DM On Phuket

[3P]

sawatdee guys,


i will arrive on phuket in the beginning of february 2011 to do a dive master course.

next to a professional dive base, it is important for me to do the practical part of the course at interesting dive sites (diving from the shore for about 2 months does not seem too appealing). also, i would very much appreciate it if the dive base offers some kind of heavy discount on their trips after i complete my training with them, so i can actually go DIVING. alternatively, being able to work as a DM after i finish the course would also be of interest (got my own equipment).

in a nut-shell, what i want is to become a DM, while at the same time being able to be in the water without having to pay for each dive. so, i am looking for a professional dive base that would agree to give me some kind of a deal in return for me doing my DM with them.

ive been doing my research for a couple of weeks now, and what i found out sounds something like this: do your DM with us (around 35.000baht) and you will be able to do two liveaboard trips and one speed boat trip to, e.g., the similians.

i plan to get me a bike and just drive from base to base (got a list with addresses) to see who can offer me what i am looking for.

if you got ideas, recommendations or suggestions please let me know. i very much appreciate your input!

all the best,
3P :goingdown:

 

[stevenl]

If it sounds to good to be true it is too good to be true.

Offer like:

do your DM with us (around 35.000baht) and you will be able to do two liveaboard trips and one speed boat trip to, e.g., the similians.

are either not true, so they won't let you make the trip, or you make the trips but as a working DM. In that case you should be paid for it in stead of going free of charge, but: as a DM in Thailand you'll always work illegal, so without a work permit.

So be very, very wary of all deals offered. It is either illegal or you're being lied to.

 

[3P]

thanks a lot for the reply.
since i plan to stay for 4 months i wouldnt mind organising a work permit so i could work legally.
but what are the odds of finding a base that offers me to work for them after i complete the course (im not about making money working as a DM, i just want to be in the water)?

 

[Quero]

3P--the thing is that the DM course isn't focused on doing lots of dives. It's focused on three key areas, in one of which doing actual dives is only a means for completing a task. The first area, which doesn't involve any diving at all, is the long series of exams you need to prepare for and sit. The second aspect, which does have to do with water, is perfecting your scuba skills (this is all pool work) and demonstrating your surface skills such as swimming and rescue (also mainly pool work). The open water portion of the DM course is modest and consists of doing a mapping exercise, leading dives, and observing courses. Fun diving, as such, really has no role at all in a DM course. In fact, the Open Water course has more in the way of fun diving than a DM course does since the tour portion of each Open Water training dive is meant to occupy the greater part of the time spent underwater.

In other words, you seem to be wanting two essentially unconnected things: DM training and lots of good quality fun diving. My advice is that you re-examine your priorities. If your honest objective is to complete an expertly-conducted DM course that will prepare you to be a competent professional in the scuba industry, look for a great instructor rather than for an op that promises liveaboards and speedboat trips. If on the other hand your honest objective is to do lots of great diving, spend the money you have budgeted for the DM course on dive trips as a fun diver instead of trying to work the angles to get free/cheap dives.

The truth of the matter is that you really never get something for nothing. DM courses are not hugely profitable, so your negotiating position is actually quite weak. And there are dozens and dozens of prospective DM candidates who have the same notion you do that doing a DM course is a cheap way to get a lot of outstanding diving in. As stevenl says, if a liveaboard trip is part of the deal, you are not going to be diving for fun--you'll be working, and it will be considered part of your internship. Diving in the role of a DM or dive leader is an entirely different experience from fun diving, so even if you are on a liveaboard working, those dives will be qualitatively different from what they would be were you a paying customer on the same boat doing the same dives.

Foreign DMs are not very employable in Thailand; companies will typically not facilitate a work permit for a DM, and it's likely you'd be denied a work permit to work as a DM even if you were to set up your own company to apply for it. To be competitive in the job market here, you really need to have your instructor ticket, and even then, you need to get your own work permit by setting up a Thai company. This is quite costly. You'd be better off just spending that money diving for fun. Furthermore, we dive pros really dislike it when people say they'd be happy to work for free. That sort of thing undermines our livelihood and in fact demeans the entire profession.

 

[stevenl]

thanks a lot for the reply.
since i plan to stay for 4 months i wouldnt mind organising a work permit so i could work legally.
but what are the odds of finding a base that offers me to work for them after i complete the course (im not about making money working as a DM, i just want to be in the water)?

As a DM you can not get a workpermit.

 

[3P]

thank you for the detailed information.

my priority really is on becoming a DM. but i was hoping to find a way to go diving AFTER i complete the course. i thought the base might offer me to join them on their boat for a special price if they see that they still have a free place on that particular day - something like that. i was just wondering whether or not this may be possible.

 

[stevenl]

Yes, you might be lucky with that. But that is decided on the spot, as I said, I would be very, very wary of anybody that offers that in advance.

 

[Quero]

thank you for the detailed information.

my priority really is on becoming a DM. but i was hoping to find a way to go diving AFTER i complete the course. i thought the base might offer me to join them on their boat for a special price if they see that they still have a free place on that particular day - something like that. i was just wondering whether or not this may be possible.

Dive pros can request professional courtesy discounts, though the policy varies from operator to operator. And there are often last-minute prices on liveaboards as well, so if you were to find a last minute with an op that would give you a professional courtesy discount, you might get a nice deal. However, it's not really necessary for you to have been trained by that particular op to be eligible for discounts, and certainly not for last-minute rates.

The availability or not of this kind of discount shouldn't be, in my opinion, a deciding factor in your choice of instructor for your DM course. Since you are serious about becoming a DM, select your instructor on the basis of professional integrity rather than on whatever perks he/she may be able to offer. Having said that, most of us will do our best to help our DMTs cut costs by keeping an eye out for last minute liveaboards, offering discounts for gear purchases, extending heavily discounted DMT rates for daytrips, etc. We spend so much time with our DMTs that they become more than mere students; we really do want to help them get the most from their time here.

 

[3P]

many thanks for your posts.

i think i will do the DM course, and then try to find some nice offers as you mentioned quero.
may i ask you to indicate a price for a last minute pro courtesy discount, so i gruffly know what to expect?

 

[Quero]

3P, as I said, it depends on each operator's policies. Some don't offer any such discount at all while others may offer as much as 10-20%. Last minute discounts for the final few spaces on the liveaboards that frequently offer them are typically 10-20% as well, though some boats never seem to offer last-minute prices. We can never know ahead of time which boat on which sailing will have extra spaces, but by paying attention to announcements and making sure we are on the operators' mailing lists, agents are well-informed on a day-to-day basis. Professional courtesy discounts, if available, would apply to the discounted sale price.

I am more than happy to share information. Please feel free to continue asking.