Best Places in the World for Dive Master & Instructor Training?

[boat sju]

Maybe keep your day jobs but move someplace with more diving opportunities. Keys, USVI, Puerto Rico, etc.

 

[Scared Silly]

Honestly, right now, we want to get our DMs so that we can travel the world through diving over the next year and use our DM as a way to do trade for accommodations or work so that we can continue traveling.

You will find that there is really little basis in reality for being able to do that. Dive ops do not want hire someone for a few months. There exceptions but the operator will need to know them beforehand and they will need to have some real experience.

In the long term future, after doing many dives and working in the industry for some time, we are considering living somewhere that would allow us to open up a dive shop so that we can take tourists on dives and teach others to get their own dive certifications.

I would suggest you talk with owners of dive operations and what it takes to run one.

We understand that the dive industry does not make one rich, and we are already frugal people. We just want to live life doing something that we love, and that provides us with new opportunities to travel the world.

In all seriousness get a job that allows you to travel the world. Working in the dive industry is not it. It is good to have dreams but there needs to be some reality.

 

[DogDiver]

Don’t quit your day job unless your indecently wealthy. You’ll never get rich as a dive instructor.

 

[Centrals]

I can think of one place, Koh Tao in Thailand, where they can train you from OW to Instructor in no time at all. However, the tough entry requirement to the Kingdom meant most operators are closed.
Some of them can even offer you instructing job afterward but definitely not at the moment. Cost of living is pretty low there if compared with USA but so are the income.
Free lance instructing is illegal in every country in SE Asia.

Really need a reality check.

 

[ofg-1]

Right now, for you, diving is neat and shiny. After a few years of having to teach the same mask clearing, having the same people that can't assemble gear, having your students bazooka barf all over you and the boat on checkout dives, cleaning up the head after them, filling a metric ass load of tanks after classes and dives, catering to a bunch of condescending wealthy tourists, hurricanes, people that can remember their beer but forget their booties, students with too much weight, students with too little weight, and all of this happening in almost any given week, diving will be a little less neat and shiny.

Remember, diving is a place where you can spend thousands to make hundreds.

 

[Pressurehead]

Just "Report" your post and they will take care of it

Thanks, did that.
Sent the OP a message on 'my take' on the subject, too long winded to post here.
Sent you a copy, have a read.

 

[Centrals]

When the country is open and tourists are flocking in then:

Scuba Junkie Komodo - Out of this world diving in Komodo National Park
Great place for diving and dm training.
They have other places as well.

 

[Graeme Fraser]

In addition to dive skills do either of you speak anything other than English? That would open up a wider customer base.

This is great advice. A significant percentage of the dive pro jobs advertised list either bi, or preferably multi, languages as a prerequisite.

Also, in addition to dive related qualifications (boat handler, mechanic, equipment servicing), other skills like marketing and social media, may make your application stand out. I notice from your profile you're a hair stylist. Even though seemingly unrelated, such a transferrable skill may also get your foot in the door.

Others have offered a pretty accurate dose of realism on the dive pro profession which, to be honest, is hard to argue with. However there are plenty of examples of people making a real go of it. Hard work, determination and charisma are needed to turn a pipe dream into a lifestyle career.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[JoJoS]

Get some diving experience behind you first!! There's a 'thing' in the diving industry "affectionately" known as ZERO TO HERO. Its not a good thing, and this what you're thinking of doing. There's a stigma attached to it - especially here in the UK.

If you did your OW last year that indicates that you've done no diving since, due to covid 19. GO DIVING!! Gain the experience first, don't just jump straight into the deep end! By all means take your AOW and specialty courses in different countries and get the experience via different experiences/environments etc but don't go straight into being a pro.

I would at least leave it 12-18 months until you have plenty of experience AND all of your YOUR OWN kit. Then enquire somewhere about doing DM & instructor. And, do the DM course properly - chose a dive centre that do it over a period of time (months) rather than a matter of weeks.

I help run a dive centre in the UK and can tell you now that we no longer take people on who have done their training your way - OW, AOW, Rescue, EFR then straight onto Pro. Especially if they've done it in a short period of time and overseas. Unfortunately, we've now learnt our lesson! These divers tend to be inexperienced, unreliable and have no confidence with what they're doing. We end up spending our free time getting them to the level they should be at! And their training level and abilities show which doesn't come across well to the students.

I'm not saying don't do it. Just gain your experience first. You won't make much money out of it as a career, not even if you have your own centre!
Enjoy it while you can because believe me, it can turn into a chore rather than an enjoyable hobby quite quickly.

 

[Centrals]

Zero to hero!
There are plenty of them around unfortunately.
Watching them taught was a nightmare but diving with them was even worst!!! Simply could not handle current at all and I am not talking the up or down one!