Justin.H
New
Hello!
I've been a PADI Instructor for 4 years. Working experience is throughout South Florida and the Caribbean. I did my OW and AOW on Koh Tao in Thailand about 8 years ago, had a great time there. One of the big reasons I made the decision to go pro was to use it as a way to travel more and work as I go. (Sound like a broken record?) I've been lucky enough over the years to dive in some incredible places all around the world, but I've only worked in the Florida and the Caribbean, currently in the USVI. My career up to this point has been phenomenal, with thousands of dives and hundreds of students but I'm feeling ready to branch out.
The Covid situation is definitely a hurdle, but moving forward with this conversation let's just say that things are looking up by this coming summer. I'm interested in some advice on places to start looking for jobs as an instructor in Southeast Asia starting around July. Would be super interested in Australia too, but since I'm too old for the working holiday visa program, that seems like it's going to be a bit of a long shot (32 year old American.) However, any tips for getting in there would be appreciated. I'm pretty familiar with the region of Southeast Asia having backpacked there for 6 months back in 2015/16 and I'm pretty sure I've got an idea of how the industry works. Show up at the right time, ask around, hand out CV and hope for a hit. I'm not terribly concerned about saving money but ideally, wherever I can find work I'll break even with living expenses. Koh Tao and the Gili's seem like they would be pretty easy to find a gig, I'm interested in the Philippines too but I don't really know where the industry is or any expectation of salary there. I'd love to start a conversation with any Instructors with experience in Asia with advice on some awesome places.
A bit more about me for reference: 32 year old male, PADI MSDT few hundred certs, OW to DM and everything in between. I have a USCG 100 ton master Captains license as well. I've run A LOT of dive boats, and I currently live on a 36ft sailboat. My understanding is that all the boat work is done by the locals, so my captaining experience will probably not be a huge advantage. Is this correct? Would boat handling and maintenance be any kind of an advantage to me?
Nitrox, 02 provider, self reliant, deep and wreck are the specialties I can teach.
2 things I think may hold me back, the first being I only speak English. Which I know is a deal breaker for a lot of shops but not hopeless right? The other is pretty minor, but I've actually never taught a course using the book or video materials for the academic portion. I say it's minor because I could easily brush up on it and have it down, but every shop I've dealt with in the States and the Caribbean only offer certification if you complete the elearning before you show up. I did my OW in a classroom on Koh Tao back in the day. Is that still how it's done or are they more on board with elearning now?
Super long post I know, huge thank you to anyone that stayed and read it through to the end. Looking forward to hearing from all you rad divers out there!
I've been a PADI Instructor for 4 years. Working experience is throughout South Florida and the Caribbean. I did my OW and AOW on Koh Tao in Thailand about 8 years ago, had a great time there. One of the big reasons I made the decision to go pro was to use it as a way to travel more and work as I go. (Sound like a broken record?) I've been lucky enough over the years to dive in some incredible places all around the world, but I've only worked in the Florida and the Caribbean, currently in the USVI. My career up to this point has been phenomenal, with thousands of dives and hundreds of students but I'm feeling ready to branch out.
The Covid situation is definitely a hurdle, but moving forward with this conversation let's just say that things are looking up by this coming summer. I'm interested in some advice on places to start looking for jobs as an instructor in Southeast Asia starting around July. Would be super interested in Australia too, but since I'm too old for the working holiday visa program, that seems like it's going to be a bit of a long shot (32 year old American.) However, any tips for getting in there would be appreciated. I'm pretty familiar with the region of Southeast Asia having backpacked there for 6 months back in 2015/16 and I'm pretty sure I've got an idea of how the industry works. Show up at the right time, ask around, hand out CV and hope for a hit. I'm not terribly concerned about saving money but ideally, wherever I can find work I'll break even with living expenses. Koh Tao and the Gili's seem like they would be pretty easy to find a gig, I'm interested in the Philippines too but I don't really know where the industry is or any expectation of salary there. I'd love to start a conversation with any Instructors with experience in Asia with advice on some awesome places.
A bit more about me for reference: 32 year old male, PADI MSDT few hundred certs, OW to DM and everything in between. I have a USCG 100 ton master Captains license as well. I've run A LOT of dive boats, and I currently live on a 36ft sailboat. My understanding is that all the boat work is done by the locals, so my captaining experience will probably not be a huge advantage. Is this correct? Would boat handling and maintenance be any kind of an advantage to me?
Nitrox, 02 provider, self reliant, deep and wreck are the specialties I can teach.
2 things I think may hold me back, the first being I only speak English. Which I know is a deal breaker for a lot of shops but not hopeless right? The other is pretty minor, but I've actually never taught a course using the book or video materials for the academic portion. I say it's minor because I could easily brush up on it and have it down, but every shop I've dealt with in the States and the Caribbean only offer certification if you complete the elearning before you show up. I did my OW in a classroom on Koh Tao back in the day. Is that still how it's done or are they more on board with elearning now?
Super long post I know, huge thank you to anyone that stayed and read it through to the end. Looking forward to hearing from all you rad divers out there!
