Hello from the UK!

[LivR95]

Hi there,

My name is Liv and I’m 26 and from London! I qualified as an open water diver in Ko Tao in 2017, and went on to get my advanced qualification in Sri Lanka later that year. I have since been diving in Crete, Rhodes and Croatia.

I am really interested in getting my divemaster later this year/early 2023, but want to make sure I go somewhere that could then lead to employment opportunities. I’m happy to pay for the divemaster and ‘do it properly’ instead of a free internship if I then have a good chance of making up the money with work.

How likely is it to get guaranteed work with a divemaster qualification as a newbie in somewhere like Australia?

I have 15 dives under my belt at the moment, and would like to do something like a liveaboard this year to get my number of dives/experience levels up. Does anyone have any good recommendations? I have struggled a bit with sea sickness in the past, but tablets tend to sort it out.

This all feels a bit new and daunting, so any advice on how to approach this would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance and lovely to meet you all!

Liv x

 

[drrich2]

Welcome to ScubaBoard, Liv. I'm not in your region, and thinks may differ a bit, so take this with a grain of salt. In the southeastern U.S. and greater Caribbean region:

1.) While people often refer to dive guides as 'dive masters,' even though many have recreational dive instructor credentials. This is useful since the person can then teach courses for the dive operator, in addition to leading dives.

2.) It's my understanding scuba instructors for whom that's their main job, rather than just a side job, often find it to be not highly paid. It might be good for awhile, but if you see yourself as someday married with a kid, and care to settle into some sort of long-term career, something to think about. Again, you are in a distant place (the U.K.) and looking at another (Australia), so things may be different there.

From what I've read before, people in your region often travel to the Red Sea for diving, and live-aboard diving is popular there.

I don't see many reports on the diving in Sri Lanka, Crete, Croatia or Rhodes. I hope you'll post some trip reports!

 

[Marie13]

Hi there,

My name is Liv and I’m 26 and from London! I qualified as an open water diver in Ko Tao in 2017, and went on to get my advanced qualification in Sri Lanka later that year. I have since been diving in Crete, Rhodes and Croatia.

I am really interested in getting my divemaster later this year/early 2023, but want to make sure I go somewhere that could then lead to employment opportunities. I’m happy to pay for the divemaster and ‘do it properly’ instead of a free internship if I then have a good chance of making up the money with work.

How likely is it to get guaranteed work with a divemaster qualification as a newbie in somewhere like Australia?

I have 15 dives under my belt at the moment, and would like to do something like a liveaboard this year to get my number of dives/experience levels up. Does anyone have any good recommendations? I have struggled a bit with sea sickness in the past, but tablets tend to sort it out.

This all feels a bit new and daunting, so any advice on how to approach this would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance and lovely to meet you all!

Liv x

You have 15 dives. You need a whole lot more experience. Get a lot of diving in. From reading online, Australia may be rather strict with work permits for those not Australians.

I’m a cold water Great Lakes diver (and be at cave diver) and we don’t do DMs, but I sure would be dismayed to find out the DM had very few dives and very little experience.

 

[LivR95]

You have 15 dives. You need a whole lot more experience. Get a lot of diving in. From reading online, Australia may be rather strict with work permits for those not Australians.

I’m a cold water Great Lakes diver (and be at cave diver) and we don’t do DMs, but I sure would be dismayed to find out the DM had very few dives and very little experience.

I definitely want to get my dives up this year, which is why going for my divemaster is part of a longer term plan

 

[LivR95]

Welcome to ScubaBoard, Liv. I'm not in your region, and thinks may differ a bit, so take this with a grain of salt. In the southeastern U.S. and greater Caribbean region:

1.) While people often refer to dive guides as 'dive masters,' even though many have recreational dive instructor credentials. This is useful since the person can then teach courses for the dive operator, in addition to leading dives.

2.) It's my understanding scuba instructors for whom that's their main job, rather than just a side job, often find it to be not highly paid. It might be good for awhile, but if you see yourself as someday married with a kid, and care to settle into some sort of long-term career, something to think about. Again, you are in a distant place (the U.K.) and looking at another (Australia), so things may be different there.

From what I've read before, people in your region often travel to the Red Sea for diving, and live-aboard diving is popular there.

I don't see many reports on the diving in Sri Lanka, Crete, Croatia or Rhodes. I hope you'll post some trip reports!

Hi! Thanks for the reply. I’m planning on keeping an open mind on where a divemaster would take me. I have friends in Australia so am open to staying there beyond completing the divemaster.

Thanks for the Red Sea tip - could be a good option!

The diving is Sri Lanka was beautiful. Lots of marine life and wrecks - it’s definitely been one of my favourite places to dive so far!

 

[Marie13]

I definitely want to get my dives up this year, which is why going for my divemaster is part of a longer term plan

You should join the Girls that Scuba group on FB. Lots of young gals like yourself who want to run off somewhere warm and be a DM/instructor. Please tell me you at least have your own mask!

 

[LivR95]

You should join the Girls that Scuba group on FB. Lots of young gals like yourself who want to run off somewhere warm and be a DM/instructor. Please tell me you at least have your own mask!

Thanks for the tip! I’ll look it up now. And I do indeed!

 

[Marie13]

Thanks for the tip! I’ll look it up now. And I do indeed!

Hey, good for you! I can’t tell you how many gals on that group didn’t own any of their own gear, not even a mask, until they decided to go for DM, and then were in a tizzy about what to get.

 

[KenGordon]

Hi there,

My name is Liv and I’m 26 and from London! I qualified as an open water diver in Ko Tao in 2017, and went on to get my advanced qualification in Sri Lanka later that year. I have since been diving in Crete, Rhodes and Croatia.

I am really interested in getting my divemaster later this year/early 2023, but want to make sure I go somewhere that could then lead to employment opportunities. I’m happy to pay for the divemaster and ‘do it properly’ instead of a free internship if I then have a good chance of making up the money with work.

How likely is it to get guaranteed work with a divemaster qualification as a newbie in somewhere like Australia?

I have 15 dives under my belt at the moment, and would like to do something like a liveaboard this year to get my number of dives/experience levels up. Does anyone have any good recommendations? I have struggled a bit with sea sickness in the past, but tablets tend to sort it out.

This all feels a bit new and daunting, so any advice on how to approach this would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance and lovely to meet you all!

Liv x

To be blunt you are a complete beginner and probably have no real idea about many aspects of diving. Before contemplating getting work as a divers you ought to get proper experience, not endless courses.

Diver education is a bit of a pyramid scheme resulting in lots of apparently qualified “professionals“ chasing very few jobs.

If you want to get experience join a club Find a club or centre many run club trips to warm destinations which would more than double your dive count. my branch as one in May, though you’d most likely not be experienced enough by then and better to gain experience gradually for a few month first.

 

[noserider]

Liv - you have lots of options but get your dive count up first.

If I was you and young again, I would have a chat with London School of Diving and get your dry suit and rescue qualifications, then head to Malta for Egypt for a few weeks and get your dive count up. Then I would pop over to Thailand, Indo or the Philippines and or possibly all three and get your dive master / instructor sorted. Then pop down to Aus on the under 30's visa and do some more

Girls that scuba is supposed to be a great group