Debating going on to Instructor

[TMHeimer]

My younger brother went all over, but he was a U.S. Navy Capt., so he had choices. He dived when he could in exotic places. Tough to find a buddy as he wasn't allowed to socialize with enlisted people. Now he's retired and just trying to get back into diving a little-- and Long Island Sound is definately a little. My older brother did the Mike Nelson gear dives in the 60s and the Army sent him to Panama. He didn't dive there, but it was better than a rice paddy.

 

[FM1520]

I joined the Air Force, and Army. I saw Texas, Cailifornia, Wyoming (90 miles from home), Oklahoma, Washington State and Oklahoma again, and then retired. That's it!
a few TDYs ( temporary duty assignments) to Texas, North Dakota, Kentucky and Hawaii. California again. Texas a whole bunch of times, San Antonio for a year total and Kileen for a few months.
Never overseas.
I begged to go to Honduras or even Kuwait. No go!

Of course, thats why I said Navy. Plenty of dive opportunities both professionally and recreationally.

 

[Jaja]

If you want to succeed at being a scuba instructor you need passion and motivation. All the good instructors I know love their job. If you think that you fit the bill then a good place to start looking for places to do your IDC would be PADI IDC Dive Instructor courses, Dive theory IDC PADI IE exam revision which has hand picked IDC centres from around the world. Check them all out and see which ones impress you and offer what you are looking for.

 

[WheelsUSN]

Join the Navy (Navy diver or not), see the world.

And then you really realize that most of the world is covered in water. I did a couple of deployments that were seven months long and only pulled into port 4 times. It was still better than being in a desert with people shooting at me though.

 

[TMHeimer]

In the Navy... you can sail the seven seas...

 

[Quero]

Thats the 80's navy. Now they send everyone to Afganistan or the Persian Gulf ... Not places you want to visit LOL

We get a good number of sailor-divers here (recreational divers who happen to be sailors, not actual Navy divers) when the ships come in regularly to Phuket for R&R. We just had the Nimitz a week or two ago, for example, and the Ronald Reagan was here not too long ago, so we get the big ones, and all the support vessels that come along with the group. I know they stop off at other places as well, but at least here in Thailand, even those ships that are supporting the action in the ME come to fun places to dive.

 

[Bubble Junky]

There are a couple of locations around Thailand where it is possible, and relatively easy to find work as a DM. But is would be easier still as an instructor, and you'd earn more money that way too. Check out places like Koh Lanta, Koh Phi Phi and Khao Lak. Whether or not you'd be working legally might be a different story tho'... To work legally in Thailand, I believe you must be an instructor, and the ease of obtaining a work permit depends a little on location too.

 

[flots am]

BS

I have lived and worked in Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. Egypt and Djibouti. New Zealand and the Maldives where I currently live. Legally I worked only in NZ and Maldives- Egypt was pretty grey and SE Asia was illegal.

I'm pretty sure working illegally in countries with an unpredictable legal system isn't on my "to do" list.

flots

 

[UnixMarine]

I joined the Air Force, and Army. I saw Texas, Cailifornia, Wyoming (90 miles from home), Oklahoma, Washington State and Oklahoma again, and then retired. That's it!
a few TDYs ( temporary duty assignments) to Texas, North Dakota, Kentucky and Hawaii. California again. Texas a whole bunch of times, San Antonio for a year total and Kileen for a few months.
Never overseas.
I begged to go to Honduras or even Kuwait. No go!

You were doing it wrong! You need to join the Marines as infantry, I was in for four years and I saw Cuba, Guam, Okinawa Japan, mainland Japan, Australia, and California,

 

[supergaijin]

To work longer than a diving 'season' in SE Asia, you will indeed need a visa. It is common enough for transient instructors to not have valid visas that the risk of getting caught is minimal- however the risk is still there. As more and more countries become automated, visas will be required more often.

I'm pretty sure working illegally in countries with an unpredictable legal system isn't on my "to do" list.

Being a slave to the machine that is common in the 'real world': Not on my 'to do' list. If I have had to work illegally to do what I do, I can live with that. I have indeed worked my way around the world and enjoyed myself immensely. I have given up on certain things, but for me personally, the benefits have outweighed the cons and I feel lucky to have chosen this path.

Presenting both sides of the argument is important. Not everything is 'beer and skittles'.... I hardly ever eat skittles.