PADI Divemaster. Questions about going pro.

[Samih Chowdhary]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to forums so please bare with me!

I'm 21 years old, freshly graduated from University and am taking a year out to do some travelling while I've got the chance. My plan for a large portion of this year is to hopefully work as a Divemaster on the east coast of Australia diving in and around the Barrier Reef and am struggling to get some quality advice on how best to do this.

My current plan is to complete my qualification in the UK with my local centre so I can get access to the PADI PRO database ASAP. According to the guys that run the course, starting around now, I'd finish around mid-September. I'd then search for a dive centre on (North) East coast of Australia and hopefully have found one in time for me to fly out around mid-late November and work for 6 months having the time of my life!

Following advice from others I've been put off the internship route as I've heard you effectively get used as free labour for the whole season which although I wouldn't mind too much as I'd still get to dive, I cant afford to not get paid while I'm out there!

My first question is, how realistic is this plan? Because if I'm honest with myself it sounds a bit too good to be true!
My main concern is getting hired by a dive centre in time, I'm not overly fussy on location but other than having good people skills, I'm worried I don't have enough other qualities that a Dive centre might look for. I'm fairly hopeless with languages, don't have any other technical skills (yet, would be open to learning) and am not a skipper.
Is there anything I can do to make myself more attractive to dive centre employers before I go (don't have enough time to learn a language)?

Is there also any advice or pitfalls I should look out for when undertaking all of this?

Any response is more than appreciated,
Cheers!

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Before you sign up for a DM program, reach out to dive centers where you'd like to work. Ask them about compensation. Talk to DMs and ask them their experiences with doing what you wish to do. It is easy to find PADI dive centers online and on Facebook. Work your way through social media to make contacts with the DMs. Don't ask CDs, as they are at the top of the pyramid scheme.

With regarding to making yourself more employable, are you a marine engine mechanic? Or a compressor technician? If the boat doesn't run or the compressor doesn't run, the business doesn't run

 

[Lorenzoid]

Is this just a gap year lark, or are you entertaining the prospect of making a go of it for multiple years? I don't know about Australia, but in many places short-term divemastering by visiting foreigners would be rare work. Dive ops are usually more interested in instructors than DMs. Would you consider continuing your scuba education beyond DM to Instructor? Perhaps do the DM program in the UK, then inquire with the dive ops in Oz about the possibility of becoming an instructor?

 

[Wibble]

What visas are required to work in Australia? Is there a points based system?

Do check the visa requirements sooner than later.

 

[Kensei]

Do you already have the PADI Rescue cert?

How many dives do you have at this time?

What other stuff do you know that would be useful? Shops are looking for Swiss-army knives.... not a sushi knife.

 

[DiveProKoko]

Look really hard at your market. In a lot of places, operators want instructors because they can obviously teach courses, but also guide dives when not teaching. Obviously, DMs are a one trick pony in that regard. Also, look at work permitting. In some places you need to secure the job before you travel so your employer can set up your permit. In other places, it's better to find work when you get there so they can see you on the island/in country. You'd be surprised how many people never show up for a job.....

 

[Samih Chowdhary]

Before you sign up for a DM program, reach out to dive centers where you'd like to work. Ask them about compensation. Talk to DMs and ask them their experiences with doing what you wish to do. It is easy to find PADI dive centers online and on Facebook. Work your way through social media to make contacts with the DMs. Don't ask CDs, as they are at the top of the pyramid scheme.

With regarding to making yourself more employable, are you a marine engine mechanic? Or a compressor technician? If the boat doesn't run or the compressor doesn't run, the business doesn't run

Cheers for the reply mate.

With regards to reaching out to places, that's what I'm currently trying to do at the moment, however not getting anything too substantial for the time being just a lot of maybes, which is understandable.

I'm currently none of those things you listed at the end unfortunately which is one of the exact reasons I posted this message, what kind of skills such as these would be beneficial and feasible for me to gain within a couple of months to help my case?

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Cheers for the reply mate.

With regards to reaching out to places, that's what I'm currently trying to do at the moment, however not getting anything too substantial for the time being just a lot of maybes, which is understandable.

I'm currently none of those things you listed at the end unfortunately which is one of the exact reasons I posted this message, what kind of skills such as these would be beneficial and feasible for me to gain within a couple of months to help my case?

If you are on Facebook, check out the Scuba Dive Sydney group. Talk to my mate there, David Nitschke, the group owner. He's pretty well connected and would give you good recommendations.

 

[Samih Chowdhary]

Do you already have the PADI Rescue cert?

How many dives do you have at this time?

What other stuff do you know that would be useful? Shops are looking for Swiss-army knives.... not a sushi knife.

Yeah got my rescue over a year ago now, currently sitting at 75 dives pre-DM course so planning on trying to get to 100 before flying out.
The issue is I am currently a bit of a sushi knife and am well aware of that fact. As one of the posts above mentioned short-term DM opportunities for visiting foreigners is rare so I'm looking to try and make myself more employable from a diving stand-point to combat this. Hence why I'm here, do you have any recommendations??

 

[Samih Chowdhary]

If you are on Facebook, check out the Scuba Dive Sydney group. Talk to my mate there, David Nitschke, the group owner. He's pretty well connected and would give you good recommendations.

Thank you so much for that contact I'll be sure to to that straight away!