First, the breakdown.
I was OW certified at the beginning of this year. I've always been drawn to the outdoors and been particularly fond of wildlife. Add to that the fact that I'm a bit of a gear ***** when it comes to outdoor sports and it was only natural that my first experience with the underwater world was borderline euphoric.
Stuck in a job for the last 12 years or so that I was aching to move on from, I thought maybe this was the answer I had been looking for. Spurred by my initial excitement I dove into the forums and websites trying to uncover any additional information about possibilities for training opportunities, job opportunities, and lifestyles to be had from living as a dive instructor/professional. The information I found was fairly grim and led me to believe that given my situation (married with a couple of dogs and attempting the whole domestication thing), it may be possible but some things were going to change drastically and we should be prepared.
Fast forward to today. The divorce is almost final, my job laid me off, I don't have a car to worry about and I got one of the dogs in the split. I've got somewhere in the neighborhood of $16,000 in savings and an additional monthly income of $700 from another source.
Now, the question.
Given my circumstances, would you take the plunge?
I think after my initial instructor training was finished I'd like to focus on the video/photography side of things since that is another of my main interests. I'd also look into various other certifications to make myself more useful/employable. Combined with 13 years of customer service experience working for a 4 star resort I'm hoping my employment options would be decent.
I know the dog is going to be one of the big hurdles but I think I can manage to keep her with me as I've already spoken with a couple of IDC's that could help me find housing that would allow her. I'm also aware that the living to be made on the recreational side of things in this industry is going to be fairly nominal but am hoping that combined with my other resources I may have enough to live a simple life near the beach.
Thoughts?
Comments?
Questions?
Any help is appreciated.
I was OW certified at the beginning of this year. I've always been drawn to the outdoors and been particularly fond of wildlife. Add to that the fact that I'm a bit of a gear ***** when it comes to outdoor sports and it was only natural that my first experience with the underwater world was borderline euphoric.
Stuck in a job for the last 12 years or so that I was aching to move on from, I thought maybe this was the answer I had been looking for. Spurred by my initial excitement I dove into the forums and websites trying to uncover any additional information about possibilities for training opportunities, job opportunities, and lifestyles to be had from living as a dive instructor/professional. The information I found was fairly grim and led me to believe that given my situation (married with a couple of dogs and attempting the whole domestication thing), it may be possible but some things were going to change drastically and we should be prepared.
Fast forward to today. The divorce is almost final, my job laid me off, I don't have a car to worry about and I got one of the dogs in the split. I've got somewhere in the neighborhood of $16,000 in savings and an additional monthly income of $700 from another source.
Now, the question.
Given my circumstances, would you take the plunge?
I think after my initial instructor training was finished I'd like to focus on the video/photography side of things since that is another of my main interests. I'd also look into various other certifications to make myself more useful/employable. Combined with 13 years of customer service experience working for a 4 star resort I'm hoping my employment options would be decent.
I know the dog is going to be one of the big hurdles but I think I can manage to keep her with me as I've already spoken with a couple of IDC's that could help me find housing that would allow her. I'm also aware that the living to be made on the recreational side of things in this industry is going to be fairly nominal but am hoping that combined with my other resources I may have enough to live a simple life near the beach.
Thoughts?
Comments?
Questions?
Any help is appreciated.