.

I don't know how many dives you've done, but I'd be wary of falling into the mindset that some new divers succumb to...thinking that dive instructors have the best job in the world and that it's easy.

Instructing is hard (be you a Dive Master, Instructor, whatever). The DM role particualrly can be used as a total dogs body, which is fine in itself as long as you accept that the workign day will be long, the money (if any) will be low and the boredom factor of diving the same 10 sites over and over will, eventually set in (this is where getting in with the right school in the right location. Vanuatu or somewhere would eb great)

One other point, DM work can be great, sometimes better than instructnig as DMs are often used to guide, with the Instructors doing the instruction (obviously). Depending on where you're based,this could mean doing lots of diving, guiding relatively experienced divers and actually havnig good fun, rather than insutructing an endless stream of OW and AOW divers (not a bad thing in itself but after months it gets monotonous)