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#1
12-07-2006, 17:52
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diving/teaching to stay in thailand
: hi everyone,
really need some advice, i have been to thailand many times now and really want to stay out there. i am thinking of doing a teaching tefl course and also a 6month diving course, where after you finish you are a trained diving instrutor. i would like to know if any one has done any of these courses and made a sucess of it. i am sick of living in england and want to try something new. i will have a bit of money so there is no need for me to rush back after i finish the courses, i can stay and look for work after. i thought i would do both courses so in low season i can teach when there is not any diving.i would like to stay in patong but i understand there are not many jobs is this true or is it a case of waiting and see what comes along??? both the teaching and diving courses have job placement schemes do they work??? this seems the only way to make a living out there so any advice would be greatly appreciated as its really doing my head in what to do  i know the money is not great but i would rather have a skint life out there than a skint life in england. i need your help people should i stay or should i go!!!!! 
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#2
12-07-2006, 18:31
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Hi Dickie - welcome to the board.  At least you are a realist.Both jobs are low paying and so you would not have a lot of money to waste.I worked as a Divemaster for a few years with a good company but only on a commission basis so not big money.A few mates are teaching and doing OK at it.It is long hours with a lot of prep work to be done in your own time.The TEFL course can get you a placement but once you have your ticket you can move around.My mate is considering a move to another Asian country where wages may be better.
__________________
 If you can't take a joke you shouldn't have joined up!!! 
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#3
12-07-2006, 18:33
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A friend of mine had exactly the same plan as you about three years ago, with emphasis on the diving.
He became a fully qualified dive instructor, had the work permit, etc. He did get a job doing underwater videos of dive excursions, but the pay was really cr4p. Problem with the dive instruction was he was always underbid by the travelling circus of dive instructors who float in during the high season, pay no taxes and have little or no overheads. He did get one job teaching a PADI open water course for 1 pupil starting christmas day. He ended up doing IT project work abroad. He didn't do the TEFL course in the end, but concentrated on getting his dive quals.
__________________
"管它黑貓白貓，會抓老鼠的就是好貓"
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#4
13-07-2006, 00:48
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sounds like im taking a bit of a risk.maybe get the qualifications hang around for a couple of months it nothing comes along go somewhere else and try.
any one got any good news on it!!!! all advice is great keep it coming
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#5
13-07-2006, 02:31
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The 6 month from non-diving to divinginstructor are no good if you try to do work somewhere else they won't hire you !
If you try to get a diving sertification build it up slowly and get good education. see : http://diveproinfo.proboards25.com/ Read on this boards i read a lot off shit in respect to these courses , the prices they give or the equipment are also on the high side. If you want to do this just start diving and build it up from there. Whatever you do good luck, Frank
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#7
13-07-2006, 09:16
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I know a few DM's.. Most in the freelance community I guess but all been here long term, one speaks very good Thai, fully certified, know all the local dive sites, etc etc etc.. Right now none are working much if at all..
English teaching.. Well Alfies getting some money out of it in BKK with fairly low hours.. Better than I would have guessed but still a struggle to make ends meet. TEFL is actually a profession that pays ok in some countries..
__________________
Men have only 2 emotional states, hungry and horny.. So ladies, if you see me without an erection, make me a sandwich.
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#8
13-07-2006, 09:43
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well you had my 2 satangs worth on this in reply to your pm Dickie......but for all else on the board.....
IMHO it is nigh on impossible to make a decent unsubsidised (out of ones savings) living out of scuba instructing/dive master in Phuket unless someone is offering you pretty much full time work......and unles you are high on a list or very well connected this then makes that % totally impossible...... No real experience with TEFL teaching in LOS however they too are dime a dozen (no offence here Alfie  ).........but seeing the figures from Alfie it would be a darn better way of making money than via scuba.....problem with this is that the jobs tend to be in BKK rather than by the coast..........
__________________
 ....but of course I was verey verey draaank at the taaame!!!
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#9
13-07-2006, 14:59
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whats with all the neagtive stuff about being a dive inst?? as long as you know that the pay will be crap up front then your ok.
as for the comment about the zero to hero in 6mths making it hard to get a job thats only partly true. do a course with an interniship that lets you get 50 - 100 certs by the time you are done and its much easier to get a job. oh and obviously if you are a blonde bird with huge tits u get a job no prob otherwise teach lots of specs and have a few languages.it is about who you know to a certain degree but if you are presentable and make an effort to look for work it is out there. there is a large amount of "flotsam" for want of a better word that drift around teaching diving but if you are planning on being here full time that will make it much easier for you. you will be here in the low season, may only pick up a bit of work but then as long as you do it right they will give you more work in the high season. the other option is to go to a sausage factory island such as tao, do the idc there and then score a job. the main disadvantage is the MASSIVE amount of english speaking insts out there. if you really want to succeed learn a second european language and you will find that the doors open much more easily.
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#10
13-07-2006, 15:10
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cheers smartecoss, for some positive feedback. i was a bit all doom and gloom but i need to know the good and the bad. i will be out there for a long time to look for work and that is why i thought doing the tefl would get me some money in the low season.
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#11
13-07-2006, 15:22
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i do have a friend that does the tfl in the low season and inst in the high but you would be better served trying to become established as a RELIABLE & PRESENTABLE full time dive inst , not a traveling waster that happens to have an OWSI ticket
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#12
13-07-2006, 22:47
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a bit of everything here, i would definatly be on the ball and actively look for work, because im giving everything up here, i would make it work, even if i had to leave thailand and work else where for a while. i would have enough money to see me through a year so i could network go in the schools dive shops, get to know people and something must come up. plus its all part of the adventure.
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#14
14-07-2006, 05:03
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Hi again Dickie.......smartecosse makes good points about getting certified, settled and known....you will need to get plenty of history up before you will find consistent work.....hence my warning that you will need to subsidise yourself for sometime......
One question though......are you a keen diver now and do you have any significant certification and dive history???.......if you do not absolutely love diving and being with people of all walks of life all day you are not gonna last at it my friend.......... and also good advice from smartecoss about inceasing your chances by being multi-lingual
__________________
....but of course I was verey verey draaank at the taaame!!!
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#15
14-07-2006, 05:15
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based on what he wrote on his first post saying that he can take a 6 month course where he ends up as an instructor I would say he is not certified yet. so he does not even know if he will like scuba diving and does not know how comfortable he will be in the water with dive gear and has never been on a dive boat to see what he will have to deal with day in and day out. Hope he is a good athlete so that will help overcome his lack of experience. The store I used to work for(just quit and this is one of the reasons after 15 years with them) is taking all of these just certified OW students and making them instructors after 100 dives. These newbies are then teaching people how to beach dive in California. A recipe for disaster and I finally decided I did not want to deal with it anymore as I was invariably having to help the other instructors with their class while I had mine and this also opened me up to a lot of liability issues if the other instructor's students ever had a problem later on. If I help someone else with a class then their students could name me in a lawsuit up to 7 years after they got certified if they ever had a problem.
__________________
variety is the spice of life. I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy. Mav's a hasher, not a basher, Tell me it ain't so! Mav, he sits on ice, says it feels nice, enjoyed it so much, he did it twice.
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#16
15-07-2006, 00:07
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i have tryed scuba diving here in the uk but no certs as yet. i do enjoy working with people from all walks of life , i do that now in my present job. i love a challenge and meeting new people. i just want something better than livving here in the uk. if it all goes belly up i can come back, but i least i tryed it. i got enough money to stay for about a year and a half after i finish both courses so that will give me plenty of time to find hopefully something.
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#17
15-07-2006, 00:17
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Hi Dickie,
Do yourself a favor and buy some good snorkeling gear and go prctice with it in a pool. The more comfortable you are with the gear and the better your swimming ability is the easier the class will be. You will have some timed swim tests, with and without fins. Good luck.
__________________
variety is the spice of life. I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy. Mav's a hasher, not a basher, Tell me it ain't so! Mav, he sits on ice, says it feels nice, enjoyed it so much, he did it twice.
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#18
15-07-2006, 01:27
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i didnt find the classes at all hard thing is when i finally went diving, didnt really care for it!
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#19
15-07-2006, 01:46
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becoming an instructor is a lot different than the regular basic class.
timed distance swim test with and w/o fins ditch and don, bailouts, buddy breathing swim and lots of other skills academics with physics, physiology, legal aspects of diving, equipment, etc. Like taking a semester long college class.
__________________
variety is the spice of life. I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy. Mav's a hasher, not a basher, Tell me it ain't so! Mav, he sits on ice, says it feels nice, enjoyed it so much, he did it twice.
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#20
15-07-2006, 01:49
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yeah, but this guy isnt even certified yet, so hed have to take the classes 1st
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#21
15-07-2006, 01:56
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But his plan is to become an instructor.
what I was talking about concerned his whole series of classes, not just the first one. I was trying to help him on his way to becoming an instructor. Since he is going to do the class all the way to instructor wanted him to know that he should practice a little bit first. He will not have a lot of time to practice once he starts the series of classes that he needs. Also he should get his first aid and CPR class certification as he will need that to do his rescue and leadership classes. And he will need to have a current medical/physical within one year of when he finishes the instructor class.
__________________
variety is the spice of life. I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy. Mav's a hasher, not a basher, Tell me it ain't so! Mav, he sits on ice, says it feels nice, enjoyed it so much, he did it twice.
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#22
15-07-2006, 09:10
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If you want to have a real income and spend time in Thailand look to contracting work.. The oil industry right now is booming and everyone I know if the biz are getting better money, better offers, changing jobs etc.. This is a superb time and they are crying out for new people.
If you dont have any engineering background you could considder LST work.. Theres a training course in the UK (2 grand 2 weeks) in plymouth and after that you can do the drop training, safety etc cheaply in Pattaya.. 2 mates of mine did this a year ago and one is working loads (the other is chosing to work a little and drink a lot).. Getting your first gig after that is the hard part but once you have one job under your belt the doors open.. One of the lads just took a 30 day (possibly 60) at 500 USD per day.. If he does the 2 months he comes back with a tax free (hes Brit.. Americans get caught more) 30k USD.. This guy only started in the biz a year ago (first jobs around 250 a day) and was a total newbie to it then. Pays for a nice life in Thialand working some, staying the rest purely party. Downsides are relationships with thai girls are problematic when your leaving for periods and have only just met a month or two ago, finding trustable girls when left alone can be an issue.. Otherwise they have work to sober up and straighten out (not actually a bad thing long term) and then time to live exactly as they want anywhere with a lot of money to do it. I must know 15+ guys who all live this kind of lifestyle. If I was concerned about cash thats what I would start now.
__________________
Men have only 2 emotional states, hungry and horny.. So ladies, if you see me without an erection, make me a sandwich.
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#23
15-07-2006, 22:16
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cheers guys forthe reply, seafox i live near the sea and am pretty fit and will train more before i do the course. livin los not sure about contractingwork.the diving and teaching is something i think i would enjoy not really into manual labour. i just feel like throwing caution to the wind and just go for it, i have enough money to last a year or so. get active looking for work and hell if it dont work out come back at least i tryed it.
some of you know this some of you dont but i was involved in the tsunami and came very very close to losing my life i now my outlook on life is about living and your only here once. so this is something i got to try i love working with kids that is what i do over here. so why not try it over there. i just want advice on the best way to do it. england sucks i need to get the adventure and drive back in my life instead of rotting away over in this hellhole
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#24
16-07-2006, 11:02
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Dickie if your serious about TEFL then check out www.ajarn.com. Anything and everything about the teaching scene in LOS
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#25
16-07-2006, 12:37
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LST is a Life support technician for divers.. Its not manual work really..
Personally the choice between 500 USD a day or 500 USD a month.. I know which I would be doing..
__________________ Men have only 2 emotional states, hungry and h |