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

[Centrals]

Meeting people while traveling won’t make you their confidante. Putting on a happy face is part of the business.

If the OP is going to pull the trigger, there should be a “get the hell out of dodge” funds (a minimum balance) that never gets touched unless they are going to get the hell out of dodge. If they need those funds to continue, they use it to get home.

Your own personal opinion.

No one will ever fulfill one's dream if never tried. Nothing is guaranteed. But one thing is certain, if you never tried you will never know. Failure or successful? Crystal ball?

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

No one will ever fulfill one's dream if never tried. Nothing is guaranteed. But one thing is certain, if you never tried you will never know. Failure or successful? Crystal ball?

True, but hence the get out of dodge fund. Once your funds hits that magic number, you tried, but it didn't work out. Now if your funds never hit that number, all good.

I'm not saying don't do it. I'm saying don't get trapped as all the full time, tropical location instructors I know have horror stories.

Be careful out there is all I'm saying.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Meeting people while traveling won’t make you their confidante. Putting on a happy face is part of the business.

If the OP is going to pull the trigger, there should be a “get the hell out of dodge” funds (a minimum balance) that never gets touched unless they are going to get the hell out of dodge. If they need those funds to continue, they use it to get home.

Even when travelling on vacation with the family I always keep the "I just stabbed a guy in a bar! We need to leave now." cash on hand.

I think what everyone is saying here is that a dive career is a lifestyle and that it comes with the job.

Always remember, though, millions of our ancestors came here with less in their pockets than you have right now. Most of them survived.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Even when travelling on vacation with the family I always keep the "I just stabbed a guy in a bar! We need to leave now." cash on hand.

I think what everyone is saying here is that a dive career is a lifestyle and that it comes with the job.

Always remember, though, millions of our ancestors came here with less in their pockets than you have right now. Most of them survived.

Well, my father came over with a PhD in electrical engineering/physics, so he was kinda set when he brought the family over.

The real problem with your analogy is that immigrants have multiple options of the kind of work that they can do. Sure, migrants without papers are easily exploitable (), but people with paperwork that have gone to immigrant countries (US, Canada, Australia) are rather difficult to exploit at the same level as dive pros.

Sure, it is a lifestyle, I'm not arguing that. It is just best to go with open eyes. I'd advice the OP to befriend as many dive pros as possible on FB and get some good advice in order to be properly prepared. Not all dive centers are horrible. There are many great ones who treat their people really well. But there are ones that don't. Agencies won't get involved. Local authorities won't either.

Again, have the get out of dodge funds just in case.

 

[Centrals]

Well, my father came over with a PhD in electrical engineering/physics, so he was kinda set when he brought the family over.

The real problem with your analogy is that immigrants have multiple options of the kind of work that they can do. Sure, migrants without papers are easily exploitable (), but people with paperwork that have gone to immigrant countries (US, Canada, Australia) are rather difficult to exploit at the same level as dive pros.

Sure, it is a lifestyle, I'm not arguing that. It is just best to go with open eyes. I'd advice the OP to befriend as many dive pros as possible on FB and get some good advice in order to be properly prepared. Not all dive centers are horrible. There are many great ones who treat their people really well. But there are ones that don't. Agencies won't get involved. Local authorities won't either.

Again, have the get out of dodge funds just in case.

You were those minority that was born with a silver spoon in your mouth!!!
What was the option available to those who boarded "Mayflower"?
As for the immigrants with or without paper, you need not worry for them. It is none your or mine business. Their OWN choice.
You should ask those from Honduras etc who are stuck across in Mexcio.

I am pretty sure you have never travelled to any foreign countries NOT packaged.

 

[Centrals]

Always remember, though, millions of our ancestors came here with less in their pockets than you have right now. Most of them survived.

Not just in USA, happened everywhere.
But to those who was born with a silver spoon in the mouth, reality has no meaning to them.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

You were those minority that was born with a silver spoon in your mouth!!!

Actually, my parents were rather poor when they were married. My father just had a good education. My father was very good at investments and my parents were quite frugal. However, I did grow up priviledged with having my university degree paid for. I will concede that. One of my roommates who did come from a wealthy family had to pay for his own university, worked incredibly hard, and I have the utmost respect for the guy. Mind you, this was back in the 90s before the cost of living and tuition really shot up.

What was the option available to those who boarded "Mayflower"?

You obviously don't understand American history.

As for the immigrants with or without paper, you need not worry for them. It is none your or mine business. Their OWN choice.

Not quite. As a decent human being that has done a lot of volunteer work internationally and domestically, I actually do care about the conditions from which they are escaping and why those conditions exist.

I am pretty sure you have never travelled to any foreign countries NOT packaged.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, when I joined a medical team in Northwest Tanzania (I actually did ride a banana boat across Lake Victoria), it was packaged tour?

Or when I spent time in an orphanage in Guatemala, that was a packaged tour?

Well, I'll be d@mned! LOL

You shouldn't make such assumptions as you do make yourself look foolish.

Now pleasure trips, oh in the 20 odd times I've been to Greece, I have rented cars and driven all over the country, hopped on boats and been all over the islands. Dominican Republic? Oh that made the driving in Greece look easy!

Never a packaged tour anywhere ever.

But thanks for playing!

 

[EFX]

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, ........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.

OK. Here's my cynical opinion on the DM work............
You say a few years. It's more like a few weeks. I'm not a DM but I've been on plenty of charters and talked to enough DM's and captains to get a feel for the work. Think of morning and afternoon boat charters of 10 divers each. So, let's break it down. You get to the shop early in the morning and load the truck and then the boat with 20 tanks. You do the two dives in the morning. Back in port you carry 20 tanks to the truck and you unload them at the dive shop. You eat lunch and discuss all the bad things that happened (see the quote above). You then load the truck up with 20 full tanks and load them onto the boat. You do two more dives. You load the 20 empty tanks back on the truck, carry them into the shop. Now you are not done yet. You may have to fill some of those tanks to get them ready for the next day. And let's not forget the paper work. You are going to do this five or six days a week. You may have some help from other DM's working with the shop.

It is glamorous for maybe two weeks but I see the job quickly losing it's appeal. You will probably want to get instructor certified ASAP, if the shop has a need for another instructor. Then, you can escape, maybe, most of the grunt work. Others have mentioned low pay but you get to do a lot of diving for free! You may even get a discount on equipment but how much equipment do you really need. Make sure you talk to the shop to find out what is expected of you.

filling a metric ass load of tanks after classes and dives, ....

In the water you are a Divemaster. Out of the water you become a Tankmaster. Get big bottles of ibuprofen. I say all this not to discourage you. I applaud you for chasing your dream. I hope you are successful. I really do. I'm just trying to keep it real.

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

How true. Great line!

 

[BoltSnap]

You were those minority that was born with a silver spoon in your mouth!!!

It was chrome plated brass, that's why he is a diver today.

 

[Centrals]

It was chrome plated brass, that's why he is a diver today.

Better than those who was born with nothing!!!