I am doing a divemaster internship and am now wondering if i should also be paying for the course.The internship is running for just over six months.Any advise would be greatly welcome.
should i be paying for an internship
- Thread starter duncan1958
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
What do you mean by internship? A standard Divemaster course you pay for, which includes things like shlepping tanks.
OP
internship; as you say bottle jocky and all the humping of gear setting up kit for discover divers etc,but instead of just for a few weeks to get qualification.I have paid the going rate for the course and am working for six plus months unpaid in the :role : of divemaster .humping bottles .packing kit etc etc.my question is have i been taken for a mug here by paying for the course.i have nothing to compare to so this is why i am asking on here.is it the :norm : to pay for a course such as divemaster and also work for any period of time unpaid as part of one training???
Well the six months of working unpaid will train you well as a divemaster in southern Florida since they don't get paid.
I never worked as a divemaster - only as an instructor, and I was well-paid for that. I also had a 100-ton captain's license so that made me eminently employable.
When I ran my own business, I always paid my divemasters. They also received tips on top of that. What really was strange was that I got tipped as well even though I owned the company. I could never figure that out, but it was something like a couple of hundred a week extra.
I never worked as a divemaster - only as an instructor, and I was well-paid for that. I also had a 100-ton captain's license so that made me eminently employable.
When I ran my own business, I always paid my divemasters. They also received tips on top of that. What really was strange was that I got tipped as well even though I owned the company. I could never figure that out, but it was something like a couple of hundred a week extra.
OP
Tom Winters:
duncan1958:
In Training, as with all things.......... you get what you pay for.
Are they really going to spend any time teaching you anything if they're not getting anything for it?
Are they really going to spend any time teaching you anything if they're not getting anything for it?
Maybe they do it that way in Spain, you are in Spain right? My experience in the States is that you pay for the course,and participate as a DMC for approximatly 3 to 6 months, part time. You can always shop around.
Paying for the class and then interning unpaid for a period of time is not uncommon. That is all part of the divemaster program. If you are now certified as a divemaster, then you should be compensated for your time. However, if you still do not have your c-card for divemaster, then you should not get paid, because you are still in training. You should find a reference to this in your divemaster manual. If you are not certified, that means you are working under your instructor's insurance and their certification. There are a lot of responsibilities and liabilty when you are a divemaster, and it is very important you have the appropriate training, but more so, the experience to be a competent divemaster. Depending on your location, 6 months may be a long time to be in an internship, but in other locations that are not as busy, 6 months may be appropriate. Depending on your knowledge level and experience, you may be able to work in the particular shop selling gear.
Better check up on that "working under your instructors insurance.".I am sure that the insurance company does not know about it..diverjmd:
Similar threads
- Sticky
- Article
