Best Training Programs
You want to do a Scuba Dive Internship program
We often get asked what factors should you consider when choosing a Course Director and a PADI IDC centre, factors will vary from person to person but your final decision will be based on the factors below.
These factors are in the order importance. Some people may consider cost to be a more important factor but I think that instruction quality is much more important than saving a little bit of money short term.
You want a Career as a Dive Instructor?
You should chose your Course Director and PADI IDC on the following factors:
- Location, you may want an exciting and exotic location where you could work and live after the IDC.
- Dive Conditions, you will want to be able to enjoy your diving when not instructing.
- Course Director, do they have lots of experience and are they highly regarded.
- Variety of Packages / options to training, what specialties can the Course Director teach.
- Price, As I was a salaried employee the cost of the course wasn’t much of a concern.
- Website, always avoid websites that look old and dated or unloved this could reflect the training standards.
- Does the Course Director run the Staff Instructor Course?
Dive Internships
Internships allow you to go from fun-diver to Instructor by working within a dive centre, where you can combine work and study courses in an environment that you aspire to work in one day.
There are many available from established dive centres where you have the potential to go from Beginner to Pro in 6 months and the only thing from you is that you have basic swimming ability, some dedication and a desire to get involved in a dynamic and fast expanding industry.
IDC Guide would probably recommend that you get experience diving and do courses open water and advanced open water before doing an Internship, this will ensure you know you are doing the right thing and give you a more rounded dive experience in preparation to you becoming an Instructor.
If you take an Internship you may be provided with accommodation and normally you will be given all your education / training requirements including the courses and materials for PADI Discover Scuba Diver, PADI Open Water Diver, PADI Advanced Open Water Diver, PADI EAN (Nitrox) Diver, CPR First Aid Course, PADI Rescue Diver, PADI Divemaster, PADI Instructor Development Course and your final PADI Instructor Evaluation Course. You should be provided with everything including all your necessary study materials (books, manuals etc) for all the courses you elect to take.
Furthermore you may be provided with airport transfers, discounts on all further dive equipment requirements and further dive courses, Free Wireless ADSL Internet,free local / shore diving, tours of gas blending stations and the experience of learning within a PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Centre with some experienced and qualified Instructors and Divemasters.
Some Internships will offer you a complete set of dive equipment (Everything you need including BCD, Regulator, Wetsuit, Mask, Fins, Snorkel, and your very own Dive Computer !) and this equipment will be yours to keep at the end of your courses. You may be promised that at the end of your training you will be give in a placement within one of their dive centres or help to get your placed in one of the ‘partner’ dive centres as part of our assisted job search / placement package, don’t pay too much attention to those promises, if you fit in then perhaps you may be lucky and get work straight away but best not count on it.
To start most internships you must be a minimum of 18 years old, have basic swimming ability, be ready and willing to spend 6 months working in a dive centre and will need to be willing to give the training some hard work and dedication, if you can do this then you ‘may’ be transformed into a PADI Dive Professional with the potential to work anywhere in the world in an some amazing environments.
There is no better decision you can make than deciding to take a career break or taking time off work, perhaps a sabbatical, or having a gap year after your studies when you can have an opportunity of a lifetime by taking a scuba diving internship which will allow you to combine a fantastic, fun and beautiful sport with a career for yourself that you can do full time or part time or work for yourself and decide when you want to work 🙂 where you can work with people that ‘want’ to be where they are, be it fellow instructors or your students, this means everyone you come in contact with has a smile on their face and a love of life. Can you say that about your current job ? perhaps another rhetorical question
We often get asked what pre-study can be done to prepare from an internship, there is nothing you have to do but to make it easier on yourself regarding the Internship and your DM and IDC exams is make sure you know the dive theory 100% I cannot emphasize this enough, you should be able to explain to a non-diver anything they ask you about diving theory.
To do this go through your dive theory sections on this website and then go through the PADI Diving Knowledge Workbook, Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving and work your way through that, if you also have access to the PADI eLearning Materials. You can get the official PADI material by purchasing them through PADI or a PADI IDC Centre.