Become Professional in Thailand?

[Freesub]

Hello!

First, what do you guys mean that it is important "what the individual does after"? In your point of view, is there a big difference in doing DM & IDC, further instr certificates, working with the same center compared to keep changing center?

Moreover, I agree that it depends on the individual, but I believe there are some centers with higher standards than others! It depends on the "individuality" of the teacher, especially when getting pro, doesn't it?

I think that some centers have a better reputation, so when looking for a job in the area you have a better chance or can deal a higher wage ... any feedback on this?

Gazzahawks, any suggestion on diving center in Koh Tao?

Thanks once again!!!

 

[durian]

Hi Freesub,

Yes, you will find diving schools that provide training in exchange for working there. Here in Phuket it is hardly ever done (for which I am glad, because I am convinced you should seperate the two, and simply pay for your courses), but on Phi Phi and Koh Tao you will for sure find it.

Be careful with Koh Tao, quite some diving schools there don't do too good a job with their training, and that means a lot of other diving schools (here in Thailand and in a lot of other places as well) are very hesitant about hiring anyone who has done his training there.

On Koh Tao the whole life is about diving, on Phi Phi there is more than diving, so it depends on what you prefer. Also I think Koh Tao will be cheaper. Starting in May, which is the Month the weather changes at the Andaman Coast, the weather should be better in the Gulf.

I agree about Koh Tao, I have had 3 divers me about some rather dramatic short-cuts some schools took in Koh Tau.

I strongly recommend that you research the schools. In both my AOW and RESCUE course the school has me do extra days/dives before they would certify me. This school was Mermaids in Pattaya, Thailand. There are a lot of reputable schools-just don't focus on costs, focus on qualty. As a note,the schol I did it with did not charge me extra. But again, there are a lot of good schools but they are a few bad eggs so please contining doing the research.

 

[GoProHonduras]

Hello!!!

I am new at Scubaboard and I find it very interesting and useful. I have been reading few threads on Thailand and Asia in particular and already found lots of hints.

I am on AOWD and EFR certified diver and planning to go to Asia to become a professional in diving, in May 2005 ... I know a lot could change in a year time, but I am trying only to get opinions about Thailand and other places in Asia, in order to make the best choice in terms of costs and instructor experience.
So, could anyone let me know if it is possible to get to be pro by working (anything suits!!!!) in a diving center and not pay the courses (I am a certified accountant and speak fluently English, Italian, French and German)?

I am thinking about Thailand or Philippines.

Anyone could let me know, by living in one of those places for about 6 months, the monthly budget I should consider in terms of accomodation and food ...
Much appreciated if you could help ...
Greetings from sunny Switzerland.

Freesub

Freesub,

I'm just giving an opinion, so it's not fact or a standard, but I do agree with some of the other posters on this thread. It's not the location or dive centre that makes you a real professional but the 'mentor' that your trained by, so with that in mind when you're looking where to recieve your training the most important aspect, IMHO, is to find out who who will be giving you your professional training. I'm based in Central America and work for a PADI CDC running professional dive programs and overseeing all of our courses from OW to IDC, really the Instructor or staff that trains you is what you need to consider, the facility or location you seek may be world class but if the individual lacks 'the right attidude, skills and knowledge' then you'll only be partly trained as a dive professional.

I trained as a DM in Koh Tao and feel that this 'part' of the sum helped make me the professional I am but that is more to the Instructors and mentors that guided me through the professional part of becoming a dive pro. The fact that I now am part of this beautiful industry and work as a PADI Course Director training dive professionals is in part to the mentors that guided me.

If you need any specific questions answered then feel free to ask me.

Enjoy this beautiful lifestyle,
Andy

 

[DORSETBOY]

It's quite common for west coast (Phuket area) centres to knock koh tao and vice versa. funnily enough it's the same padi assessment teams that fly out from the usa to thailand to conduct the instructor exams. I did my IDC and IE through buddha view on koh tao, virtually a 100% first time pass rate, that CANT be fixed as the people whom examine you fly out from the usa to do the exam and have no connection to the local dive shop(s).

 

[DORSETBOY]

I agree about Koh Tao, I have had 3 divers me about some rather dramatic short-cuts some schools took in Koh Tau.

I strongly recommend that you research the schools. In both my AOW and RESCUE course the school has me do extra days/dives before they would certify me. This school was Mermaids in Pattaya, Thailand. There are a lot of reputable schools-just don't focus on costs, focus on qualty. As a note,the schol I did it with did not charge me extra. But again, there are a lot of good schools but they are a few bad eggs so please contining doing the research.

surely the only reason you would make someone do extra dives to pass a course is if they weren't making the grade. if they dont, then you dont need to make them do extra dives.

in what way do you mean short cut schools? what areas were they cutting out? if as you claim they were making short cuts have they been QA'd?!

 

[Freesub]

Freesub,

I'm just giving an opinion, so it's not fact or a standard, but I do agree with some of the other posters on this thread. It's not the location or dive centre that makes you a real professional but the 'mentor' that your trained by, so with that in mind when you're looking where to recieve your training the most important aspect, IMHO, is to find out who who will be giving you your professional training. I'm based in Central America and work for a PADI CDC running professional dive programs and overseeing all of our courses from OW to IDC, really the Instructor or staff that trains you is what you need to consider, the facility or location you seek may be world class but if the individual lacks 'the right attidude, skills and knowledge' then you'll only be partly trained as a dive professional.

I trained as a DM in Koh Tao and feel that this 'part' of the sum helped make me the professional I am but that is more to the Instructors and mentors that guided me through the professional part of becoming a dive pro. The fact that I now am part of this beautiful industry and work as a PADI Course Director training dive professionals is in part to the mentors that guided me.

If you need any specific questions answered then feel free to ask me.

Enjoy this beautiful lifestyle,
Andy

Hi Andy,
Thanks very much for your opinion on the subject, appreciated. I will consider your advices when choosing where to attend my DM & IDC. I think I might not even go for a package, in order to have better chance to change mentor from DM to IDC in case I won't feel ok.
Anyway I checked out a few diving center web sites and they seem very professional in their IDC trainig.

Is the mentor you trained with still in Koh Tao, or could you recommend anyone?
What is your opinion (relating to becoming a good professional) in having IDC done straight after DM compared to gaining experience a few months as DM before IDC?

It is particularly nice to read such positive words about the industry and the job you do ... I am sure I will enjoy it as well.

Ciao

 

[DeepBlueResort]

Hi

I agree with Andy it is really a choice of instructors, spend time looking for a person that you can get on well with and you feel would make a good mentor.

I am on the other side of the world and own an IDC center and i have an instructor working for me that did his Divemaster in Koh Tao, he is very good, he worked in Koh Tao for seven months as a divemaster and then came to us to do his IDC, his was a very good experience.

But i have spoken to him and the advice he gives to anyone is exactly what Andy has said above.

The Island we are on had a reputation for bad training a few years ago, now the training here is great with shops working together to improve the the quality all the time.

 

[durian]

surely the only reason you would make someone do extra dives to pass a course is if they weren't making the grade. if they dont, then you dont need to make them do extra dives.

in what way do you mean short cut schools? what areas were they cutting out? if as you claim they were making short cuts have they been QA'd?!

I did "Make the Grade" when those extra dives were added. Also that standard for making the grade may well be different for each school. On my RESCUE course I was often asked to do a skill or scenario more than once, eventhough I did it right the first time. The school wanted me to be confident and to do more than the bare minimal. Some schools/instructors may not ask for as much. One of my colleagues did the AOW and for multi-dives, he stated, that they just spent 10 minutes on a dives wheel and that was it. Also, for photography, he said, he was basically shown how to turn a camera on and off.

In my statements I just wanted to encourage the OP to do his research. I realize Koh Tau has some excellent schools/instructors as well as some places whose "grade" is rather easy to meet.

Again, you were exactly right in my case " I had to do the extra dives because I failed to "make the grade" the school/instructor set".

 

[DORSETBOY]

I did "Make the Grade" when those extra dives were added. Also that standard for making the grade may well be different for each school. On my RESCUE course I was often asked to do a skill or scenario more than once, eventhough I did it right the first time. The school wanted me to be confident and to do more than the bare minimal. Some schools/instructors may not ask for as much. One of my colleagues did the AOW and for multi-dives, he stated, that they just spent 10 minutes on a dives wheel and that was it. Also, for photography, he said, he was basically shown how to turn a camera on and off.

In my statements I just wanted to encourage the OP to do his research. I realize Koh Tau has some excellent schools/instructors as well as some places whose "grade" is rather easy to meet.

Again, you were exactly right in my case " I had to do the extra dives because I failed to "make the grade" the school/instructor set".

Hi Durian, my appologies as I just re-read my post and I realise it comes across as very patronising which wasn't my intention. Sounds like you had an excellent instructor, I agree it's deff good if an instructor goes beyond the minimum to help someone become a better diver. I was thinking from a business point of view though that as an instructor you are generally paid per student and if you are taking longer to get students through a course you cut back on your income. I you are teaching in the uk part time for example this may not matter but in thailand it's generally a full time job and you are likely to need to maximise your income.

 

[GoProHonduras]

Hi Andy,
Thanks very much for your opinion on the subject, appreciated. I will consider your advices when choosing where to attend my DM & IDC. I think I might not even go for a package, in order to have better chance to change mentor from DM to IDC in case I won't feel ok.
Anyway I checked out a few diving center web sites and they seem very professional in their IDC trainig.

Is the mentor you trained with still in Koh Tao, or could you recommend anyone?
What is your opinion (relating to becoming a good professional) in having IDC done straight after DM compared to gaining experience a few months as DM before IDC?

It is particularly nice to read such positive words about the industry and the job you do ... I am sure I will enjoy it as well.

Ciao

Freesub,

Thanks for the psoitive comments, it's always nice to have good feed back and as I'm sure you are aware there are a lot of professionals in this industry that do it for the lifestyle and rewards of teaching not just the business side.

Too be honest my mentor left Koh Tao after getting burnt out, unfortunately it can happen to the best of pro's, even more of a reason to carefully consider who will be giving you your training.

Now does working as a DM better prepare you for the IDC?!! That's a question that's sure to stir some debate, my opinion, it'll make you a better diver, more comfortable in the water, more logistically experienced and more confident with people. Now does it make you a better prepared Instructor? Well a lot of the advantages I just mentioned would seem, to benefit any dive professional, but remember the more time you work as a PADI Divemaster the less likely you will remeber a lot of the theoretical and practical training you received, therefore there is a good likelihood that you will forget a lot of the training and maybe pick up a few 'alternative' habits, not a bad thing but may set you back for the IDC. With that in mind if you decide to work as a DM for several months prior to taking the IDC, don't forget the training, revise the theory and assist on a lot of OW classes to keep in tocuh with the skills and standards, also assisting on a Rescue class from time to time will prepare you for the IDC.

As a professional who runs Instructor courses once a month it is amazing how many good Divemasters are out there that seem to let their training slip!

Go for it, after all evfen a bad day diving is better than a good day working!

Andy