I'm an instructor, I'm planning a 7'ish yr working-vaction, and I'm looking for location ideas!

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My Perspective:

For the OP; I would consider more what you are looking for first rather than the location.

While you have some experience, you don't define precisely i.e is you dive shop employment full or part time?

What are your career objectives?

The Maldives are a good example; As an instructor the majority of your certs will be DSD, Scuba diver and OW referrals, because the vast majority of client don't wish to spend their vacation at this kind of destination learning to dive.

Some will maybe wish to take AoW or a speciality (do your specialities align with your destination? Drysuit and Wreck will be of no use whereas Deep, EAN or Night dive would be saleable)

While your languages are of course useful, often resorts catering to Europeans want a European national with English as a second language rather than the other way around, because they have a common connection with the guests.

While the Maldives or similar are great for a holiday, you are limited to sites which are close thus it gets very repetitive for full time diving. Those that cater to guests from Asia have a high percentage of incidents with snorkelers because they can't swim

If you're on a land based resort, then you may have the same - lots of OW etc. Places like Thailand run lots of day boats and short trips catering to people who want only to learn and see pretty fishes or qualified people wanting a few days of diving only so perhaps Aow too.

Then there are Liveaboards. Here you get to spend a week with guests, and mainly guide. You will get the occasional AoW or specialities etc but nothing more. You do get to form friendships with the guests because you spend longer with them. (If they're a PITA then you're stuck with them for a week) Crew accommodation on liveaboards can be cramped and it's long days because the guests want you to socailise with them. Free time - forget it! When the guests depart you need to turn around the boat.

Some of the bigger operators offer DM and Instructo interns, where you pay for experience - nice little money earner! Here they often fill their vacancies from previous interns. But there can be exceptions for the right candidate

If you want career progression then you need to get your Staff - unlikely a Dive centre will give you time to do this. But that said, you'll need to be heading to somewhere that takes IDC and DM so you can get teh higher certs required for Master Instructor

Buyer beware, these can be sausage factories, and some offer guaranteed MSDT to their IDC/IE. Not only do they give them specialities, they let then stay for a couple of weeks extra and give them the 25 certs needed (team teaching or being on teh Cert dive) all at a cost. So you might be lower in the pecking order for certs...

There is no hard and fast way of finding jobs. Sure PADI Pro site is useful, some centres accept remote applications, however the vast majority, certainly in the popular areas simply interview Instructors who have walked in having paid their own way. I've sat in Kao Lak at the start of the season watching instructors traipse from door to door. Hirer's market

By far the best is having a network of instructors all over the world. Someone will know someone who knows of a position. It's easier to find one when you have one. But be prepared to jump on a plane.

Be prepared for burnout. In SE Asia it's 6 days per week, for 6 months - don't even think about being ill. You can make a living to have a great time in country, but if you have financial obligations at home (student/Car loans etc) you'll be struggling

If you want to set yourself even farther apart then being a TEc instructor helps, but only if your destination does Tec courses

Research is your friend, SB isn't great as very few people have experience outside the US and Caribbean.

Don't' make enemies in the industry as a colleague may have connections to stop you getting a job, or be the person sitting across the desk interviewing you. The instructor circuit is quite small because everyone knows someone who either knows, or knows someone that does

Remember It's a Hirer's market unless you can offer something very special that sets you aside.
 
Agree with prior post, not only galapagos/ecuador but many other locations will not allow you to work as a foreigner.
Another place to remain in the US after the grand seven year world adventure besides Hawaii is Los Angeles/Southern California -the best all around the year weather for any & all recreational activity- where you can snowboard/ski in Winter Mountain Wilderness; then turn back around to swim, surf & night dive in Kelp Forests at Mainland Beaches; and then finally come home to Suburbia with a perfect Mediterranean Climate --all done within either a span of 12 hrs, or a leisurely paced Weekend. . . !
Terranea Resort | Careers

Yes, there are many shops in SoCal looking for instructors. Nobody talks about the weather here because it's basically the same every day.

Do you actually work in Terranea? I live quite close by.
 
Hello all. I posted something general along these lines here the other week. But I thought I'd get a little more specific here.

First, me. I am a PADI MSDT instructor (in the US). I have 4 yrs teaching experience (3 as an instructor, 1 as a DM). I have 5 yrs experience working at a dive shop. I have 2 yrs experience working at a hotel. I have an MBA with a specialization in hotel and restaurant management. I speak 3 languages - English, Spanish and French. I am 30 yrs old.

And I am planning to travel the world for the next 7 (or so) yrs, working as a dive instructor.

I want to see the very best diving that this world has to offer. And also a little bit of this and that culturally (above the surface). I love big marine life -- seals & sea lions, whales & whale sharks, dolphins, big sharks. I love healthy coral reefs. I love cave diving. I've done a lot of research, and talked to a lot of people. And I've sort of devised a rough idea of a plan.

I would love it very much if you guys would take a look at it and chime in with your own personal experiences of diving in and visiting these places and locations. Am I missing one of the best spots? Am I headed somewhere overrated? Any and all input, any experiences or thoughts that you can share.... I would greatly, greatly appreciate.

Thank you so much in advance for any feedback whatsoever!

And without further adieu.. The Plan:

*****

Stop 1: Central/South America - The Galapagos. I know it's going to be a little cold. I know there's rough currents. I know it's not the best visibility. And I know it's not beautiful coral. But this is for sure going to be my first stop. It's the big marine life capital of the world -- Seals, Sea Lions, Humpbacks, Orcas, Whale Sharks, Dolphins, Hammerheads, Mantas, Penguins, Iguanas, etc. I would LOVE to work on a liveaboard in the Galapagos for a year. Some people talk about Cocos, Socorro.. but Galapagos sounds like king. Yucatan, Belize, Bay Islands (Honduras) on the Caribbean side all sound nice.. but Galapagos sounds like king.

*****

Stop 2: The Coral Triangle - Raja Ampat/Indonesia. The Coral Triangle. It sounds like the very best reefs in the world. And Raja Ampat in Indonesia sounds like the best place to base myself out of here. I would LOVE to work on a liveaboard traveling throughout Indonesia's best dive sites, and perhaps into some other countries as well, for a year. The Philippines sound very nice. Papua New Guinea sounds very nice. Borneo's islands sound very nice. Even the Solomon's sound very nice. But if I have to pick one area in this region, I think it's going to be Indonesia, and more specifically Raja Ampat (or Komodo). That being said, the Solomon's are intriguing to me as a less popular place...

*****

Stop 3: The Pacific Islands - Moorea/French Polynesia. The Pacific Islands are a must-stop for me. Fiji seems to get the most hype out there, but I've heard it's been overfished and overdove.. and that it's not quite what it used to be. Palau gets a lot of hype too.. but it doesn't seem there's much to see there besides reefs and smaller sharks (and mantas). French Polynesia, I like the idea of. Moorea and some of the bigger islands, are just the most beautiful dream-like things I've ever seen. And there's a liveaboard operating out there now... hitting all the small, pristine coral atolls out there. Big sharks, dolphins, mantas, pristine reefs, beautiful & safe islands... Humpback whales in season. It seems like The place. *Tonga is a place I'm very interested in too. But you just never really hear much about anything other than the Humpback's out there. I've heard that the reefs are very nice and healthy. But not much about dolphins, sharks, mantas, etc.

*****

Stop 4: Africa - Madagascar. Africa is a place I'd like to experience. South Africa probably gets the most hype with the Sardine Run and all the big marine life. Mozambique gets a lot of hype too. And the Seychelles. But Madagascar just seems like the place for me. Humpbacks, Whale Sharks, Dolphins, Sharks, Mantas. Very under the radar. Very interesting above the surface from what I can tell.

*****

Stop 5: Temperate Diving - New Zealand. I'd like to do some temperate diving. You always hear that the best is in New Zealand or British Columbia. I've been to Canada many times. New Zealand to me just seems like a more exotic and rewarding experience. Poor Knights or Doubtful Sound down south. Still going back and forth a little bit on this... New Zealand vs. British Columbia.

*****

Stop 6: The Mediterranean - Sardinia, Italy. I've never been to Europe. If I'm going to do something like this, I should probably include it. And I'm very open to suggestions here, as I don't know much about Mediterranean diving. Sardinia seems to generally be spoken of as the best spot. Mediterranean marine life and coral... not so great... but great caves and wrecks. It's Italy, so that's cool. Sardinia is such a beautiful island. And there's a liveaboard operating in the Mediterranean out of Italy. Best idea I've had so far here.

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Stop 7: The Red Sea - Southern Egypt/Sudan. I've heard the Red Sea is good enough that you've got to go. And I've heard that the Southern Red Sea - on liveaboard - is the best way to see it. Middle Eastern experience should be good for me too.

*****

Stop 8: The Indian Ocean - Thailand-Similans-Mergui-Burma. I know the diving here's not going to compare to some of these other places. But the Indian culture is something that's very intriguing to me. And Burma is probably the closest I could get to it while still getting some decent diving in. Maldives are rumored to be great out there too. But there's just so much time.

*****

Areas I didn't include. The Caribbean. I've lived in the Caribbean, and dove several places in the Caribbean. Jardines de la Reina in Cuba, Tiger Beach off Grand Bahama, Hondura's Bay Islands, The Cenotes in Mexico. Those are places I might like to visit for a week or two. But everything you hear about the Caribbean is that it's generally just second-rate compared to some of these other spots. Hawaii I didn't include either, but that's a place I may end up settling in if I want to remain 'American'.

*****

Like I said before. Would LOVE to hear any thoughts.


I know you're not hot on Palau, but I'd definitely consider this an option. First, there is no problem with visa's since none is required for US citizens. Second, the owner of one of the biggest dive operations in Palau, Sam's Tours, is an American and he does hire Americans as DMs along with folks from other parts of the world. There's actually very few Palauans working there. It would enable you to me people who have worked in many other parts of the south pacific and begin building a network. Also, the diving there isn't all that bad ; ). Until the mid 1980's, Palau was a US territory and their currency is still the US dollar.
 
I’ve been offered a job on a costa rican liveaboard that traveled to cocos before? the employer never mentioned any difficulties re: being a foreigner

@TheShark1 Perhaps you could get a job for a liveaboard company that has boats in world-wide locations like Aggressor or Explorer? I know that Aggressor doesn't actually own all those boats, they have charters all over the world, but once you got integrated into their network and learned the ropes - you might be able to work for a period for one LOB and then get a job on another one later, and so forth. They could certainly advise and assist you with foreign entry and work requirements and finding a job. Your foreign language and hotel/restaurant expertise would be viewed as an advantage anywhere on an LOB.

LOB crew members work hard but live cheap, with their food and board included. I remember hearing on an Aggressor LOB that the crew members regularly rotated a full week off (every 5th week, maybe?) So that would periodically give you free, unfettered time to explore foreign sites and cultures. And if you found yourself somewhere that you didn't much like, you could quickly start looking for another LOB option.

It would also give you familiarity with diving and living in many parts of the world, so if later you found a spot that you'd like to live and work on land for awhile, you would already have experience when you go looking for a land-based job.

Here is the link for the Aggressor employment page, they upload your credentials and resume in one spot for all of their yacht owners to review and offer interviews and jobs. They claim that "travel mobility" is an advantage that they offer to employees.

Aggressor® | Official Site | Liveaboards, Safaris & River Cruises
 
Here's another thought, the DEMA trade show for dive industry professionals will take place in Las Vegas next month. Go to the show and bring copies of your resume with you. Takea short trip to LV for the opportunity of meeting a lot of people in one place, and let them know of your interest in working in the dive industry in foreign locations:

DEMA Show 2018
 
Not sure about all locations however agree with the earlier posts about places like The Galapagos. We were there on an Aggressor and only local DMs are (or at least were not allowed to work there). So unless you want to go on vacation the job is probably out. The water is freezing. Here in Cayman the first permit is often for 6 months and there after yearly. Permits are expensive and time consuming to acquire so employers like to make sure their new hire works out before they commit to a year or more. I use it only as an example that popular places are harder to get jobs in. Some countries will limit you by age as well as experience. OZ is very strict about qualifications and age. NZ May be similar. I think making a short list of places that you are interested in followed by some research on whether or not those countries will accept you is the first step. Then start applying. There are more people looking for jobs than there are jobs so coming across as a personable, customer focused individual is very important once you know you have the required skill set. Most interviews happen on skype so it is super easy. You might check the PADI site as well. As for best diving I don’t think there is a Best of anything for everyone. But even in The Caribbean which you have discounted there is okay, good, great and awesome. Just depends on where.
 

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