Dive Master - Thailand

[Bensold]

Hello

Following on from my previous threads I just wanted to get peoples opinions of Thailand to do DM?

I have been recommended Phi Phi in Thailand as great place to do a DM internship/course with great opportunities to stay on after passing to work as a DM. The person who recommended this is a good friend and she stayed out there for 18months after passing her DM.

I’ve looked at info on Phi Phi and different sites advice different things I.E when the best vis is and best chance to see the 'big' things like Whale Sharks and Turtles.

To be honest im not as fussed about the wildlife just yet, im more interested in getting a good DM qualification with a good well respected dive centre.

Thailand is nice and cheap so could stay out there on my budget longer and staying on to work as DM is actually achievable here as the cost of living is so low.

Any advice welcome

 

[Rogersea]

I think Thailand or other locations in SE Asia are fine locations to complete your DM training. Just be aware that many people stay on in and are employed in an "under the table" agreement.

My real advice is when choosing your DM training make sure that you get clear commitments on what is provided and what additional costs you are likely to incur. Also make sure you know exactly what you will be doing in your internship.

Cheers,
Roger

 

[bracko]

Another thing to consider....

the Dive store who i trained with in Sydney rubbished the Thailand DM training and stated they wouldn't use a DM who was trained in thailand without making them go through their "internship" again i.e. only allowed to DM for senior instructors and certainly not being the boat's DM for at least half the summer until you are checked out.

moving to Adelaide I've rung a few dive shops here and their first question is "where were you trained" followed by "good, not Thailand then". one of the owners went on to complain how useless every Thai trained DM he's hired has been.

I don't know what the reputation of SE asian trained DM's is in the UK, but if you do want to continue doing DM work in the UK then find out whether you will be actually accepted.

 

[buddhasummer]

Another thing to consider....

the Dive store who i trained with in Sydney rubbished the Thailand DM training and stated they wouldn't use a DM who was trained in thailand without making them go through their "internship" again i.e. only allowed to DM for senior instructors and certainly not being the boat's DM for at least half the summer until you are checked out.

moving to Adelaide I've rung a few dive shops here and their first question is "where were you trained" followed by "good, not Thailand then". one of the owners went on to complain how useless every Thai trained DM he's hired has been.

I don't know what the reputation of SE asian trained DM's is in the UK, but if you do want to continue doing DM work in the UK then find out whether you will be actually accepted.

I've heard that some operators in Queensland will not accept an OW cert from Koh Tao. My perspective...If they are so worried about certs from Thailand they should be taking this up with PADI, Im sure PADI would like to know about it too. I know some operators are a little "get em in get em out" but by no means is this all of them. On Koh Tao for example there are some excellent and professionally run operators. Some NZ operators might look sideways about certs from Thailand but would not, could not?, refuse to acknowledge certification. If you have a PADI cert then assumption is you met standards and if anyone, prospective employee, is unsure they can always do a check out dive/skills demonstration check etc. Im sure if any operator refused to accept your cert providing they were a PADI centre I would think you could take this up with PADI as Im sure they would like to know. The good thing about doing a DM in Thailand and SEA is due to the cost of living, if you have the time, you can stay on longer and get lots of experience which in my opinion is worth more than the cert card anyway. Good luck.

 

[bracko]

I'm not saying it's founded, I'm just saying it exists.

I think the main difference is in the soft skills that training in a place like Sydney offers. I personally spent a lot more time talking with the instructor 1on1 and we only had the 3 of us doing the course/internship so there was a lot of detailed information passed on.

finally, we had a PADI Staff Instructor do our course who's instructed for 15-20 years I think.... I don't know, but how often would you get such an experienced and fantastic (in my opinion) instructor in Thailand?

 

[Bubble Junky]

I have worked in Thailand, Australia and New Zealand, amongst many other locations... Backpackers leave Europe and first stop tends to be Thailand, where they complete their OW certs as it's much cheaper than Oz, then they go to Oz, and get sneered at for being trained in Thailand. Some do their OW in Oz, for sure, but then when they move on the NZ, they get sneered at there for doing training in OZ... Essentially it's just jealousy that they didn't get the business, but a dive shop in the previous location did. There are excellent dive shops and instructors in all locations, and indeed with all agencies...

It is pretty stupid to blanket one country as offering poor training. There are good and bad everywhere. Regardless of the location you need to ask a lot of questions and make your selection.

Some dive shops that I have found to be good, with good instructors include:

Dive & Relax - Koh Lanta
Khao Lak Scuba Adventures - Khao Lak
Blue Planet - Koh Lanta
Mosquito - Phi Phi

Just my opinion...

 

[bracko]

it's also a way to pay less, or not pay at all while the DM or instructor is being checked out.

a bad instructor or DM is just that. no amount of training will help someone who is a bad teacher in my opinion.

 

[Quero]

Hello

Following on from my previous threads I just wanted to get peoples opinions of Thailand to do DM?

I have been recommended Phi Phi in Thailand as great place to do a DM internship/course with great opportunities to stay on after passing to work as a DM. The person who recommended this is a good friend and she stayed out there for 18months after passing her DM.

I’ve looked at info on Phi Phi and different sites advice different things I.E when the best vis is and best chance to see the 'big' things like Whale Sharks and Turtles.

To be honest im not as fussed about the wildlife just yet, im more interested in getting a good DM qualification with a good well respected dive centre.

Thailand is nice and cheap so could stay out there on my budget longer and staying on to work as DM is actually achievable here as the cost of living is so low.

Any advice welcome

As a dive pro actually working in the part of Thailand where Phi Phi is located, I have a "local" view of the questions you ask.
First of all, Phi Phi is a fun place to spend some time if you are in your young 20's. I am happy to recommend that my divers spend a few days there, if that's their scene. And there is definitely some good diving nearby. It's a perfectly fine place to do your DM training.

As for staying on afterwards, it's also true that if you do your training there, you may be able to hang around for a while and get a little work, since you'll be a familiar face by the time you finish. One reason for the possibility of getting work is that most people get bored with being on Phi Phi after a while. There's really nothing there but a little village with overpriced 7-11 shops, guesthouses, bars, restaurants, and dive shops. I have known very few dive pros who spend more than a season there, so there's a huge staff turnover, people drop in and out rather informally (i.e., they violate labour laws), and earnings are typically based on commissions. If you sell dive trips or courses, you get a little cut. So a lot of time that a DM spends on Phi Phi is hanging out on the pavement as a street hawker trying to entice people to buy what they're selling. If you get more than superficially sick, or need to buy anything not available at a 7-11, or just want to go see a film in a cinema rather than watching a poor-quality pirated DVD on your laptop, you need to go to Krabi or Phuket--an excursion that takes an entire day. Finally, Phi Phi isn't cheap in terms of Thailand costs, though it is cheap compared to the UK. Everything on Phi Phi has to be brought in by boat, so there's a markup on every little thing. Virtually everything costs more on Phi Phi than on Phuket, which in turn costs more than Krabi, just to compare the main gateways to get to Phi Phi. Finally, Phi Phi is almost exclusively a tourist island, with only very limited fishing going on amongst a few holdouts in the sea gypsy community, so everything going on there is aimed at selling tourism-related services and goods.

 

[Jaja]

That sounds like fair information Quero. I guess there are good and bad places everywhere. And the problem with Phi Phi like you say is the high turnover of instructors which makes recommendations generally unreliable. One person may have had an excellent for their DM 6 months ago but the chances are that they have moved on now.
I would say that to properly teach the DM course the instructor should be an IDC staff rating or at least an MSDT with a few hundred certs. The instructor is supposed to pass on their experiences and knowledge during the course (be a mentor) and they can't do that if they have little teaching experience themselves.
Also, beware of cheap imitations. If the price of the course sounds too good to be true, it probably is !!

 

[Crowley]

I did my IDC/IE in Thailand and managed to get a good job there afterwards.

There is some truth in the "Australian dive centres won't hire Thai-trained instructors" but I will make the following points:

Firstly, if you undertake PADI instructor training (the other major agency is SSI) then the Instructor Exam is conducted by PADI examiners who cover the entirety of Thailand - I could name drop here and I reckon Quero knows the guys I'm talking about. The exam is independent, and although there are limitations to this, it's PADI who has the final say, not the location in which they were trained.

Secondly, unless you really want to work in Australia, don't go there. I lived in Cairns for 6 months after I left Thailand in 2008 and I walked into one of the major outfits there and walked out laughing. 5 instructors in a pool: This corner does Confined Open Water 1 - finish - go to the next corner for confined 2, then the next corner... etc until you go to the middle of the pool for confined 5. After your classroom and pool training is complete, you get taken down to the shop front for a HARD sell on equipment. My ex-gf decided to get work there but if you think Australian training is better than training in Thailand, think again. The Queensland book of regulations was almost as thick as the old PADI manual, and mostly full of crap. Most of my Aussie friends agree.

One advantage to training in Thailand is the cost of living - you can live for a few dollars per day and get a small place to live for $100 - $200 per month. I haven't returned since 2008 but I reckon the food is still as cheap as it was then. Me - I don't like Phi Phi - it's more expensive than Phuket and Pattaya in terms of living costs, and waaaay too touristy. Yes, so is Phuket or Pattaya, but these places are big enough to get off the beaten track a little way and you can buy cheap food from local markets and live in low priced Thai owned accommodation - at least, that was my experience anyway

I agree with the sentiment that cheapest is not best - although inexpensive does not necessarily mean bad. Look around, ask questions, and be wary of anybody who guarantees IE passes - read the small print carefully.

Above all - enjoy your time in Thailand, wherever you go! It's a wicked awesome crazy place and although I probably will never return to work there (unless Quero offers me a job) I loved it, and I miss it greatly!

Cheers and good luck,

C.