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It depends which kind of DM you want to do, PADI or SSI... In SSI you can go a bit further and become a dive control specialist. I think that relates to PADI assistant instructor. It takes more or less 2 months but you do learn lots. You can later still go back to PADI for your instructor but you know already more than the rest...
Manta Dive Gili Trawangan is a great option if you would go the SSI way... I used to teach there. It's always lots of fun while doing the things you love! And the water is warm too :D

Hi Xmass,

I have trained with PADI thus far and will probably continue with them simply for that reason, I honestly have not looked at switching to SSI, I already have too many options at this point I think hah!
But I will have a read up on SSI and make a note of Manta Dive for the future! :)
 
Hi Nianne,

Thanks for reading and replying!
I have been to Thailand a few times now, however I have never dived there! Of all the countries in Asia, Thailand is the only one without an appeal to me- although I STILL don't know why! I have kind of disregarded it as an area to learn, I suppose because that is where "everyone" learns to dive, but thinking more about it, there must be a reason why it is so popular- I will certainly start looking a little more into it, and I will look at Ban's too!

Thanks!
Hi,
have a look at Welcome - Downbelow Adventures Borneo if you interested to gain your experience and take courses to become PADI professional diver with us here at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. We are the busiest Dive Center in town as you can see on the website. There's live chat on our website under any link on Professional Courses for you to ask any question. Thanks!

Regards,
Pablo
 
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Utilla seems to be a popular choice. I did a quick Google search on Roatan and saw this:

Roatan Divemaster Interships | Subway Watersports

We dove with subway and I have nothing but good things to say about them.

Good luck,
Jay
 
Hi Guys, If you are going to Roatan for DM or IDC avoid Roatan Dive Centre and Gary Miller like the plague. I went there with all the assurance in the world from Gary, what a great guy(!!) and as soon as I arrived I knew I had made a big mistake.

The accomodation was awful (it rained inside the room through shut windows) the dive centre is a joke (no oxygen in their Oxygen cylinders) and he treats people like rubbish.

He cannot hold eye contact with a girl, and does prescribed teaching. The day I saw him teach he did so with his back to the class muttering over his shoulder.

I was there for about a fortnight before IDC prepn started and walked out on the second day of the prep week with assurance from Gary and MAry that I would get a refund minus tanks I had used.

Now I had paid the full amount of $1855 up front and it is now 7 months later and I have never seen a penny of it.

2 of the other people there when I was have expressed their opinions of how he treated them on tripadvisor. And my full story is on there too.

Please please go see Will at coconut tree divers. Not only are his facilities a million times better and his boats a million times bigger but he is a million times nicer, he is approachable and he makes doing your IDC a really fun experience.
 
It's the biggest place that does that, so there's a lot of different opinion, but Ban's in Koh Tao is great for learning.
Leaving in Thailand is not expensive, the food is awesome, Ban's offers you free dives for the rest of your diving life and prepars you really correctly for the IDC, the water is usually around 30°, underwater is beautiful and there's foot massage everywhere :D

Last year at this time, I was completing my DM training in Koh Tao. I completed the Knowledge Theory on line before the course and just focused on DM diving and skills development. I studied at night and prepared for the next day while many of my colleagues were drinking beer. I finished the course in 16 days. My goal was not to learn how to work in a dive shop, nor to teach. (I have 10+ years teaching in university and have a BEd degree therefore, some of the valuable skills you can pick up with an extended internship I already had.) If you want to teach, then you can get your IDC within 3 months and possibly add 120-150 dives if you are fit and motivated. Save money for just a bit longer so you will not have to worry about finances.

I stayed at the Blue Wave House (hotel) and it cost me about 310 pounds for the month. Meals were extra.

Good luck! Chase your dream

GJS
 
I took my PADI OW at the Boy Scout Sea Base in the Florida Keys. They run a DM and IDC internship course whereby you pay the PADI fees like e-learning and testing and they provide room and board plus all the instruction. In return you promise to work there for a spring or summer season.

It's a great place full of great people. You're helping to shape young men and women and cultivate their love of Scuba and sailing.

Instructor Development Course (IDC)
 
Question. If one has been diving for over 30 years and has stopped logging dives in log books, is it considered unprofessional?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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