divemaster internship

[fungi3001]

i just confirmed that i am going to spend 6 months of next year in rarotonga on a divemaster internship.

any advice?

Guy

 

[scubajoh44]

You gonna be there JUST for your DM internship? That seems like a long time to be away from home just for your interning. (Maybe it's just a "have to" vacation.....fun) I'm in my DM intern right now. It's fun. Get all the tests out of the way first. I think the test and the watermanship skills are the stressful part. (400m swim, 800m snorkel, 100m tote, 15min tread) Get those out of the way ASAP!!! Thes rest is downhill!
I was a little worried about my mapping project, but it turned out to be fun too. All the rest is pure fun. I'm trying to relax and inspire fun in the students for the rest of my duration.
Good luck!!!!

 

[fungi3001]

ill be working as a dm for the remainder of the time. I have to commit to that long because im not paying and am being given all food and accomodation so my only costs are flights and beer. but itll be nice to be away for that long in a pace so different from what im used to.

 

[scubajoh44]

Cool! Nice deal. I'm assuming your young and single. Take advantage of it!! I'de jump at the chance if I could go back in time. You'll have fun and do great! Good luck and let us know how it turns out. PM me if you have more ?'s.

 

[AndyNZ]

Advice for a DM internship? Well, for a start you will get out of it exactly what you put into it so be prepared to work hard to get the most of it. Also, if the instructors you are working with have lower standards than yours, don't let yourself drop to their level - always do the best you can for the students in your care and don't cut corners. I'd also say that you should also make time for diving for the sake of diving - if you spend 6 months just doing training and internship dives then it will start to pale, so every now and again (once or twice a week?) get out and dive for the sake of it! You'll have an awesome time in Rarotonga - the pace of life is very relaxed and there's some great diving as well.

 

[Dive_Girl PNW]

What AndyNZ said - DO FUN DIVES!! Don't get so bogged down with working dives that you forget to take time our for yourself. Also, work with as many different professionals (other DMs, AIs and instructors) as you can. You will become a more well rounded dive professional having the opportunity to learn the best attributes of each adding them to you own.

 

[AndyNZ]

Also forgot to mention..... make sure that you've got decent travel insurance that will cover diving incidents. There's no recompression chamber in the Cook Islands and so generally you're looking at a low level helicopter flight all the way here to New Zealand. Seeing as it costs around $1000 an hour to keep a helicopter in the air, then that's something you might not want to pay......

You could probably also earn a few $$$s culling Crown of Thorns. The last couple of years have seen them eating their way through the coral and the government is now doing something about it. It's pretty easy work, injecting them with arsenic (I think?) whilst on a dive.

Finally, watch out that you don't get convinced to marry one of the locals and stay there for ever.......

 

[annie]

There#s some good advice there for you already.

I guess my overall tip would be to get as much variety in training as you can. I don't know how many instructors there are but try to work with *all* of them as they will all have different things to teach you.
Pick brains. Don't get lazy and stick to doing the one thing you really enjoy. Do that pool work. Assist with rescue courses. Give that boat briefing. Learn it all because if you work as a DM again it might be in a slightly different setting and you'll appreciate anything extra you picked up during your training.

Also you may from time to time have very highly qualified customers, also pick up any tips you can from them. Ask questions like, what do you expect from a DM / briefing / dive operation etc. I still remember fantastic conversations with zoologists and some great advice I got from technical divers about dive profiles etc.

Finally, do as much emergency planning / first aid / rescue / oxygen administration training as you possibly can because you can never do too much of that.

 

[fungi3001]

I plan to get as much out of it as possible. which means i am going to have to work hard, but its soemthing i am totally prepared to do.

The more you all talk about it the more excited i am getting. Ive just reserved some flights so its getting more and more real, despite being 4 months away.

I will be doing it with Dive rarotonga. from wrom what ive seen they appear to be very professional, but does anyone have any first hand experience.

what is the cost of living like - food and room are covered but i will still need some and as i wont be earning anything (except possibly some tips, but i cant rely on those) how much am i likely to need.

all help is really appreciated

Guy

 

[AndyNZ]

I haven't heard anything bad about Dive Rarotonga - an instructor friend knows Ed and Kat who run it, so I'll try and find out what they are like. To be honest, though, you should expect the highest level of service seeing as they're a 5* IDC.

Whilst you're there, try and get some boat handling experience - even if you don't get any qualifications, the experience will help make you employable.