In 2004 I finished sixth form college and decided to have a GAP year before starting University. I approached an organization and signed up to become a volunteer English teacher, requesting that they send me anywhere that was ‘completely different’. They told me that I would be posted in West Africa or East Malaysia!
A year of Adventure
Jon Milnes
Both sounded very exciting and after working my tail off as a waitress to save up, I boarded a plane for Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, East Malaysia in January 2005. Teaching English for three months was challenging, rewarding and a fantastic experience.
I realized that I was living near a marine park off Kota Kinabalu called the Tunku Abdul Rahman National Park.
I started diving on the weekends and made friends with several local divemasters and instructors.
The diving around the five islands is beautiful and fairly sheltered so you don’t get any strong currents or drifts. It was quite usual to see turtles, stingrays, all kinds of tropical fish, and I even spotted some seahorses on a night dive!
Divemaster internship
Ocean Image Photography
When my three month teaching placement came to an end I still had six months before starting University in the UK. I decided to stay in KK, so I moved in with some Divemaster friends that I had made, and become a Divemaster!
Some people say that you can complete the DM course in a few weeks. I spent five months doing an internship – working for two dive shops whilst also studying my DM course, and I whole-heartedly think this is the best way to become a Divemaster.
The experiences you get are so valuable this way, and really equip you with ways of handling different situations. After all, as a Divemaster you’re responsible for your divers’ wellbeing.
The Divemaster Course
Royster
The DM course consists of a few different elements. The theory part includes reading the manual and completing the quizzes. You also get the Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving, and can also complete the Diving Knowledge Workbook. There is a final exam as well.
Practical skills include going with an Instructor and practicing the twenty Open Water skills (mask clearing, regulator recovery, out of air, etc). Until you can demonstrate the skills perfectly to students who might be struggling.
You also need to pass swim tests, rescue assessments, complete a mapping exercise, assist Instructors when teaching courses, and much more.
Thewada1976
If you were to cram all of this into a few weeks you would learn a huge amount in no time and maybe forget a lot.
I train Divemasters slowly, balancing a bit of theory with a bit of practical work, and get them fully involved in the dive center. Whether it’s learning to fill tanks, help customers with their dive gear, assisting Instructors on courses and generally diving as much as possible. This allows them to see a variety of diver types underwater, and learn how to deal with problems.
Whether it’s photographers who want things pointing out to them while diving really slowly, or it’s novices who need help deciding how much weight to carry; or if its fixing broken fin straps and coming up with quick solutions, there’s nothing like the experience you get from actually working in a dive shop.
Are you already a Divemaster? How was your Divemaster course? Leave a comment below!
I planning to do a divemaster course this summer. Do you have any recommendations on where to take the course? I would like a long internship like you had.
Find a place you would like to dive and experience and then contact dive centers around it. If they are worth their salt (water hehe bad joke sorry) they should allow you to take as long as you want to do your DM course. Its not about quantity, but quality.
Hi Ande,
Koh Tao in Thailand is a really fun place to do the DM course, there are loads of people doing it, the whole island is centred around diving and there’s a really social side to it too! Or if you would like to come to Bangka we could train you here! Victoria’s suggestion is great too, if there’s somewhere you love diving perhaps contact a local dive centre and ask for A quote. Email me for more details of either option, info@nomaddiversbangka.com
Sophie
Okay, thank you both!
I was thinking of Thailand and maybe Koh Tao/Samui but I’m afraid that there are way to many tourist/divers there, or is that just a rumor?
I heard quite good about the diving there! I have to do some research on where I would like to stay.
Does anyone know if Maldives is a good place vs. price, when doing divemaster?
Hi Ade, thanks for commenting. I guess it depends on where in the world you are traveling from. If you are planning on going to Asia I can recommend Indonesia, diving and living cost are quite low and diving quality is the best.
I know the Maldives is quite expensive when you are there as a “normal” turist so I could imagine it being an expensive dm-course. And your numbers of dive, included in the price, might be limited a bit.
Great suggestions but have you thought about finding a DM course close to where you currently dive now? I did my Divemaster course in the good ol’ Pacific Northwest USA. Cold water, but being closer to home allowed me to stay a Divemaster Candidate as long as I felt I needed to so I could take my time and get the best experience possible. As a DMC I was able to assist in over 9 Open Water courses, at least that many advanced courses and met a great group of local instructors who I still keep in touch with now almost 15 years later. The best thing for me was when I found an instructor I really enjoyed working with and assisting. I still consider Josh Johnson my scuba mentor even though I have surpassed him in certs and experience. Don’t discount those Dive Centers close to home.
Hey Sophie,
I am currently looking to become a dive master and I would love to do an internship like the one you had done. If you could contact me and just give me some of the details that made getting your dive master the perfect experience, i would throughly enjoy it. Also I would greatly appreciate it if you could also tell me the dive shops you went through to get your dive masters i would be thankful since i’m looking through multiple countries and trying to find the right one. I also live in the United States. Please feel free to contact me at dswails21@hotmail.com
Thanks Sophie