DM/IDC internship in the Philippines

[raskous]

Mabuhay pinoy

I was looking around for some of those Divemaster (or instructor) internships, and almost all results i found are in thailand (mostly KohToa)

Now i've dived Philippines twice, and the diving there is just awesome, and i know there are a lot of dive centers, so i'm a bit surprised i couldn't find more results for internships in the pilipinas.

So I was just wondering if you guys knew about any internship (not free, free, or working) in the Philippines.
It could be anywhere, i don't really have a preference for a location.

Also I'm just looking around for now, I don't have any date in mind for starting or anything... just looking at my options, so I can get a better life once my current office job is over

For info i have a PADI OW, and a SSI Advanced adventurer, 25 dives (philippines and australia), and i live in shanghai china (for now), and yes, i will get (way) more dives on my belt before even thinking of starting an internship

Salamat !

 

[DevonDiver]

The scuba industry in Philippines differs greatly to Thailand. The large numbers of backpackers travelling through Thailand makes the internship option very profitable for dive centers there. I am sure that most centres in the Philippines will offer DM courses, but not so much the all-inclusive internship packages.

Best bet is to identify a few dive centers that appeal to you in the Philippines and then email them to ask what they can offer.

Also... I've noticed that the standard of websites for many Philippines businesses can be very poor (or lacking completely). Expect a business to offer far more than it advertises on the website! lol

 

[raskous]

yeah that's what i thought.
Well i'll keep looking around, and contact a few dive shops when the time comes for me to go for divemaster...
Meanwhile i'll just keep diving

 

[Rogersea]

Raskous,

Some time next year a minimum of 40 dives will be required before you can start a DM Course. I think doing Rescue in Conjunction with DM is a good idea if your going to do an Internship...
As an Instructor I think it is better for the Intern to do it during high season... that way you get to experience more instruction during your iinternship and interface with more customers....

I would be happy to discuss this with you if shoot me an email at Rogerdives at G mail dot com..
Cheers,
Roger

 

[raskous]

Yeah so i've heard... that's why i'm not really starting anything for now, i'm just being curious and looking at my options for the future.
I still want to dive a little more before i even consider doing DM, and anyway i have to finish my current project and dump my office job before i can be free

From what i've read so far, most of the internships don't just give you DM they also include rescue diver etc.., and sometimes even take you from OW to DM... (which sounds weird in just 2 months)

I agree high season would be perfect, but again it's all about timing... when is high season in the phils? Isn't it like nov to may?

 

[CODMAN]

Rask, Roger gave some very good insight. i'd add that of all places, Sabang seems the busiest/ most frequented for diving. You will have no trouble finding a quality shop there that can give you an intership up to DM (AOW, rescue course and then DM). There are tons and it's a great place to do it. You could litterally show up and ask around to see what suits your fancy. And by signing up for AOW first, it will give you a chance to see if you feel comfortable with the instructor to go all the way to DM with him/ her (if not, move on...). As for instructor cert., not all dive shops there have the capability of giving this cert so you will definetly need to make arrangements ahead of time (to make sure they can accomodate you). I believe Asia divers does... Not 100% sure...

As for working there after your certs (for actual $$)... With DM... Good luck. There are tons of locals working as DM who know the areas and competing with them is going to be hard (see impossible). With Instructor status, there are a few more piossibilities since there are fewer... If you master many languages, that will certainly make things easier as it could make you more interesting for employment.

The courses are never free. You will need to pay for them all. Make sure you negociate an internship as well to work and gain experience as this will be your most valuable asset to work there afterwards...

It's not easy making a living doing this, but doing the courses is great fun. Good luck and if you have any questions, just ask!

 

[h2odragon1]

Agree with Codman.
Puerto Galera offers some of the most varied diving you could find, and many diveshops to assist you with your DM ambitions.
Dive Puerto Galera, Dive Philippines, Dive Action Divers
Sabang Inn Resort, Puerto Galera, Philippines
Scuba Diving Philippines Scuba Diving Puerto Galera Vacations Sabang

 

[raskous]

awesome thanks a lot.
I'll be sure to check those links out, and when the time comes i'll look around PG/Sabang...

I'm aware making a living from diving is really hard, especially in the philippines.
My first objective is not getting a job, it's just getting more experience, in an awesome dive place with cool people, and getting a higher certification, if I get a job in the process then awesome i'll be the happiest guy in the world... but for now i just want to be a good diver.

You know, if my objective was money i would just be trading stocks

 

[CODMAN]

You'll have a great time with that mindframe...

Also, if you really want to become a better diver, once you have a bit more experience, look into trying out Technical diving while there. The are several very competent Tech shops in Sabang and what they teach you brings your skills (solely talking about diving here; not teaching and so forth) well beyond the DM/ instructor level. I did an introduction to Tech diving while there and it tough me a lot...

Cheers!

awesome thanks a lot.
I'll be sure to check those links out, and when the time comes i'll look around PG/Sabang...

I'm aware making a living from diving is really hard, especially in the philippines.
My first objective is not getting a job, it's just getting more experience, in an awesome dive place with cool people, and getting a higher certification, if I get a job in the process then awesome i'll be the happiest guy in the world... but for now i just want to be a good diver.

You know, if my objective was money i would just be trading stocks

 

[Karl_H]

I think most of the key points have already been covered here but the one I would stress is to approach getting your DM/Instructor training as a training exercise and not a route to a job.

Most resorts in Thailand or PG are focused on getting you to the DM/Instructor status and no more - if you treat getting a job at the end as a big, make that huge, bonus this gives you a more realistic focus on why you will be doing the course.

As mentioned most resorts want DM who have thousands of dives and will work for the lowest possible salary, while the majority of resorts are keen to take on specialist Instructors (Tech or similar) or Recreational Instrcutors at IDC Staff level and above so they can help out with training the next set of Instructor interns. The hard part is getting from a entry level instructor to a higher level without working for free or even paying for the pleasure of teaching someone else's students.

One thing I would recommend if you are in somewhere like PG is doing a course like GUE Fundamentals before starting your DM course - this will help a lot and make you a much better diver before you pick-up any bad habits!

Also remember it's not just dive resorts that offer DM internships, many dive shops (away from the dive sites!) offer similar courses. You may not have quite as much diving involved (there'll still be a lot!) but you will get to see a lot of what going on in a dive shop outside of the diving itself.

Hope that helps and good luck!

Karl