Long term dive internship/gap year programs

[canesdiver95]

I'm not sure if this thread really fits in this category of "advanced scuba discussions", but I didn't see another forum that seemed more relevant, so here goes.

I am 18 and until recently had been planning on starting college this fall. However, I recently realized that I would really like to take a gap year and get some more experience diving and earn my divemaster and instructor certs. I thought scubaboard would be a good place to start looking for programs that would allow me to do that.

Like I said, I am 18 and fresh out of high school. I have been diving for 5 years and have logged about 60 dives thus far. I have open water, aow, emergency first responder, and rescue diver certifications.

I am looking for a program that is at least a couple of months long, where I would be getting hands on experience working in a dive shop while earning my certifications. I'm not really looking for any location in particular. I've always wanted to dive in Thailand, but I am completely open to anywhere warm and pretty.

I will be working to pay for this trip myself, so programs on the less expensive side would definitely be preferable, but at this point I would love to hear any suggestions anyone may have regardless of cost. Also, I don't know if this is really a viable option, but I would definitely be open to a program on a liveaboard as well.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[halocline]

Try coconut tree divers in Roatan, check to see if Will Welbourne is still running the DM internship program. He's an excellent instructor and a good guy. There are also several shops in Utila, another island off the coast of Honduras, that specialize in DM internships. Both Roatan and Utila are pretty inexpensive to spend some time in, and you'll meet lots of fun people.

 

[diversteve]

I'm pretty sure Will still is - he's listed on their site. I second the recommendation. Never trained with him but I observed several of his classes since he held them outside on the CTD deck. And several of the DM trainees shadowed us on afternoon dives. One recent grad even led our dives one morning.

There's links on the CTD pages to their course calculator so you can get a sense of what it will cost - also a link to their DM/Instructor/Tech training programs thru Go Pro Caribbean. It looks like DM is just under $1000 and Instructor about $2800 more. You have enough dives for DM and the EFR and need 100 for Instructor. Probably get that while working on your DM. http://www.coconuttreedivers.com/

One other thing they offer is the option to stay in the Divemaster House, a 6BR house they built/furnished for the program in 2010. It's $200/month. Coconut Tree Divers, PADI Career Development Center, Roatan,

Some friends went to CTD a few years ago for DM and stayed to complete thru Instructor. They didn't have a lot of money. Rented an apt. there for about $450/mo.

All the nightlife on Roatan is in the West End also. Quite a few bars. Later in the week it's pretty busy. Everyone seemed to know some English and dollars are accepted everywhere. You'll do better to convert your money to Lempira though.

Honduras is a third world country but you really never have to go to the mainland. There's direct flights to Roatan from several US cities and if you go on to Utila, you can get there from Roatan also. Or change planes in San Pedro Sula - the main airport on the mainland.

I've been on both Roatan and Utila and never felt endangered. There is pretty good security on Roatan, the resorts have guards/fences so there must be some crime but we never saw any. I rented a house about 5 mins. outside of town and walked home at night alone in the dark more than once - twice locals stopped to ask if I needed directions.

In the West End you can find food in all price ranges. Everything from street vendors to Ooloonthoo, one of the nicer Indian restaurants in the Caribbean. We never paid more than about $5-10 for lunch. There's two smaller food stores - one at CTD and the other (Woody's) a block away. With a scooter/ride there's several large markets within about 1/2hr. in Coxen Hole or French Harbor also. You won't need a car and cabs are cheap. If you need one, they're parked across the street from Coconut Tree daily.

French Harbor has the closest thing to a mall that exists on Roatan. Coxen Hole is somewhere to go thru unless you need something there - like the hospital or market. If you do get bent the chamber is at Anthony's Key Resort - about 5 minutes drive. You'd have to work at it though, dive profiles on Roatan generally aren't deep.

Little more expensive to fly there but you'll probably only do that once. Internet access was semi-reliable - just slow at times. It is humid, tropical, the rain forest starts just behind the buildings and there's lots of bugs - basically we lived in Deet all week. Also the possibility of Malaria so you'll want to take those precautions also.

Got a passport?

There's a lot of dive training done on Utila also. I see Utila Dive College mentioned frequently but have no personal exp. with them.
It's also a big backpacking destination so can be very affordable. I would find it too small to spend any longer periods of time there though, everything seemed to come from the mainland. We took the ferry over and you could tell by what was unloaded that a lot of the locals shopped there also. Town is pretty small and most of the rest of the island is uninhabited. And there's no lights at the airport so no night flights are possible.

I don't think there's a chamber there either so evacuation in a dive emergency would probably be to Roatan - or the U.S. I'd get DAN insurance because that could be a $50K proposition. I know someone that was bent in the southern Caribbean and flown to MIA - just the flight was $35K not counting the nurses, ambulances, oxygen etc.

Most liveaboard DM's are also instructors. Jobs are in high demand so the boat owners can be selective. Most run with pretty small crews so everyone does multiple things and has multiple skills. I don't think they'd have the time to train you.

 

[canesdiver95]

I will definitely look in to Coconut Tree Divers. I was hoping for something a bit longer than that, but its starting to look less and less plausible with regard to the money situation. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[GillScales]

If you go to the bay islands (Honduras) defiantly fly direct to the islands, even if it costs more. That airport In the mountains is a fu&#ing nightmare.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . .
There's a lot of dive training done on Utila also. I see Utila Dive College mentioned frequently but have no personal exp. with them.
It's also a big backpacking destination so can be very affordable. I would find it too small to spend any longer periods of time there though, everything seemed to come from the mainland. We took the ferry over and you could tell by what was unloaded that a lot of the locals shopped there also. Town is pretty small and most of the rest of the island is uninhabited. And there's no lights at the airport so no night flights are possible. . . .

All true, and UDC is full of people just like you doing exactly what you plan to do. There is a constant stream of divemaster candidates rotating through for a couple of months (or more). UDC is one of several shops on Utila that are known for their training programs. Some people will pejoratively refer to it as a "training mill," but there's no reason to believe the training is inferior. Search SB and you will find people's accounts of doing DM and IDC there. I did a Rescue course there--and ended up staying for a couple of months and just diving--but a friend was an instructor, and I got to know some of the DM candidates. Utila may be small, but the town is full of people just like you, and it's a lively social scene. If you're there for a few months, you will know all the other DM candidates.

My impression of West End, Roatan, where I spent just a week, is that the shops are not quite so focused on training as some on Utila, such as UDC. Maybe Coconut Tree is--I dove with them but not enough to get an impression. You will find more divers on Roatan who are just diving on vacation rather than doing training courses, and the average age may be a few years older than the people passing through Utila (purely my speculation based on casual observation). West End has a lively social scene, too, but if I were an 18 year-old gap year student looking to do a DM internship and then IDC, I would choose Utila over Roatan.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Forget school, You're 18 and need some cash. Sign up for the military for 4 or 6 years. You'll travel on Uncle Sam's dime. What are your grades like? If they are good there are jobs that will pay you big bucks. My son's enlistment bonus was over 10 grand. His re-up bonus was 35K. Not all job areas are like that but if you have a good head on your shoulders no reason not to use it.

You will then be eligible for the GI Bill, you'll live rent free on base. Or pay a little. I think Josh paid like 8 bucks a month rent until he got a little rank and moved into his own place. Put in a hitch or two and you'll have more than enough cash to do your DM. Fact is unless you don't mind sleeping in a cardboard box and eating out of dumpsters you'd make more at McDonald's than you will as a DM. DM's are not very valuable as rule. They can't bring in enough cash to the operation. That takes an instructor.

Unless you have a 100 ton Master's license, can fix diesel engines and air compressors, and service regs as well.

And your dives average 12 a year. You should be doing between 50 and 100 a year if working towards a DM rating. And in as many different environments and conditions as possible. Cold, low vis, no vis, current, etc.

And your skills should be exemplary before starting DM training.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Lapenta's idea is a good one, but its not for everyone. There is a big difference between dive bum and boot camp recruit. I've been both. At 18, I think I would prefer dive bum. Just being honest. Sorry, Jim.
DivemasterDennis

 

[grantwiscour]

I have read over and over the CTD page from the link above and wish I could go.
I don't think my wife would go for the idea right now though. :missing:
I keep returning the idea for my "early retirement". The Rescue through MSDT would be an adventure in itself.
Eight weeks in Roatan spent learning and diving...heck yeah!

I like Jim's idea of the military. Get some top-notch training working on helicopter engines or something like that and come out of their after 3-5 years ready to make some good money in the private sector. The Coast Guard is an often forgotten branch of the military. I remember on our last trip to Fort Lauderdale a small CG boat passed us in the marina. The three or four guys looked to be all under 25, hats on backwards, machine guns ready...keeping a handle on things for the greater good. Whether battling bad guys or rescuing distressed divers, I wish someone would have talked to me about the Coast Guard when I was young. I doubt it would have made much difference coming from a Marine family. San Diego was in my future. Ooh Rah!

 

[canesdiver95]

Thanks for your opinion, but the military really isn't for me. I'll look further into Utila as well.