Looking at heading out to South East Asia to complete dive master and on to instructor. Hoping to find out, from those in the know, great places in Thaialnd, Indo or the Philipines where I can get reasonably priced traning, accommodation and food, fantastic diving, a bit of night life, and real prospects of picking up some work once done. Thank you, old hands.
Thailand, Indo or the Philipines?
- Thread starter Skim
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Well, your post was fine until you added the "picking up some work" part. Thailand is great, but the good diving areas are in recovery mode after the tsunami. The Sea of Siam part is pretty boring and shallow. Indonesia is ok for some - I turned down a billet while I was in the Navy to train their Special Forces when I found out that it was really to train their secret police. This was before the East Timor civil war, so I would have had a serious conflict-of-interest there.
I always had great times in the PI and loved the diving in Cebu. You can live like a king there. There were Americans who had the dive concession at the Tambuli resort. They did ok - the resort catered to pretty much Europeans then.
What kind of passport do up have? That's going to be a big determinant in your prospects of employment.
I always had great times in the PI and loved the diving in Cebu. You can live like a king there. There were Americans who had the dive concession at the Tambuli resort. They did ok - the resort catered to pretty much Europeans then.
What kind of passport do up have? That's going to be a big determinant in your prospects of employment.
Go to pattaya Thailand ,,,,,,,mermaids diving school is the best in the Asian region....
Ask for Peter
www.mermaiddive.com Something like that is there site ......Or look under dive shops in pattaya Thailand .....Mermaids will come up for sure .....
Hope this Helps .........
Mrstein
Ask for Peter
www.mermaiddive.com Something like that is there site ......Or look under dive shops in pattaya Thailand .....Mermaids will come up for sure .....
Hope this Helps .........
Mrstein
Tom Winters:
Not nearly as much as the number of languages you speak. If you're not bilingual (at the very least) you'll never get on the liveaboards necessary for the "fantastic diving". Not with the competition from the multilingual European divers.
Indonesia has excellent diving as does the philippines. You could add malaysia to that mix as well.
shugar
Contributor
overall since you're going pro i'd second this... i'd further recommend the philippines... if all you can speak is english then you shouldn't have a problem even with the locals... you can get yourself lost in the boonies and still be able to talk to the people there...
also it's the best diving in asia... bar none
Jag
also it's the best diving in asia... bar none
Jag
Scuby Dooby
Guest
Depends on what you mean by 'work' mate. Diving in the philippines is great - but keep in mind that a local DM can be gotten pretty cheap (in the range of about $10 / day). You need to justify why it is worth having you for more money -
Better knowledge of the area - doubtful.
Better Skills - you are going to be a rookie, a lot of the DMs i see are in their 30s, even 40s..
Availability - these guys are willing to work damn hard for that $
Being 'Western' - Might be a pull for the owner / owners but unless you have language or other specific skills that draw in customers, you are just a needless expense to them. Also, need to think about the legality of your working status in the country (you realize you aren't supposed to work as a tourist right?)
I'm not trying to be down on your dream, just want you to be aware of reality. The diving industry sells the DM course and onto Instructor to you based on the 'exotic locations and opportunities that abound'. The shops are likely to hook you into their course with the same idea - but are there real jobs tied to the dream? I'm not entirely sure but when i look at most of the (foreign owned) dive operations around the philippines i see a foreign owner(s) and a majority or total team of local DMs. I've also seen a lot of people buy their way into a dive shop partnership to live the dream.
You know the old adage right:
How do you make a million dollars in the dive industry? Start with 2 million
If you are really wanting to get hired then when you are searching for shops to do your course with make sure you find foreign DMs / instructors working there. If you do, make sure to take them out for a beer or 2 and get the real scoop on the potential for jobs before you plunk down any money.
Good luck - you are going to need it and a lot of hard work!
Better knowledge of the area - doubtful.
Better Skills - you are going to be a rookie, a lot of the DMs i see are in their 30s, even 40s..
Availability - these guys are willing to work damn hard for that $
Being 'Western' - Might be a pull for the owner / owners but unless you have language or other specific skills that draw in customers, you are just a needless expense to them. Also, need to think about the legality of your working status in the country (you realize you aren't supposed to work as a tourist right?)
I'm not trying to be down on your dream, just want you to be aware of reality. The diving industry sells the DM course and onto Instructor to you based on the 'exotic locations and opportunities that abound'. The shops are likely to hook you into their course with the same idea - but are there real jobs tied to the dream? I'm not entirely sure but when i look at most of the (foreign owned) dive operations around the philippines i see a foreign owner(s) and a majority or total team of local DMs. I've also seen a lot of people buy their way into a dive shop partnership to live the dream.
You know the old adage right:
How do you make a million dollars in the dive industry? Start with 2 million
If you are really wanting to get hired then when you are searching for shops to do your course with make sure you find foreign DMs / instructors working there. If you do, make sure to take them out for a beer or 2 and get the real scoop on the potential for jobs before you plunk down any money.
Good luck - you are going to need it and a lot of hard work!
Thanks for the honest appraisal. Ok, the Philippines might be a great place to train but a tough place to find work. I am a New Zealander, so can work at home, in Australia or Fiji (I think). Does anyone have any idea about the chances of finding work in that neck of the woods?
shugar
Contributor
vie vie vie
it's called "amor propio" or loosely translated "love your own"... do wish to dive outside the country as the raves thailand, sipadan, red sea and bahamas are getting couldn't be all wrong...
until then though... we could use the tourism dollars hehehehehehe
Jag
it's called "amor propio" or loosely translated "love your own"... do wish to dive outside the country as the raves thailand, sipadan, red sea and bahamas are getting couldn't be all wrong...
until then though... we could use the tourism dollars hehehehehehe
Jag
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