Seeking Dive Master Internship (PADI or SSI)

[BackpackingScubaDiver]

Hello!

I'm travelling around SE Asia and can literally go anywhere in the region for my DMT or Dive Con - which is why this decision is becoming quite difficult. I'm looking for a challenging, dive filled program about 2-3 months in length where I'll also spend (a little) time learning about the shop and business side of things.

I've got 55 logged dives, have my own gear and I'm confident in my diving but looking to take it to the next level. I don't party and I'm taking this next step seriously.

Please let me know if you have an opening at your shop that fits.

Thank you!

 

[Goodtime Adventures]

Hi there. I can see from various previous posts you've been researching for a while, so we've no doubt you are taking the pro step seriously. There have been a few posts about DM/Dive Con Internships lately, so apologies if we're repeating ourselves a bit....

We are a dive centre and activity centre (rock climbing, abseiling, cliff jumping and watersports) based on Koh Tao, Thailand. I cant speak for other destinations in SE Asia, but I can tell you that I don't know of anywhere in the Gulf of Thailand (Tao, Samui & Phangan) that offer DM internships. It is possible to intern for a while as part of your DMT (and you absolutely should - its the best way to gain experience whilst still being under the supervision of experienced staff and receiving feedback accordingly), but not as a way of earning your DM. This is mainly because most businesses here - including ourselves, have a set of full time staff that run most courses, guiding and maintenance on a day to day basis. Also for small businesses there's simply not very many odd jobs around, and anything that does need doing is done by our staff when they're not with customers. Because of the low cost of local employment here, much of the tank filling and labouring work is done by local Thai's or Burmese, so again there is no benefit to taking on volunteers to save employment costs. You may find this becoming a recurrent theme in many Asian destinations. Europe and Australia though, totally different story due to higher overheads and staffing costs.

If you have your heart set on Asia, the best advice I can give you would be to have a look at specific destinations you are interested in, and start contacting dive centres based there directly about the possibility of interning. You may want to consider the traditional payment method of getting your DM if its feasible. You are likely to get a much higher level of training, information and feedback this way to help you become a better DM. It may not always be the case, we're sure there are some great internship programmes out there where you learn a lot, but in SE Asia you are likely to get much more out of the course where the instructors training you are being paid to pass on their knowledge and expertise, rather than working for free as it saves the business spending money on someone who's already qualified. Just something to think about...

Lastly, with the SSI/PADI choice, I'd wait til you have found the centre you want to train at, or narrowed down the region you'd like to work in after (if you do in fact plan to work as a DM), and ask dive centres some honest questions about which agency will be best for your current chances of obtaining work afterwards. This is especially true if you are looking at dual rated centres (those who teach PADI and SSI). You may know from some other threads that SSI has recently been bought out and is reverting back to a global, as opposed to regional approach to its management. This is by the by for students, but for dive centres there may be some changes early next year depending on what parts of the current regional SSI business model changes eg instant certification, certification card printing location, library system for manuals etc - all of which are currently condusive to low costs for individual dive centres. If the model changes and these costs increase however, you may see some centres drop SSI and revert to purely PADI. Some dive centres here on Koh Tao have already done this in anticipation. Likewise, new PADI rules mean that dive centres who teach SSI are no longer able to become a PADI dive centre - although current dual rated centres are allowed to keep their store number. They will however, be expected to sell the equivalent of regional market share of PADI courses (currently around 80%). So centres who teach a higher percentage of SSI courses may be forced to drop PADI and becme solely SSI. Sorry if all this is a bit long winded, but the relevance to you is there is little point in investing money and time in a course if your centre/other centres in the area are going to drop/switch away from the agency you are qualified with.

For what its worth, we always recommend PADI first, than cross over to SSI if you need. It is way cheaper and easier this way.

Good luck and enjoy your DM/Dive Con, its an awesome course with lots of cool travel and employment opportunities afterwards

 

[BackpackingScubaDiver]

Goodtime,

Thanks for all the info. I guess I misspoke (mistyped?) when I said 'Internship'. I simply meant long term training, which may include a sort of internship, but I wasn't suggesting covering the cost of the course. My apologies.

Also, thanks for the info about SSI. I was unaware of the major overhaul. I was simply thinking of SSI because you get a higher level of training (equal to PADI Assit. Instructor) for the same amount of money. Then I would take my PADI Instructor and then cross over to SSI <-- this seems like the most cost effective route. But with the changes in SSI coming, I don't know if makes much sense now.

Anyways, thanks again for your detailed response!

 

[RuFinish]

If you are determined to do it in Asia, i can recomend Scuba Nation, in Sihanoukville Cambodia.
We did our internship with them, and we have not been out of jobs since.
They train you quite hard, but you get to learn all you need and then some.

 

[DownbelowDiver]

Hello!

I'm travelling around SE Asia and can literally go anywhere in the region for my DMT or Dive Con - which is why this decision is becoming quite difficult. I'm looking for a challenging, dive filled program about 2-3 months in length where I'll also spend (a little) time learning about the shop and business side of things.

I've got 55 logged dives, have my own gear and I'm confident in my diving but looking to take it to the next level. I don't party and I'm taking this next step seriously.

Please let me know if you have an opening at your shop that fits.

Thank you!

Hi BackpackingScubaDiver

You have summarized in your post similar inclusions that we offer in our Go PRO internship programs at Downbelow Marine & Wildlife Adventures in Sabah, Borneo!

I&#8217;m glad you want to take your next step seriously because you will find the profession of being a dive educator is a massive responsibility in being a good role model.
So, without any time (or words!) to waste, let me inform you on how the many benefits our facilities will contribute to your successful dive career in the future!

We regularly conduct PADI Divemaster courses and Instructor Development Courses (IDC) at our premier PADI 5 Star IDC Dive Centre, which are integrated within professional dive internship programs.
The link below details what is included in the IDC package:

PADI IDC | IDC Asia

The duration of the course is much less than the length in time of our internship programs because the dive training can be completed in less time. However, our Go PRO team will attest that professional development grows from real dive experience, which is one of the more valuable benefits our Go PRO interns find gives them the confidence to excel in other environments in future.
Most fulfilling for our Go PRO interns is such experiences that include their contribution to conservation programs in support of the various missions Project AWARE have to protect and preserve the environment.
We regularly have groups of adventurers&#8217; visit our Gaya Island beach house to learn about our tropical environment and volunteer in any beach cleaning projects our team of PADI professionals organizes.
Our dive operations are based within the protected Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, and our Go PRO interns are encouraged to be involved in our quick response to any illegal fishing nets found entangling the coral reefs!

Get To Know Our GoPro Staff Team | IDC Asia

We are conducting an IDC beginning at the end of the month on the 31^st, which you should follow on our various social media networks to keep up to date on what you yourself would be doing in the future. We actually conduct 5 IDC&#8217;s every year to coincide with the PADI Instructor Examination (IE) that is set by PADI Asia Pacific.

Within 2-3 months you will complete both your PADI Divemaster and IDC course training, as well as gaining so much experience assisting on PADI courses and programs under the supervision of our team of PADI Instructors!
And more importantly, the UNLIMITED scuba diving within the parameters of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park you may take advantage of during the time of your internship program!

If you&#8217;re travelling a lot around South East Asia, it&#8217;s no problem for us to organize your accommodation and offer you information for your travels to arrive in Kota Kinabalu!

In the meantime, feel free to &#8216;stalk&#8217; us &#8211; it&#8217;s the best research

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