Best way to become a professional diver

[coooliiin]

Hello everyone!

I recently got my SSI open water certificate in Vietnam and as crazy as it sounds I’ve really been thinking about becoming a professional diver.

I’m 27, from Belgium and travelling around the world. I’ve been fascinated by diving and the ocean since I was a kid and only got the opportunity to dive 2 month ago. But I would love to make a career out of it and be able to travel and work in many different places.

So my questions are:

- Can I get directly from the open water certificate to the level of instructor? Do I need first to reach dive master or any other degree?
- Which company is the best? I’ve heard that PADI is the most popular so I may be able to find work easily, but the price for the certificate is more expensive.
- What kind of price should I expect to pay? I have no time limit neither a preferred location
- Can you recommend a school / teacher / club where I could find the best ratio between quality of lessons and cheap price, again, any location in the world is ok for me.

I speak both English and French.

Any help is welcome. I thank you in advance for your answers.

Cheers,

Colin

 

[supergaijin]

Your question asks for "the best way". This is by spending at least 50hrs underwater before you start thinking about getting more certifications such as 'PADI Divemaster' or SSI's version of 'Dive Con'.

PADI is the biggest agency- that soesn't necessarily make it the best. However as it controls such a large proportion of the market share, PADI is still the best choice IMO for people wanting to work in this industry.

'Quality' and 'cheap' do not belong in the same sentence.

Count on dropping approx US$4000 on certifications and materials on your road to 'instructor'. Diving equipment is cheap in comparsion. Then factor in accomodation and living costs while doing the training.

If you do it all at the same time in the same divecenter, you will save money, but, and it's a big 'BUT', you will be just one more of a long line of instructors sometimes referred to as 'POT's: Product of Thailand. Real diving experience is often lacking which doesn't make you attractive as a potential employee.

As a beginner diver, just dive. Dive and then dive some more. Don't fall in to the trap of 'doing Thailand' (or Vietnam as the case may be). Get to Australia and put 20 dives under your belt, then do the same in NZ. Then head to Egypt, then dive in the Med or get some lake experience- hey why not come over this way? Dive for the next few years, and then you'll be better off in terms of making an informed decision whether it's worth dropping $4K (conservative) on courses.

FYI, 2012 saw the highest number of newly certified instructors in SE Asia. This broke the record for 2011, which in turn was higher than 2010.

Finally, if you really, really want 'quality' instruction, go somewhere dark and cold. In these kind of places, the instruction must be of a high quality or accidents will happen repeatedly. Cold, dark water usually make for better divers.

Best of luck

 

[tstormdiver]

This is likely what you do not want to hear. I certainly understand your excitement of the sport, it is a fantastic, intriguing & enjoyable sport! But step back & think for just a minute,... Would you want someone with only the bare bones minimum requirements teaching a loved one the important survival skills you need for the sport? I am not suggesting that it is not achievable,... What I am suggesting is to get as much diving experience in as many different environments that you can (warm water, cold water, still water, currents, surge, clear water, murky water, day diving, night diving,.....). The more you have in your "instructor tool box", when you get there, the better prepared you will be able to pass on quality instruction to your future students. You say you are committed to quality,... the only way to get it is to pay your dues & then some. Like I said, probably not what you want to hear.

- Can I get directly from the open water certificate to the level of instructor? Do I need first to reach dive master or any other degree?

There are slight differences between agencies, but most, you must have certain prerequisite courses before you begin your professional training. Then you must go through Dive Master, Assistant Instructor, then to instructor. Depending on the program you go through, it may be short or longer to give you experience. I would highly suggest against 0- Hero programs, as they only get you through the bare minimums. Is that what you really want? Become an asset to your future students.

- Which company is the best? I’ve heard that PADI is the most popular so I may be able to find work easily, but the price for the certificate is more expensive.

I like what was said above. Bigger is not necessarily better, better chances, but not necessarily quality. Look for mentors that want you to improve. Look for the individual, not the agency.

- What kind of price should I expect to pay? I have no time limit neither a preferred location

I took my time over several years, so it can change. I can not honestly answer this.

- Can you recommend a school / teacher / club where I could find the best ratio between quality of lessons and cheap price, again, any location in the world is ok for me.

I really like what was said above cheap & quality mixes about as well as oil & water. When things are cheaper, corners are usually cut, thus less quality. The industry has more than enough instructors with questionable quality. Be one that stands out,... but that takes work &.... time. Give your students the same level of instruction that you would want your loved ones to have.

I speak both English and French.

Any help is welcome. I thank you in advance for your answers.

Cheers,

Colin

Multiple languages are certainly a plus, but do try to pick up other skills on your way to make yourself more employable, like being able to work mechanically on boats, captaining, regulator & equipment repair, gas mixing, sales,.... there's so much more to the diving industry than just instruction.

You asked the "best way",... speedy & cheap typically are not the best way, they are only the quick & cheap way,... & not usually the way of the best quality.

Good luck to you in your endeavors!:blinking:

 

[diveprof]

I agree with the posts thus far. Cheap and fast is not the best way to go. Also, what are your goals? Way too often I see newer divers rushing up the professional diving career ladder only to be greatly disappointed at the end when they learn that it is difficult to make a living as a fulltime scuba instructor. Is your goal to just have fun and bum around the islands a bit or are you focused on making serious money? If the latter, then you are in the wrong career path. It is quite difficult to make a good living as a full time scuba instructor. In the right locations you can make enough to barely get by on, but it is not usually financially rewarding unless you are a charter or shop owner (even then it can be a challenge). I read somewhere that the average length of time that an instructor remains in teaching status is about 5 years. All that said, some do find it a fun thing to do for a few years. For people looking at this as a serious career path, I would encourage them to look at this as a part-time employment and not give up the day job until they have been at it a while. Basically, if your goal is to earn a living and make money - this is the wrong profession. You would be best served by selecting a more rewarding career path and using the money you make to enjoy some of the exotic dive travel.

 

[261311]

I think my careers mantra applies to any type of training as well.

You may want to get a good amount of dives under your belt before you decide you want to climb a progression ladder and pour large sums of money into it. You've got your whole life ahead of you and it's quite easy to become an instructor in the next 10 years. Just get used to the water and have a bit of fun first. If you want to work your way there while not becoming professional get to a rescue diver level, that will help you keep others alive in the water which is never a bad thing. That way you're a decent way through certifications if you choose to continue, and if not you have a good sum of skills that any diver can use

 

[coooliiin]

Wow, thanks a lot to all of you for the quality of your answers.

Yeah, of course, at some point, I kinda expected some easier way to reach the pro level. But still, you are all right, rushing is not the best option for my safety or the safety of my students. I understand this point. And also, I understand the “POT” concept and of course I would like to provide the best service to potential customers.

I think I didn’t express myself well when I said “good and cheap” I would have said : best ratio between the price and the quality of service. But since it seems preferable not to do all my training in one place, this doesn’t really apply.

I talked with some diving clubs owners in Vietnam, all from Europe, and since my goal is to travel around the world for several years (and the money I saved before my trip is not infinite), they highly suggested me to work as a pro diver to continue traveling. As they said to me, it’s a good way to travel and not to spend much money. Despite what I said, I don’t intend to make career over a life time, but I thought this could really be a job I would like to do for a few years. But as you all say, at first it’s preferable to make as many dives as I can before considering the pro training. So I need to think if it’s a good investment for me to pay a quite large amount of money over the years to end up pro or not at all…

In any way and again, I thank you very much for your advices. Good luck to all.


Colin

 

[supergaijin]

I talked with some diving clubs owners in Vietnam, all from Europe, and since my goal is to travel around the world for several years (and the money I saved before my trip is not infinite), they highly suggested me to work as a pro diver to continue traveling. As they said to me, it’s a good way to travel and not to spend much money.

It's a catch 22. In order to 'continue traveling without spending money', you have to spend a fair amount of money. As a foreign traveler, you can travel often... as long as you have a job to return to. The difference is that as a diver, we end up staying in a certain place for longer periods of time. We may change location once or twice a year- any more and you'll lose money because your salary is so low. You get a cheap pad to sleep in, eat locally and guests may shout you a beer from time to time. Probably the biggest money saver though is you stop spending all your disposable income on crap like the latest iphone (main reason is you have very little disposable income as a diver).

Despite what I said, I don’t intend to make career over a life time, but I thought this could really be a job I would like to do for a few years. But as you all say, at first it’s preferable to make as many dives as I can before considering the pro training. So I need to think if it’s a good investment for me to pay a quite large amount of money over the years to end up pro or not at all…

As you say, it's good to take some time and dive before making the leap to instructor. Remember that instructors don't actually 'dive' that often. Some are basically 'pool instructors' or instructors in an endless loop of DSD-OW, with the occasional AOW thrown in. To enjoy being a diving instructor, you really have to enjoy 'instructing' for its own sake.

 

[spc751]

I have met a lot of instructors in resorts that were traveling around the world working as dive guides and instructors. It seems to be very common. This last January I was in Riveria Maya, Mexico and met instructors from; Mexico, Spain, France, UK, Sweden and several other countries working in the same dive shop.

Check out Dressel Divers. They have a program where you work for them as a slave (internship) for six months then get Dive Master or Instructor training for free. They also provide you with room and board and at least one dive a day for experience. Everyone I talked to that was doing it were very happy.

PADI Dive Instructor Internship & Diving College!

 

[DevonDiver]

Can you become an instructor quickly? Yes.

Can you become a good instructor quickly? No.

Minimum instructor requirements...100 dives and a few fast-track courses... can be done in a matter of months. Just think what you'll have to offer an employer (and customers!) in terms of experience, breadth of knowledge and expertise. Probably zero huh?

Would you be content to 'lead' divers who had more experience and expertise than yourself? Would you think to earn those divers respect?

 

[261311]

Can you become an instructor quickly? Yes.

Can you become a good instructor quickly? No.

Minimum instructor requirements...100 dives and a few fast-track courses... can be done in a matter of months. Just think what you'll have to offer an employer (and customers!) in terms of experience, breadth of knowledge and expertise. Probably zero huh?

Would you be content to 'lead' divers who had more experience and expertise than yourself? Would you think to earn those divers respect?

I've actually stayed away from a dive shop because their master instructor started diving in spring 2012 o.0 I have a good friend who has been diving for 12 years who is OW certified and I'd trust him more. The final seller that made me run as well was the fact I couldn't even contact them but by email. No phone or address, what?