Looking for guidance in choosing internship programme

[oreocookie]

My 2 cents on this is to make sure wherever you decide to go, if you decide to do an internship with multiple courses, make sure to be clear on what their policy is if you change your mind partway through or something happens and you have to leave. I just finished doing a divemaster internship followed immediately by the IDC, and while I've been here (in the last month and a half, actually), I've seen at least 3 people arrive planning to become a divemaster and leave before even starting the DM course, for various reasons. Two of them were planning on doing zero-to-hero but one realized he got seasick and only completed OW, the other finished his AOW but got homesick. A third person showed up to do Rescue then DM, but changed her mind during the Rescue course. If courses are priced a-la-carte, it might not be an issue, but if it's a package deal, it might get complicated.

 

[Quero]

It's not that easy to just parachute into a number of places in Southeast Asia and get a job as a DM. In the first place, you need to consider labour laws--here in Thailand, the law requires a work permit, and foreign DMs are not granted work permits (whereas foreign instructors can readily obtain them). In Indonesia, work permits cost the equivalent of USD$100 per month. Employers are generally not willing to invest in the costs of a WP for a dive pro who isn't committed to staying with the company for at least a season, and for an itinerernt DM, it's generally not worth jumping through the bureaucratic hoops (not to speak of expense) to obtain a WP in several successive countries. It can take several weeks or even more for a WP application to be processed, and during that time, the applicant has to live and eat, all without income. Additionally, in most countries in SE Asia, the work of DMs is done by nationals of those countries. While some people choose to work illegally, aside from the possibility of deportation, I find the practice unethical and the mark of unprofessional behaviour. Finally, considering my own hiring practices, I feel that my customers are paying for the services of their DM and that they deserve better than a moonlighting tourist who doesn't know the dive sites and who is in it for pocket money and to gain experience at their expense; when I hire a dive pro, I expect a real professional, not an intern.