Going pro in the Caribbean...?

Heres my story, I am 27 and thought I had life all figured out. I had a good job, a new bride and a pretty nice home. I was planning on starting a family and living the dream. Well, after I had brought up some serious discussion of planning and saving for the future family, my wife decided she had changed her mind, didn't want kids and left. When the marriage went out the door so did the house. I was at least making decent money, but I wasn't happy and quit.

Where I am at right now is that while I am still young I want to travel, live, experience the world, meet new friends, and overall just be more carefree and HAPPY while I have the opportunity. I don't plan on making much money, that is not what I am after. I just need enough for rent and food. I am doing this for me, for the adventure, for the change of pace.

My questions are not CAN I make it as a dive master/instructor in the Caribbean, or other places abroad. It is what do I need to do to give myself the best chance of being successful. Which certs are most desirable, should I get my captains license, how long should I work in the industry before I make the jump? I have a friend in the keys who's father owns a diveshop. I am thinking of moving down there for a time while I get my divemaster and hope to maybe work there for some experience if nothing else.

What am I missing? Is there anything else I should be thinking about before I pass the point of no return? Which places seem to have the most employment opportunities?

Thanks for reading, and thanks for any and all advice!


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Also, I am not too worried about my ability to instruct or dive. I grew up diving out of port Canaveral here in fl where vis is 20 feet on a great day. Also have spearfished for as long as I've been diving, and even dabbled with it commercially for a bit. Plus, I enjoy helping or teaching others whenever I can. It makes me feel good when I can help others. Hopefully I will be able to help people enjoy their vacations just that much more.

I can't speak from experience but here's what I would think at the very least:

1) Multiple languages, certainly Spanish and English at least conversationally, preferably some other European languages also. Find out where the majority of tourists come from and tailor to that, maybe?
2) Advanced diving certs for yourself and probably the teaching certs to go along with them... ie be able to teach Nitrox, AOW etc. DMs are a dime a dozen but instructors are a little bit harder to find.
3) Non-diving skills. What was your previous job? How can that experience help future employers? Were you an IT person who can help with web sites, computer networks, or an accountant that could help with the books? Were you a business person who could manage a shop?
4) Boatmanship... learn boat skills and work toward a captain's license if you don't already have one.

On a somewhat less pragmatic side: As someone who went through a similar life change at a similar age, I feel for you. In the space of a year, I lost my father, my grandmother, and got divorced. It was a hard time but my friends helped me when necessary and I poured myself into a lot of new activities and hobbies. Keeping distracted was a life saver. You will bounce back and be a better person for the hardship. Personally, I think you have the right idea with the whole concept. If I hadn't had young children, it's what I would have done too.

Thanks for the info fjpatrum! I unfortunately don't have a second language, though I have been researching about my captains license over the last few weeks and I have narrowed my search to a company in south FL that was recommended to me by a few other close friends and family. Also I think you are right, might as well go all the way to instructor and load up with as many certs as I can before I leave.

As for my previous job, I ran a dental laboratory out of my home, I actually got out of it because the business aspect was just too much to keep up with. the actual physical work of making teeth wasn't too bad, but when you mixed in all the certs, bill pay, inventory, case due dates...I just couldn't keep up by myself. Not really sure how that translates to diving...Though, I am pretty decent at managing money.

As for the more pragmatic side, thank you! I appreciate the words, and you are %100 correct, distractions are key! I am just hoping that this decision I have made for myself isn't one I will come to regret in the future.


Anyone have anything else to add? Anything you all have to offer, I am willing to absorb!

Learn compressor repair, it's a job whenever and where ever you wish.

I think worlingh in the Keys if that jodb is there for you is a great start. While there you can get you instructor rating and log hours on the boat that can lead to a captain's license )(both good thingS). I also second multiple languages. Spanish, Japanese, French for some places. You have one dream lost, but a new reality found. Good luck on you next adventure.
DIvemasterDennis

Languages, they would give you a significant edge.
Non diving skills, Captain, Engineer (water plays help with everything mechanical and there is always something needing fixed), front of shop (selling gear, selling courses) needs done.
Don't limit yourself to the caribean. Thialand, Indonseia, etc are much much cheaper places to live making your training etc much cheaper. Some organisations offer placements after training but you need to ask others if this is worth while.
Go for your dream, it can be done. There are a number of interesting threads on following this dream on the board and blogs.
Research well it is possible, well at least for a while. Making it a career maybe not but some do.

Wow, great info everyone! I have located a "Spanish" Rosetta Stone, so I am going to start up on that ASAP! Definitely going to shoot for working at my buddies shop in the keys for a couple months just to learn as much as I can about the business.

As for compressor repair. I would love to learn that skill, except I have absolutely zero knowledge about engines and how they work. I do hope to learn about maintenance and how to properly use them though.

I have actually thought about a lot of places in the pacific...French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Micronesia, Australia, New Zealand, Indo, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand.....those are the places I really want to travel to the most, but I am just not sure I am ready to be that far from everything I know quite yet. I may make the jump after a year or so in the Caribbean. Then again, I am looking for an adventure...All options still open while I continue to research.

deepdestroyer, as someone who has actively studied 5 different languages, I can't recommend any option more highly than Rosetta Stone (before you go) and simply getting somewhere that you can immerse yourself in the language. I was once conversationally fluent in Korean and my spouse is a native Chinese speaker. I have both of those languages on Rosetta Stone and they are both phenomenal. Good luck with the Spanish. If you practice it for about 30 minutes to an hour every day or two you'll really find you pick it up quite quickly using Rosetta Stone.

As for your previous job, I would say just think about individual things you had to do (like you listed in your post) and try to consider how those might be beneficial to a dive employer.

If you do decide to move on past the Carribean, I highly recommend SE Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam) as spectacularly beautiful places with very friendly cultures. Being an ex-patriot there is quite easy as long as you don't mind the sex-tourism and rude drunken tourists who make up the majority of the non-local populace in places you'll be working.

27 and newly single? Pack your bags for the island of Utila, Honduras, where there are a number of dive ops that focus on dive education (some might disparagingly call them certification mills, but you can decide). Live cheaply--likely with a roommate or two who is doing the same thing as you are--and plant yourself there for a year, proceeding through Divemaster and then Instructor and, just maybe, if you have found your niche, you can stay on in a paid instructor position. Enjoy the island lifestyle. Take your time. If you want to practice Spanish, there are Hondurans you can converse with, though the dive community and island in general are mainly English speaking. Do some Googling. And there are numerous SB threads mentioning internships on Utila. You would hardly be the first to have done exactly this.

I think the idea of the Keys may be a first good step - if they have room to hire you on for a bit. Having such a connection might help you earn and learn a bit more and become a jack of all trades (i.e. you are going to be the shop flunky). Not a bad thing but that is what it is. I bring this up because DM internships can be structured in different ways each meeting the requirements but some costing more in terms of money and time than others while gaining similar experience. (A DM doing his internship and I compared notes on our internships).

The other I have found more often is that the crew at Caribbean resorts are all instructors (ex-pats). The locals of more often dive guides (may not even be DM). As for getting your captains license recently while on Little Cayman I asked about who had licenses. Though not required four did. Each was responsible for their boat from cleaning the head, to fixing stuff, to working with guests. Oh and once in a while they got to sit in the captain's chair. I liked that mode of operation.