Considering a career change

[kabluton]

I am considering changing careers and working in the dive industry as an instructor/divemaster in a Caribbean resort. I know that I will never get rich and that is not something I really care about anyway. I believe getting up and doing something you love every day is really what life is all about. I am 37 and currently in the IT field. I don't enjoy what I do anymore and really am tired of the rat race that is so prevalent in corporate America.

My question is for those of you who have done something similar. Are you still happy with your decision? What would you do differently?

 

[ScubaFreak]

I am considering changing careers and working in the dive industry as an instructor/divemaster in a Caribbean resort. I know that I will never get rich and that is not something I really care about anyway. I believe getting up and doing something you love every day is really what life is all about. I am 37 and currently in the IT field. I don't enjoy what I do anymore and really am tired of the rat race that is so prevalent in corporate America.

My question is for those of you who have done something similar. Are you still happy with your decision? What would you do differently?

I'm 10 years younger and I'm exactly the same as you kabluton
In the IT field, sick to death of it, and totally believe that I'd rather be waking up doing something I love instead of meeting other people goals and targets. So I say go for it 100%. You won't have any regrets at all. Once you realise that job satisfaction is more important than making a ton of money, thats the first hurdle crossed. I haven't given up to teach full time, but I am planning on doing something else that i've always loved, and once i'm in a position to leave my job, thats it!! I'm outta there faster than you can imagine!

I wish you the best of luck

Scubafreak

 

[TheDavil]

OK, I haven't done this exact thing, but I do have an anecdote to share. I'm a programmer for a large 'blue' company and have been tired of my job for years. Unfortunately, it pays the bills, I'm good at it, and I'm really not good at much else that pays money. But I digress. The anecdote:

Back in my college days I was casting about for a job. Not just any job would do, however. I wanted something that I enjoyed doing and that interested me. I was a steady customer of a pet store in my area. I love animals and thought that working at the pet store would be a great job that I would enjoy going to every day. They offered me a job and I jumped at it.

After three days of having to show up at 4AM and cleaning mass amounts of filthy cages while the animals were jumping up on me, I realized that the reality was not nearly as appealing as the idealistic version that I had pictured in my head. I quit and found a job at a video store. Now the only animals that I got to work with were irate customers that didn't think the rules applied to them, but on the other side of the coin, I didn't have giant loads of guano waiting for me each day when I walked in the door.

Anyhow, I don't have any experience working in the dive industry, but I have to assume that there are many aspects of DMing or instructing that would just plain suck. If I had to deal with people like me (and worse!) on a daily basis, clean the heads in dive boats, babysit, watch idiots breaking off coral for souvenirs, etc., etc., I think it might suck the fun right out of it for me. One thing that I've found in my adult life is that the easiest way to turn something you enjoy into something miserable is to do it for a living. Especially if you don't know exactly what you're in for.

Then again, what do I know? There's a reason that I write code for a living instead of dealing with real live people ...

So I guess my advice would be to talk to absolutely everybody you can who does what you want to do and learn everything you can about it. Who knows, it may turn out to be your dream job! I sure hope so. Best of luck with whatever you do...

David

 

[dilligaf368]

I've been diving for a while, thinking that diving would be the best career for me. Play with fish and being in strange locations, diving. Man,,I thought that would be the job I would never tire from. Well, Most of commercial diving is in the ZERO vis. in muddy water or inside structures welding and basiclly Grunt work. Sure the money is great but, Cold all the time and under the gun! Nothing is fast enough for the "Boss".
I have traveled widely but, again the conditions were anything but "Fun". Overtime, decompression hanging on a down line by yourself. No other divers and the tender chatting up the other guys on the Derrick, forgetting about You.
I still dove quite a bit (almost every other weekend) sport diving. I take diving vacations such as Chuuk and Mexico....
Diving Commercially is just that a JOB. Quite a bit different from sport diving. I don't think that Any job will be "Fun" at times. For the most part of a Job is for income not fun. The fun parts come as Sport not as a job. Sorry just a thought.......Bill

 

[Divesherpa]

Here's the thing, if you have an unhappy disposition, you are not gonna like DM'ing either. I have met a large number of divemasters who complain about people being slackers with poor attitudes, non-tippers, etc... I will not dive with these ops again. The divemaster's disposition sets the course of the whole boat.

I teach and DM. I love it. There is nothing that I would rather be doing. It allows time for exercise (carrying tanks). You get to meet people who are doing something that they love. You meet these people when they are at their happiest. You can show up to work in baggies and flops. If you get hot, you can "CANNONBALL" Ron Burgundy-like into the water, unless of course, you are guiding in the water. Your job is happiness and safety to all those on the deck.

You do have to work. Some people are rude. If there is an emergency, you have to understand emergency protocols to a T.

If you have a sunny disposition and enjoy diving, Divemastering and Instructing is tough to beat. If you just want to get away, I would recommend another route. You could do IT as a contractor to dive resorts and set up their stuff for lodging plus some pay. Then you would make money and get to dive for fun.

Cheers,
Jamie

 

[Divesherpa]

Oh, and on the what would you do differently note: I would have quit my job and sold all my worldly possessions (except dive gear and guitars) sooner!!

 

[RiverRat]

Gee and I thought it was just me
My work is tainted "blue" too. Not by choice, but by some brainiac accountant/lawyers choice to outsource me. Now I keep getting more workload, no raises and daily threats to meet deadlines so some moron can check things off their list and get the bonuses that I'm now not getting. All in the name of saving money and canning American jobs. And they know if we lose our jobs that we'll most likely have to take another job with a pay cut. Ruthless B*******! Yeah IT sucks these days. But until something better comes along I've gotta try to stay in the game. Although the stress makes it harder and harder to hang in their. I've got a mortgage and 2 kids so I gotta do what I gotta do. Plus I need $ to go on dive trips But this is not the way it should be. When I find something where I can support my family and my diving habit I'll make a move. Then I hope the Company tanks big time. I'll be there to help push them over.....

 

[Zoe83]

I dont have experience in changing jobs to do what I love yet, but i hope to. I work in the IT field as well, I'm only 21, been working full time for 5 years and I hate being cooped up in an office. I say go for it. Even if nothing works out the way you thought, you will at least have the experience of taking the chance and doing it.

 

[xSandman3]

I am one of the lucky people...I love what I do (teach music). Before teaching, I worked in middle management in the corporate world, made lotsa money, and hated life. I took the plunge at 28 years old, went back to school, got a degree, and started teaching at 30. It was tough taking a 50% pay cut, but the rewards are worth every penny. At 41, I am doing better financially and physically that ever before. I am a firm believer in doing what you think will make you happy...after awhile the money will take care of itself.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

You might want to send an investigative PM to Cancun Mark. He'd likely fill you in on the lowdown w/respect to industry standards and experience in the locations you've described.

I was an instructor for a little over 4 years. Loved it at first. It was always a second job as I was also doing other things. Point made above is correct, however....it's a job. Eventually I found that nearly all my diving was job-related. I seldom had time to do much in the way of big dives planned with friends, etc. On three day weekends or holidays there were generally students along. If this is the only sort of diving you want to do, great. If you have other goals, it can be challenging to balance your diving. I found that once my avocation became my vocation, over time it sorta sucked the fun out of it. I had to let it go. (ummm, plus there is that bit that it's sweet if you're in your 20s and don't have kids, but...less sweet if you're in your 40s with kids - financially and otherwise.) Much of it depends on you and what you want to do, it will be different for lots of different guys.

It's true that you should seek something you love to do and the money will follow. One thing is sure, though, no job is utterly devoid of guano! It won't ever consistently meet that mental image you have in your head.

Good luck.