Well said Bubble Junky. Pattaya and the Gulf are always going to be the butt of the jokes from the Andaman crowd who remind me a lot of Mac Addicts who see nothing good in the other side and have a dying need to convince everyone to see things only their way.
Much like Windows users, we in the Gulf, and in Pattaya in particular, acknowledge the challenge our areas face, but don't feel the need to demonize the other side. My argument consistently is there is good, enjoyable diving everywhere and each area offers advantages over other areas.
So, sure, Pattaya diving is pretty horrible at times. But hey, we got 3 wrecks open to mainstream divers, which makes us unique. And Pattaya is a very, very good training ground because of the very things people criticize it for. My 63-year old mother could handle a rescue in flat seas, no current and 100m viz. But that's not where rescues happen.
Imagine training as an instructor in idyllic conditions and then go to work and get slapped with some really ripping current, high seas & low viz, then get a panicky student. If I was a diver aspiring to be an instructor, I'd want to have faced those conditions before. I like to believe it's because our interns get so well tested over the span of 2-6 months here that that is why they are almost universally successful in finding employment after leaving us.
Haiko asked about whether you could get a job after training with us at Aquanauts. The answer is an unqualified YES. Nearly 100% of all interns who sought work after graduating are now working industry, some as lead instructors at shops in Samui and Phuket. Others recently have landed jobs in the Turks & Caicos, Bermuda, Australia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
But we're not resting our track record on our laurels. Before the end of the month we will be launching Jobs4Divers.com, a new dive industry jobs NETWORK of websites. Five different sites devoted to different segments of the industry -- divemasters, instructors, techies & commercial divers.
But Jobs4Divers is more than just a website. Rather than simply throw up a site and wait for employers to find us, we have hired a full-time staff that is contacting dive centers around the world actually LOOKING for jobs. And Aquanauts interns get access to those job openings 2 days before the rest of the world.
In addition, every intern will be assigned a staff Employment Counselor who, one month before instructor certification, will sit down and work with the intern to get their CV and cover letter in shape and online. They'll also interview the intern to find out WHERE in the world the intern wants to work and then will direct their job search effort to that region.
No other dive center in the world can match this commitment to job placement. We built the site using top developers in Bangkok and Phuket. We own and manage the site through an entirely separate subsidiary company and we have full-time, in-house staff whose only job it is is to find jobs for our interns.
That Haiko, is what I call value.
That's not to mention all the inherent value in our internship program: Unlimited diving for up to 6 months, full private accommodations, a full set of new gear, 3 different sets of bonus courses (worth up to $1,500), all courses, books & fees, airport transfers, visa assistance and more.
A more detailed announcement about Jobs4Divers, plus the full internships details, are on our Diving Instructor Training website at the link below.