[Beyond Borders]

Any of you working as a divemaster, scuba instructor, or tech diver as a means of living
internationally or traveling the world? How is the lifestyle treating you? The pay?

[scotian]

(09-15-2012 04:41 PM)Beyond Borders Wrote:  

Any of you working as a divemaster, scuba instructor, or tech diver as a means of living
internationally or traveling the world? How is the lifestyle treating you? The pay?

Hopefully we get a good response on this question, I`m interested in getting my commercial diving license one day as I can make a lot of money by practicing my trade underwater.

[scubadude]

I sure am. I have traveled and lived around the world because of it. Right now I rarely teach though.

There are two major ways to work in diving, recreational or commercial. They are two different worlds.

Recreational instructor:
Pros:
You can work and live in just about any of the resort and water vacation destinations of the world and any large metro area.

Meet people from all over and have hook-ups anywhere in the world.

Travel and gear discounts.

Lots of beautiful women, (i.e. I slept with the SCUBA instructor on vacation)

Awesome life experiences

Cons:

Crap pay

Crap hours

Lots more work than you would imagine (gear maintenance, 20 tank fills after a long day etc)

Commercial Diving:

Pros:

Great money- can retire after a few years of sat diving (takes a while to get to that level)

Travel and adventure with lots of time off.

Cons:

Travel to some of the worst 3rd world countries.

A very dangerous occupation.

When I was 18 I had to decide between the two and went recreational, it was a great ride and I'm sure I will always be involved in it at some level. On the other hand, had I gone commercial I would probably be retired by now if I was still alive. Of all the old commercial divers I have met, many were physically broken. Call the commercial schools and they will even tell you it's a young mans game.

I'll post more later if I think of anything.

[FretDancer]

Actually the cons you mention for recreational doesn't sound so bad. How much paying are we talking about here more or less?

[peterthephoenix]

I'd recommend doing it in Thailand.

The guy who taught me started a dive company over there, made some money and banged plenty of girls. Regular OG.

[scotian]

(09-15-2012 08:48 PM)scubadude Wrote:  

I sure am. I have traveled and lived around the world because of it. Right now I rarely teach though.

There are two major ways to work in diving, recreational or commercial. They are two different worlds.

Recreational instructor:
Pros:
You can work and live in just about any of the resort and water vacation destinations of the world and any large metro area.

Meet people from all over and have hook-ups anywhere in the world.

Travel and gear discounts.

Lots of beautiful women, (i.e. I slept with the SCUBA instructor on vacation)

Awesome life experiences

Cons:

Crap pay

Crap hours

Lots more work than you would imagine (gear maintenance, 20 tank fills after a long day etc)

Commercial Diving:

Pros:

Great money- can retire after a few years of sat diving (takes a while to get to that level)

Travel and adventure with lots of time off.

Cons:

Travel to some of the worst 3rd world countries.

A very dangerous occupation.

When I was 18 I had to decide between the two and went recreational, it was a great ride and I'm sure I will always be involved in it at some level. On the other hand, had I gone commercial I would probably be retired by now if I was still alive. Of all the old commercial divers I have met, many were physically broken. Call the commercial schools and they will even tell you it's a young mans game.

I'll post more later if I think of anything.

Nice post, when you say that its a young man`s game, how young do you mean? I understand that there`s concerns about a guy diving under pressure, but is there a limit to how old a guy can be to dive. Is 10 years at it a max?

I will get into diving for the recreational aspect but its in my mind to get heavy into it and combine a hobby with how I make money. Are you familiar with the offshore diver rates in the offshore oil?

Personally, I wouldn`t go under water, under pressure for less than $1500/day.

[Screwston]

Is it dangerous if you're doing it for recreational purposes?

[scubadude]

(09-16-2012 03:44 AM)houston Wrote:  

Is it dangerous if you're doing it for recreational purposes?

Not as long as you follow established guidelines, or you're Steve Irwin.

[scubadude]

(09-16-2012 01:46 AM)scotian Wrote:  

Nice post, when you say that its a young man`s game, how young do you mean? I understand that there`s concerns about a guy diving under pressure, but is there a limit to how old a guy can be to dive. Is 10 years at it a max?

I will get into diving for the recreational aspect but its in my mind to get heavy into it and combine a hobby with how I make money. Are you familiar with the offshore diver rates in the offshore oil?

Personally, I wouldn`t go under water, under pressure for less than $1500/day.

Start early 20's so after you put in a few years as a tender you can still do a good 4-7 years of saturation dives and hopefully escape with most of your health.

I'm sure there are jobs that will pay $1500 a day. I don't know how common they are, it's been 15 years since I looked into it.

[scubadude]

(09-16-2012 12:44 AM)FretDancer Wrote:  

Actually the cons you mention for recreational doesn't sound so bad. How much paying are we talking about here more or less?

It is really variable and different parts of the world pay different. I would expect somewhere around 25-50k for full time instructor. Sometimes housing is included or other fringe benefits. Also 30K will take you a lot farther working in Haiti vs. NYC if you see what I mean. You won't starve but you won't get rich as an staff instructor either.

As far as careers go, it is a relatively cheap one to get started in though.

[RASER]

(09-16-2012 06:31 AM)scubadude Wrote:  

Not as long as you follow established guidelines, or you're Steve Irwin.

I still miss the BIG fella:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rdyVP95XiE

"Lifes about, shooting your load''

[scotian]

I'm, heading to Koh Tao, Thailand on January 7th and plan on doing my PADI training there, stoked!

If any of you have been there, do you recommend any particular dive outfits and also, should I pre-book in advance or just show up?

Also, do any of you have suggestions or any pointers for diving in the Philippines? From what I can tell, Palawan is the best place there.

[Menace]

Scotian,

I dived near Cebu from Maktan island. It was very nice. If you check my Philippines thread I wrote about the dive place. TL;DR Kontiki divers is good and cheap, but check equipment. You can dive with whale sharks if you drive a bit further down the coast from Cebu City. I just dived in Florida and Phils was much better for density/variety of marine life although I did see a ray tht was as big as I was.

[DirectDanger]

@scotian
It depends on how much time you have. If you have plenty of time I would not book in advance and instead go around talking to several companies and see how you get along with the people working there. You can even go down to the dock and check out the boats they use, who seems like they have a fun (and safe) crew, talk with people who just finished the course, etc... Just taking one full day doing this should help you pick the right SCUBA company.

This is worth your time if you are going to do the regular and advanced training. If you plan on doing your divemasters then really take your time on selecting which company you use as you are going to be spending a lot of time with them and also possibly working with them when you are done with the course.

It is a blast man you will have a great time. Plus it is full of Scandinavian girls during that time of year. Enjoy!

[Beyond Borders]

(12-24-2012 10:00 AM)scotian Wrote:  

I'm, heading to Koh Tao, Thailand on January 7th and plan on doing my PADI training there, stoked!

If any of you have been there, do you recommend any particular dive outfits and also, should I pre-book in advance or just show up?

Also, do any of you have suggestions or any pointers for diving in the Philippines? From what I can tell, Palawan is the best place there.

I like Buddha View Diving School. They've got one of the best reputations on the island and there's a great community spirit there. Don't know if it's common with the other schools too, but I remember divemasters all celebrate their passing the internship by doing a whiskey bucket through a snorkel. lol

They've got their own little bar, and one year the boss even hired these guys to come play for the anniversary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAdZzr0ysxg

[Ubietza]

How much can I expect to pay to go from zero to hero (i.e., someone with no experience to an instructor)? From what I'm seeing, it takes around nine months, and costs anywhere from 10k - 15k.

[zoom]

(01-17-2013 12:42 PM)Ubietza Wrote:  

How much can I expect to pay to go from zero to hero (i.e., someone with no experience to an instructor)? From what I'm seeing, it takes around nine months, and costs anywhere from 10k - 15k.

I wouldn't just plan on becoming an instructor. Scuba diving doesn't work like that. You first have to go scuba diving in order to see if you even like it. You then need a lot of experience in order to instruct. Also scuba diving instructors get paid very little, it's not a good return on investment.

[Ubietza]

(01-17-2013 02:07 PM)zoom Wrote:  

(01-17-2013 12:42 PM)Ubietza Wrote:  

How much can I expect to pay to go from zero to hero (i.e., someone with no experience to an instructor)? From what I'm seeing, it takes around nine months, and costs anywhere from 10k - 15k.

I wouldn't just plan on becoming an instructor. Scuba diving doesn't work like that. You first have to go scuba diving in order to see if you even like it. You then need a lot of experience in order to instruct. Also scuba diving instructors get paid very little, it's not a good return on investment.

I've done it a few times, though. Well, the zero to hero internship is nine months: that's where you build experience. Some of you really disappoint me, though: your entire Weltanschauung (i.e., worldview) is based on monetary units. Fuck that shit. Some of us are not that monochromatic. Most of the time, you have to sell your soul for the $, but being a scuba instructor seems like a great way to see the world; bang girls; and live an unconventional lifestyle. And from what one user mentioned, they can make anywhere from 25 - 50k a year, which is respectable, especially if you're living in Indonesia or somewhere in SEA.

[zoom]

Sure there are some good perks that come with the job. However it is a tough and tedious job that pays little money. That's the bottom line.

(01-17-2013 03:21 PM)Ubietza Wrote:  

I've done it a few times, though. Well, the zero to hero internship is nine months: that's where you build experience. Some of you really disappoint me, though: your entire Weltanschauung (i.e., worldview) is based on monetary units. Fuck that shit. Some of us are not that monochromatic. Most of the time, you have to sell your soul for the $, but being a scuba instructor seems like a great way to see the world; bang girls; and live an unconventional lifestyle. And from what one user mentioned, they can make anywhere from 25 - 50k a year, which is respectable, especially if you're living in Indonesia or somewhere in SEA.

[Ubietza]

I take it that you've done it then? Why don't you drop a data-sheet and help a nigguh out?

(01-17-2013 03:42 PM)zoom Wrote:  

Sure there are some good perks that come with the job. However it is a tough and tedious job that pays little money. That's the bottom line.

(01-17-2013 03:21 PM)Ubietza Wrote:  

I've done it a few times, though. Well, the zero to hero internship is nine months: that's where you build experience. Some of you really disappoint me, though: your entire Weltanschauung (i.e., worldview) is based on monetary units. Fuck that shit. Some of us are not that monochromatic. Most of the time, you have to sell your soul for the $, but being a scuba instructor seems like a great way to see the world; bang girls; and live an unconventional lifestyle. And from what one user mentioned, they can make anywhere from 25 - 50k a year, which is respectable, especially if you're living in Indonesia or somewhere in SEA.

[zoom]

No I have never been a scuba instructor. But I do have a scuba certification and I can tell how difficult life would be as an instructor.

They have to teach the same thing over and over again. That will get tiring after awhile. They also have to deal with students who don't learn well or who give them problems.

Not to even mention the amount of responsibility they have. If anything bad happens then the instructor is to blame.

My instructor told a story where he saved a student's life. The student couldn't fix his goggles underwater and started panicking. So the instructor brought him up 100ft to the surface. The student didn't tip, and didn't even say thank you. The same instructor was making only $13 an hour, and he spent $10k on certifications.

It's not a bad job, but at the same time it's far from ideal. You would have
to really love scuba-diving to do it.

(01-17-2013 04:51 PM)Ubietza Wrote:  

I take it that you've done it then? Why don't you drop a data-sheet and help a nigguh out?

[Ubietza]

What country was this in? I appreciate the info.

(01-17-2013 05:02 PM)zoom Wrote:  

No I have never been a scuba instructor. But I do have a scuba certification and I can tell how difficult life would be as an instructor.

They have to teach the same thing over and over again. That will get tiring after awhile. They also have to deal with students who don't learn well or who give them problems.

Not to even mention the amount of responsibility they have. If anything bad happens then the instructor is to blame.

My instructor told a story where he saved a student's life. The student couldn't fix his goggles underwater and started panicking. So the instructor brought him up 100ft to the surface. The student didn't tip, and didn't even say thank you. The same instructor was making only $13 an hour, and he spent $10k on certifications.

It's not a bad job, but at the same time it's far from ideal. You would have
to really love scuba-diving to do it.

(01-17-2013 04:51 PM)Ubietza Wrote:  

I take it that you've done it then? Why don't you drop a data-sheet and help a nigguh out?

[zoom]

The United States- Hawaii Specifically. $13 per hour is definitely on the low end though. I'm not sure what rates are in other countries. I would suggest doing more research on that.

(01-17-2013 05:06 PM)Ubietza Wrote:  

What country was this in? I appreciate the info.