Would love some advise!

[meep7]

Hello, I'm an instructor from Hawaii who is about to spend a year in Oz (hooray for me)! I've been desperately trying to research my employment options beyond fruit picking and waiting tables, so I would love to get in touch with anyone in the dive community who might be able to help. Or even advise on what to expect outside of jobs or diving...

I am PADI OWSI with 2 years full time instructing experience and I'll be arriving on a working and holiday visa in January. My biggest questions are:

Do I have a good chance of finding dive work? Is it common for dive operators to hire employees with my type of visa? (I can only work for 6 months per employer).

Will I need any Australia-specific certifications outside of what is required in the US? (O2/CPR/First aid/insurance)

WHERE is the best place to dive and which dive operators are recommended? Even if I have to resort to PAYING to dive...

Any information would be very helpful, or even just point me in the right direction... Google is not very good with advise so far. Thanks!

 

[thanksforallthefish]

In my opinion your best bet would be to email local dive shops with your questions.

Hopefully someone will be able to answer your questions here, but I think you need to narrow down a little about where you hope to get a job, as each state more than likely has different requirements.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Was just going to try to answer you in the Intro thread but I see you found you way over here.
There are some links in this thread http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/australia/350614-where-dive-end-jan-begin-feb.html that you may find helpful.

 

[meep7]

Thanks for the replies! Sorry if I was vague, I was hoping to find someone who has already been through the initial stages of planning a trip like this so I could gain a little insight and ask more specific questions to that person.

I've heard that dive operators never hire online/sight unseen and I didn't think it would be appropriate to contact them in order to hound them with a bunch of questions. I'm sure they would be an excellent resource however if they bother responding.... Would it be appropriate to ask?

To specify, I'm curious about the certification requirements in Queensland. I'm planning on beginning my job hunt around Cairns. Is there an Australian forum site similar to ScubaBoard, or a better way to reach people who could answer questions?

Your help is much appreciated!

 

[bracko]

diveoz is another site, I'm not sure how much traffic it gets.

there are quite a few of instructors in your position in Cairns. speaking another language will be a major advantage (fluent Japanese will go far, but German, French or chinese are also good... ) althought there are a lot of instructors around, I'm not sure how many are experienced or straight out of IE.

the store i will be doing my IDC at prefer to have part time instructors who have stable outside jobs, so if they cancel the class for that weekend, the OWSI can still can pay the rent, have food... but there are quite a few stores in sydney, prodive seem to be a bit of a sausage factory for OW's and i have heard a lot of foreign accents among their DM's and OWSI's while at training dive sites.

depends where you want to go?

EDIT: prodive cairns site outlines their reqirements for instructors... I'd probably consider these the benchmark of what employers are looking for, prodive are probably the biggest franchise in Australia.

Cairns Dive Employment - Scuba Diving Employment - Pro Dive Cairns - North Queensland - Australia

 

[thanksforallthefish]

Dive-Oz Discussion Forums - We've Gone Virtual!!

it is nowhere near as active as SB, but you should get some answers within a few days.

Lots of people there with a lot more knowledge about this than me

 

[bowlofpetunias]

I asked at work about the recognition of First Aid Certificates from overseas and was told that they check the modules are consistent with the modules of the courses here. I would suggest you be prepared to take the course again here.

The standards for First Aid certification here is according to requirements set down by a National Training framework so for work related purposes you may find it is easier to just take the courses than try for RPL (Recognition of Previous Learning).

You may be able to "challenge the exam" but often the price charged is the same as taking the full course. There are some fairly significant differences in protocols from here to North America.

I may be able to give you more info but prefer to do it in PM's

 

[divad]

You might want to have that "advise" changed to "advice."

 

[clofty]

Nautilus in Brisbane Qld, is looking for dive staff for new supercat, check out their website.

 

[recd]

Can't remember if PADI does, but the SSI website includes a list with contact details for vacancies for dive staff