Employment - Resort Diving, Things To Know

Looking for Diving Work

There are website's that list places worldwide that are hungary for dive instructors and divemasters and salespeople. Unfortunately these can be a exploitive and profit-orientated in that they are 'pay and submit' for a chance of work. Alternatively the fun and adventurous way is to email dive resorts and see what's on offer and / or roll up at a country with a lot of dive resorts and drop in unannounced!

Getting the Big Break in Diving

There are many things to aid a diver working for a resort or dive company, these can be skills that are beneficial both under and above water, at the dive shop and on board the dive boat. As mentioned previously the prime requirement at dive resorts (besides customers of course!) is a core of instructors and divemasters who can provide a diving service. Actually gaining employment as a diver can be a varied path at a dive resort. Luck and the benchmark set by the mindset of the Resort manager plays a part, as does the diver role itself. It may be as simple as emailing off a CV for a vacancy and showing up at the dive resort. At the other extreme it may require passing a comprehensive and in-depth interview, skill assessment and a lengthy evaluation period by your peers before being fully accepted into the job.

Having the qualifications to work as an Instructor or Dive Leader / Divemaster is barely half the battle these days. Having a 'face that fits' and the experience to dive the dive is crucial. In busy dive resorts there can be a high demand for dive instructors and divemasters and it is here that the best chance lies in rookies divemasters and instructors getting their 'big break.' Some may feel the need to be 'economical with the truth' on their resume's and when being interviewed to try and give themselves an 'edge' over the competition. This is a controversial subject that gets everyone aflame so be aware that this approach may land you in hot water, if the 'truth' emerges and you'd better be ready to pull something out of the bag to back it up!
Having you're own dive gear should, to most divers, make sense if your striking out for a job in diving. Yes, it is a pain in the ass having to lug gear all over the place but we know it makes sense in the long run, as constantly fitting into rental gear is not professional.

It's something of a myth that to work in the recreational diving industry you must be an extrovert by nature and outwardly gregarious. It can certainly help in certain circumstances though, in the PADI diving industry promoting PADI products and materials is encouraged. In some resorts that are dependent on selling diving trips and courses rather than receiving pre-booked customers your salesmanship qualities will need to be high. What is a very important quality to have, especially as an instructor, is confidence and being a good speaker. More important still is having and showing empathy; reading the mood and character of the customers you'll be taking diving.

Instructors and divemasters who can adjust their style and language to suit their audience will find their job becomes a whole lot easier. Arrogance, ideally is a trait that no Dive Instructor should have, however bear in mind that there can be a fine line between an assertive instructor and an arrogant one.

Speaking the native language of the paying customers is another essential skill required.
The English language is considered to be the international language of divers, closely followed by Spanish, German, French and the Scandinavian languages. That said it is no bad thing to be a Spanish or French speaking diver with only a limited grasping of English. To a smart dive resort, multi-lingual dive instructors are worth their weight in gold, potential diving customers who wish to go or learn diving will be drawn to the common ground of being understood properly by the staff there.

To see the full article, visit : Resort Diving, Things to Know

Employment - Working for a Dive Resort

The typical dive resort usually consists of accommodation (quality can vary) for the divers (customers), an office / admin area, a classroom, a gear room and a harbour area where the dive boat is moored. Higher grade resorts can include: Restaurant, lockers for personal effects, a pool for enclosed water training, a bar for partying after the dives have finished, and a private mooring for liveaboards / dive boats.

It can be a very glamorous lifestyle: Sunny tropical climate, often there's a party atmosphere, you're getting paid to travel on boats and dive pretty coral reefs. Working and living-it-up on a tropical island is not something most people have done.

Working for a dive resort is similar in many ways to working for a cruise liner. You have paying customers who need attention and your job can often mean long hours to do this. The paying customers are usually either: Snorkellers, students or fun divers. These same students may go on to do fun diving once they attain dive status.

Snorkellers: tend to be easiest of them all when it comes to administering and equipping, indeed many often bring their own gear with them. Unless the dive site is inherently risky they usually require only casual / minimal supervision once they hit the water.

Student Divers: This group of diver also tends to be the most varied to teach diving to due to differing experience, age, health along with their mindset and attitude. In fact many of this type may not of even undertaken scuba diving before. The skill of a diving instructor is paramount in teaching the ways of diving. But knowledge of diving isn't the only one: patience, understanding and empathy are all things a good dive instructor should have to impart onto the student.

Fun Divers: Most tend to bring minimal equipment (mask, snorkel and fins), some may bring a wetsuit, few bring a full dive set (less weights). This group of diver tends to be the most varied to lead on a dive due to differing experience, skill, age, health along with their mindset and attitude. Almost all will need to be escorted / guided around the dive site they choose; be it a coral reef formation or a shipwreck etc. The escorting diver needs to be fully aware and ready to deal with and overcome difficulties that the divers may encounter. It cannot be overstated how important the responsibility factor on the dive guides shoulders is.
So who normally works in a dive resort? Well, usually there's a dive manager, several Instructors, Divemasters / Dive guides, boat captain (s), dive boat crew.

Imagine then that you've been picked from a crowd of hopeful wannabe divemasters and Instructors into the dive resort job of your dreams. The dive center / resort doors are in front of you, before you walk here's what lies in store for you.

To see the full article, visit : Working For a Dive Resort

Employment in Diving - Recreational

For all those who wish to learn the ways of diving there must be those who can teach them it.
For every diver who takes the first step into the blue world there are some who will go on to the reach the highest levels of scuba diving.

For tropical / sub tropical resorts seeing large numbers of tourists visit there is a constant demand for those who can introduce new divers to the many dive sites the area has to offer.

The actual career path for diving can vary, in club based dive organisations the path is usually strictly regimented in accrediting experience and can take years of training before attaining the necessary credentials. These include BSAC, CMAS and PSI.
While others favour a more fast-track approach whereby a diver can attend course after course at a dive resort and over the course of under a hundred dives and six months can end up as an instructor teaching entry level diving. A classic example of this is the PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor (PADI OWSI) program which is incredibly popular in Australia, SE Asia and the USA.

Employment in diving is not only restricted to Instructor level. PADI Divemasters, BSAC Dive Leaders and CMAS 3 Star divers are all considered competent to plan and lead dives for others, thus at a dive resort you will occasionally find them employed with the job of leading scuba divers safely around dive sites that they are familiar with.

Source: Diving Lore Employment in Diving