Live through diving…internships

Divemaster ready to go, from Wikimedia creative commons

If you’re a SCUBA diver who thinks you might want to actually support yourself through floating around underwater avoiding sharks with heavy weights attached to your back…or if you’re a heavy drinker and smoker who just isn’t sure what group you fit in with, there probably aren’t many better places for you than a divemaster internship.

Most diving schools offer a 6-month-to-one-year internship: you pay a small fee (or zero fee) and work your butt off, unpaid, every day, taking kids snorkeling, scared claustrophobics thrashing around at 2 metres below the surface, and experienced vacationers for a drown.  In return, you get training as a diving instructor, access to fancy equipment and a private boat, (usually) a place to live and some meals, and a ready-made community of divers.

Basically, it’s an unpaid job where you get to hang around on boats or underwater all day, keep less than regular hours, and enjoy staring at girls in bikinis.  Sounds great to you?  A couple of things to consider.  First, WHERE do you want to learn to dive?  There’s loads of great outfits with training programs in pretty much everywhere with a cool reef: Cairns, Australia (Great Barrier Reef); Thailand; Cozumel, Mexico; Vanuatu; Utila and Roatan, Honduras.

Once you have a general idea of where you might want to go, look up the area on the professional diving forums and messageboards.  See what outfits get good reviews for their internships.  Not all dive companies have training internships, but most do…if you really want to go to a particular area, and one company doesn’t have an internship, chances are there are three more that do.  The absolute best thing for you to do would be to go to the place you want to study, and talk to the instructors.  Some instructors will click with you better than others.

When you’ve found a place and a program you like, CAREFULLY follow their instructions to apply for the program.  Not every company has strict application processes, but it’s worth remembering that you’re applying for an internship that features drinking, diving, and bikinis: spots are occasionally at a premium.

When you’ve got your spot, remember a few things: they’ll give you the training you need before you take a bunch of inexperienced divers out to float around on a reef.  You’re not expected to know everything right away.  You’re also supposed to be a professional, which means that, no matter how bored you get, you can’t show it.  You are some people’s very first introduction to the magical world of diving…remember how awesome it was when you first started, and treat them accordingly.