What's the job situation like for dive pros in the Cayman Islands right now?
Welcome to ScubaBoard, an online scuba diving forum community where you can join over 205,000 divers from around the world discussing all things related to Scuba Diving. To gain full access to ScubaBoard (and make this large box go away) you must register for a free account. As a registered member you will be able to:
Participate in over 500 dive topic forums and browse from over 5,500,000 posts.
Communicate privately with other divers from around the world.
Post your own photos or view from well over 100,000 user submitted images.
Gain access to our free classifieds marketplace to buy, sell and trade gear, travel and services.
Use the calendar to organize your events and enroll in other members' events.
All this and much more is available to you absolutely free when you register for an account, so sign up today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact the ScubaBoard Support Team.
What's the job situation like for dive pros in the Cayman Islands right now?
I'm looking to do a divemaster course, followed likely soon after by instructor training this coming summer or fall, and one of the locations I'm considering for my training is Grand Cayman. I'm just wondering how easy/hard it is to get a job as a newly certed DM or OWSI. If I do my training there, will I be able to get a job there or will I have to look elsewhere? I've read online that the government wants hiring preference giving to the locals, which makes sense to me, but is there enough jobs available to make it a decent possibility for foreigners?
Thanks in advance
The chances of getting a job on Grand Cayman as a DM are slim to none and slim couldn't get his work permit renewed. Instructor jobs are available from time-to-time.
Yes, no one hires DMs; you need an Instructor Cert at a minimum.
The good news: although Caymanians must be given preference in hiring, they rarely show an interest in the dive industry so your chances of getting a job are actually pretty good.
The bad news: the reason Caymanians are not interested is that the salaries are so low it is hard to survive here on what is paid.
Dive instructors in Cayman are 95% or more expats. There are a few Caymanians... very few. Red Sail has occasionally hired DMs.
Tourism season starts in mid November. It takes a little lead time to arrange a work permit and a bit of orientation/training time once you arrive. August and September job seekers would have enough time to arrive and be ready ahead of peak season.
If I read your profile correctly you have less than 100 dives. I would think you need a lot more diving experience to work as a DM or instructor. The DM's and instructors I have encountered on Little Cayman and Cayman Brac all seem to have hundreds and thousands of dives.
Not to discourage you from entering the profession, you might want to concentrate on logging a lot of dives in the near future.
I am from the USA and I have noticed that there are quite a few DM's and instructors from Canada. I think it might be easier to get work being from Canada than the USA. Also, many are from England, Scotland, South Africa and all other parts of the world. I think Cayman is quite a nice place to work in the diving industry.
Friday's Cayman Compass had one DM and one instructor posting (captain experience) for OF. 17,000-21,000 CI
Divetech had one instructor posting at $1900 per month.
If I read your profile correctly you have less than 100 dives. I would think you need a lot more diving experience to work as a DM or instructor. The DM's and instructors I have encountered on Little Cayman and Cayman Brac all seem to have hundreds and thousands of dives.
Not to discourage you from entering the profession, you might want to concentrate on logging a lot of dives in the near future.
Point taken, and I intend to at least try to do that. The plan is to be in the 3 digits before starting DM. I'm also looking for a longer DM internship to get in more dives and more work experience before looking for employment.
2Likes
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Alex777
