Hi everyone,
Hope you've all had a great christmas and are looking forward to the new year.
I noticed that this section is meant to offer 'friendly and helpful' advice so I hope I don't get totally roasted for what I am about to say!!
So I basically have about 4-8 months before I start my new job back in the UK and I have decided to pursue my absolute love of diving and head to Koh Tao to become a divemaster. I'd just like to say now that I have no intention of pursuing a career in diving but would like it to be a keen hobby of mine for many years to come. I would therefore like to get as much diving experience as I possibly can and live on the island for atleast 4-8 months. I've done quite a lot of research into it, I want somewhere that has great diving, relatively cheap and is somewhere where there is a close knit community that love diving - Koh Tao - having spent 4 months in Thailand a few years back I have always wanted to come back. I completed my open water and advanced open water on Thailand, and I have now dived in Bahrain, Australia, Egypt and the UK (around 60 dives).
To the point now - I have quite a few questions and would be so so grateful if anyone could offer advice to get me started?
1) I don't know how the divemaster internships work in Thailand but I would be after a long internship where I could work in the shop or promote the school itself, is this possible in Koh Tao?
2) Is there potential to gain short term employment as a divemaster on Koh Tao after you qualify? I understand that divemasters are churned out everyday from some of the schools so I assume there would be a lot of competition for work.
3) I am really struggling to decide which dive school to train with, should I wait until I get there and shop around or are there any schools that have a great reputation for fun/quality diving? Are there any divers on this forum who work for the schools?
4) In regards to Koh Tao itself, would I be right in thinking that near Sairee beach would be the best place to be located? and whether I should pick a school based on this beach?
Sorry again for the essay, and if you have got this far I would love to hear your thoughts.
Luke
Hope you've all had a great christmas and are looking forward to the new year.
I noticed that this section is meant to offer 'friendly and helpful' advice so I hope I don't get totally roasted for what I am about to say!!
So I basically have about 4-8 months before I start my new job back in the UK and I have decided to pursue my absolute love of diving and head to Koh Tao to become a divemaster. I'd just like to say now that I have no intention of pursuing a career in diving but would like it to be a keen hobby of mine for many years to come. I would therefore like to get as much diving experience as I possibly can and live on the island for atleast 4-8 months. I've done quite a lot of research into it, I want somewhere that has great diving, relatively cheap and is somewhere where there is a close knit community that love diving - Koh Tao - having spent 4 months in Thailand a few years back I have always wanted to come back. I completed my open water and advanced open water on Thailand, and I have now dived in Bahrain, Australia, Egypt and the UK (around 60 dives).
To the point now - I have quite a few questions and would be so so grateful if anyone could offer advice to get me started?
1) I don't know how the divemaster internships work in Thailand but I would be after a long internship where I could work in the shop or promote the school itself, is this possible in Koh Tao?
2) Is there potential to gain short term employment as a divemaster on Koh Tao after you qualify? I understand that divemasters are churned out everyday from some of the schools so I assume there would be a lot of competition for work.
3) I am really struggling to decide which dive school to train with, should I wait until I get there and shop around or are there any schools that have a great reputation for fun/quality diving? Are there any divers on this forum who work for the schools?
4) In regards to Koh Tao itself, would I be right in thinking that near Sairee beach would be the best place to be located? and whether I should pick a school based on this beach?
Sorry again for the essay, and if you have got this far I would love to hear your thoughts.
Luke