An Englishman working abroad

[popmirrorman]

I hope this is in the correct forum. I was just looking for helpful pointers.
I have a very vague plan of heading off on a RTW ticket. Somewhere along the line i will do the IDC (currently DM). Although i will have enough cash to live on, i would like to pick up casual work from time to time if possible.
With the exception of Thailand, where i have already spent a lot of time, where else is relatively simple for me to work without too much hassle? BVI perhaps? I was looking into Indonesia and Central/South America. Are there any major hurdles there?
Any advice much appreciated.

Ian.

 

[victor]

Aus should be ok, you can get temp work visas. You will only make enough to live but thats better than nothing. Work on liveaboards and you cannot spend any money, hard work though.
Apart from the competition you should not have any problems getting cash work in the Caribean, Belieze, etc.

 

[popmirrorman]

Thanks for the reply!

Ian.

 

[miketsp]

I'd say forget South America unless you already have a good command of Spanish and/or Portuguese and are prepared to face quite a lot of bureaucracy. Plus the earnings opportunities are few and far between. Excluding 2 or 3 locations all the DMs I know have good full-time jobs and don't earn anything from their DM activities. Earnings only start appearing when you reach instructor level and even then...

You'd have to target a location with a constant movement like Fernando de Noronha and there special rules apply. Visitors have to pay a daily tax and you would only avoid this by arriving with a pre arranged job with one of the 3 authorised dive operators there. Due to the number of foreign visitors they're often on the lookout for English speaking instructors but you'd have to have a temporary work visa arranged through a consulate before landing in Brazil. However you'd have difficulty getting the temporary work visa (as opposed to a tourist visa) unless you already had the job lined up.
So before you start your trip I'd recommend getting in touch with dive ops in the places you intend to visit.

 

[jimclarke]

In Langkawi (Pulau Payar), I know that some DMs there are full time and obviously paid.
There are also part timer DMs who just get their diving for free.

If you PM me I can give you a contact for a Japanese guy who runs an opration there and may be able to give you more detail.