Jobhunt for DI/DM position - Grand Cayman or Turks & Caicos walk in???

[amythompson62]

I have a spare 2d/2n period whilst in Miami just before I fly home to Europe for xmas, and was thinking of using airmiles to book a return flight to either Grand Cayman or Turks and Caicos with the aim of trying to find an instructor/DM job.

Is this likely to pan anything out , is it worth doing? - I always like the idea of meeting people in person , and especially seeing as I am newly qualified with no experience I was thinking it might be better for people to put a face to the name?

I would only have 1.5 days total, if anyone has any insight into which island would have the best possibilities it would be much appreciated!!

Amy

 

[Alex777]

Well, there is something like 60 dive ops here on Grand Cayman so your biggest problem would be deciding which ones to approach in the limited time available. I would try to hit the largest dive ops as the odds are best with them. I suggest: Don Foster's, Red Sail Sports, Sunset Divers, DNS Diving; then possibly Divers Down; Reef Divers at Cobalt Coast; Living the Dream; the Lobster Pot group. Hit as many of those as possible and your chances are pretty decent. Good luck!

 

[scoobydrew]

I would start with an email introducing yourself and advising that you are coming to the island soon and would like the opportunity to interview for future positions at that time. That way you can avoid wasting time chasing down ops that might not even have any openings coming up.

Its about to get busy here in Grand Cayman so a good time to get work.

Are you actually a DM or an instructor?

Occasionally work comes up for people with just a DM cert doing stuff like snorkel tours or snuba type stuff but the majority of dive jobs will require basic instructor certs at least

 

[diversteve]

I agree with Alex - here's a pretty complete list of shops on Grand Cayman: Cayman Islands Tourism Association - Things To Do In Cayman, Cayman Culture,Cayman Islands Watersports

And a complete list of all shops on Provo. Note that several are on Grand Turk also or snorkel tour boats - I can't seem to refine the search to exclude them.
Turks and Caicos Diving, Scuba Diving, Dive Instructors

Don't forget about the liveaboards either - there's both an Aggressor and Explorer on Provo and an Aggressor on Grand Cayman that also runs over to the Sister Islands most of the year.
They both have hiring info on their websites.

 

[sea_ledford]

I worked in the TCI many years ago, and ended up having to find a job (and a place to live) in about three days once I moved from South Caicos to Provo. Wee bit stressful.

Anyway, with no professional experience you would likely be limited to the big resorts like Beaches, Club Med, or whatever other all-inclusives are there now. Assuming you are an instructor. You would end up doing intros all day everyday for the first 6 months or so, but could move on to a better operation at that point, most likely.

If you are a DM, I would just enjoy your holiday. Unfortunately instructors are a dime a dozen, so DMs don't stand a chance.

-Chris

 

[amythompson62]

I am a DI, however in the interest (when I did the course anyways) of knowing that DM work is hard to come by AS A DM, I did the IDC straight after my DM ticket with a view to getting work experience first as a DM (confusing I know but I did have some logic there....). Anywas I never actually started diving after I did this and am looking to get into the industry a year and a half after passing my IDC hence my trepidation...

Grand Cayman it is anyway I'll be there in a week

---------- Post added December 15th, 2015 at 02:38 PM ----------

Thanks for all the advice everyone, GC it is for a grand total of 22 hours and 1 night, in a week or so I shall be hitting the pavements and bus routes

 

[diversteve]

Start in Georgetown - here's a map showing many of the shops you can walk to (not the top 3):



The unmarked icon west of the airport is Don Fosters - they do most of the cruise business and have a large fleet of dive boats. If you want to hit up Red Sail (not on the map) - they're at several of the Seven Mile Beach resorts - the Marriott probably the closest. They're the other cruise operator and have about 4? facilities island-wide.

The other unmarked icon left of Eastern Ave. is Lobster Pot Dive Center. WalltoWall, Off the Wall and Deep Blue all work out of there. Anything north of Lobster Pot I'd be taking the bus. Bus schedule Cayman Islands

One other option is to at least contact both of the NW Point oerations - Divetech at Lighthouse Point or Reef Divers at Cobalt Coast. You can actually get very close to either on the Green/Yellow lines. Divetech recently moved out of CC and expanded their operation to provide dive services for 3 resorts and a B&B farther south.