Want to Move to Australia to Teach Diving and More

[area51tazz]

G'day! (hope that's not insulting coming from an American)


This is the first place I've posted this question/situation, so it may sound a little rambling...


Early last year I decided that I was going to train up to Instructor with the purpose in mind of moving to Australia to teach and do some ocean conservancy work. Since then I have almost completed my Search/Stress and Rescue cert, and I'm looking forward to starting my DM class. I'm not truly happy with my current SSI LDS, so I'm considering switching and just going PADI (since that's what I was going to do my IDC with anyway), but I have a question.


Would it be easier to call a dive shop in Australia and ask if they would have a position for me if I did my IDC with them, while at the same time offering my 15yrs of I.T. experience (which is what's going to give me the points required to get into Australia) as a secondary benefit? My long term goals are to learn the whole of the dive shop and make it a successful business where we also give back to the community by having a strong ocean conservancy policy. But that's something I want to work towards, or join a shop that already has one in place.


On another note, I have a buddy in the UK (she's already a DM) who wants to join me.


If it helps, I'm a 30yo male fluent in English (only at this point, but I'm open to other languages). 8yrs of diving experience, but only about 180 dives (and a good number of those are theatrical show dives I did while working for Royal Caribbean)


Thanks for any input, and feel free to ask more questions to help you help me.

 

[Doug57]

G'day Area51tazz

Although I'm not an instructor, I have many years of diving experience (unsure, but maybe ~400 to 500 dives), including qualifications
as an Assnt Instructor and DM.

I have dived in many parts of Australia - mainly around Brisbane, but also often south into NSW and north as far as Cairns,
including many parts of the GBR.
I've dived a few times in Melbourne, and snorkelled and dived Ningaloo in WA. Also Cook Islands and, most recently, Volivoli in Fiji.

There's an old saw that "the best way to make a small fortune as a dive instructor is to start with a large one".
Dive staff are generally not highly remunerated, but if you intend becoming an instructor along the way to having your own dive-related business,
then I guess a period of "paying your dues" is inevitable.

It was once put to me (by a Master Instructor) that the way to approach an Instructor Training course is to treat it as an exercise
in demonstrating the skills you've already mastered.
In other words, you should identify and master every necessary physical skill prior to signing up for the Instructor course.
What the course will hopefully teach you is the skills to teach, assess and manage people.

Now, a few things often not well understood by non-Australians:

1. Australia lies in the southern hemisphere, between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Austria is in Europe.

2. Australia is very large. Diving in the south is in dry suits. A little further north (Melbourne to Sydney) we wear 7mm two-piece wetsuits.
From Sydney through Brisbane (where I live) and a little further north we dive in 5mm two-piece wetsuits, shedding the top piece in Summer
From Townsville north, through Cairns, 3mm neoprene is adequate and in Summer all you need is a lycra "stinger suit".

Finally, whilst 180 dives could indicate experience in some areas, you should analyse where you lack experience (in terms of the types of diving you've done).
Shore dives; boat dives from a rear platform/ladder; boat dives from an inflatable; drift dives; night dives; deep dives;
reduced vis dives; freshwater dives; etc, etc.
Set about redressing any areas where you're not experienced or confident.

(Australians are reknowned for their prediliction to informality, so it wouldn't hurt to include your given name in future posts.)
Hoping the above provides you with food for thought.

cheers

Doug

 

[CoralSeaVideo]

Hello,

We have moved from the US to Australia, still working on perm residency. I suggest that you employ a good migration agent from Australia, as it is very difficult to migrate here. You can only nominate one field / class for migration and generally it needs to be very close to your industry so if you are granted sponsorship for IT, you couldn't really work in Diving and visa versa. Although it sounds as though you'd like to go ind skills migration path via IT (per the points) keep in mind the CSL and MODL lists are constantly changing and therefore you should have a good agent who stays on top of the requirements.

The wait time is quite high right now, and if you are only near the base level of points you will go to the end of the list and wait a good while.

I don't want to pop your bubble per se, just being realistic as it is very difficult to migrate from North America to Australia. Sponsorship may be your best bet depending on where you are in the points. Keep in mind regional sponsorship via the state (say Queensland or WA) is also an option, but face more restrictions.

 

[clownfishsydney]

This is something I hear about a lot. There is no money in being a dive instructor in Australia. Nor is there any money in being a DM. You MAY get a job which provides accommodation and meals and a little money. If you decide to do it, only do it because you are going to have a year or two of a totally different experience.

Do not believe what dive shops tell you about getting a job as an instructor. They lie!!!

There are probably 10 times the number of instructors trained in Australia each year than can be possibly employed.

Probably not what you wanted to hear, but the truth (or close to it).

 

[area51tazz]

Thanks for all of the info everyone!

---------- Post added January 21st, 2013 at 07:57 AM ----------

(Australians are reknowned for their prediliction to informality, so it wouldn't hurt to include your given name in future posts.)

Btw, my name is Brenden

 

[Zen Diving Inc.]

This is something I once did some serious research into many years ago... As well as New Zealand which would be a better choice IMO Honestly you should put some time in as an instructor and come up with a business plan that would take you that direction vs just trying to get a job as an instructor or DM over there... Unless you like volunteering for room and board lol. The idea/dream of being a scuba diving Instructor/DM in some far off tropical destination and actually making any really good money is like going hunting for a unicorn... You will more then likely find something, but not what you originally set out for... Thats not to say you cant make any money in this biz, you just need to be creative and do something different. PM if you want some ideas.

 

[Donpedro]

How about working as a tech on dive gear?

 

[Tortuga68]

Hi Brenden,

Not to be a downer but diving in Australia is expensive. Tech diving (charters, gas, training, gear) in Aus is very expensive. Living in Aus is expensive. Wages (if they could be called that) for dive pros are low and most have 'real jobs'.

I wish you the best of luck though