So you want to do your Divemaster Course? You have had some wonderful dives, found you love it, and want to take it to the professional level. The lifestyle is great, the world is yours to explore… and now you just have to figure out how to make your dream happen. Do you join in a free divemaster internship or pay for it?
How to become a Divemaster
But there are so many questions to answer!
What are the prerequisites and how can I achieve them?
Where in the world is a place that has wonderful diving AND a chance to make this happen?
What is expected of me and what are the challenges I will be facing?
How long will all this take?
Who will be the team training me?
What style of training to choose?
As you can see there are so many questions. It will take us many blog entries to answer all these questions, here we’ll talk about just the last one, and why Wicked Diving Komodo believes in the way we train.
Free Divemaster Intership vs. paying for your course
Our choice between the two main methods, paid course or free internship, comes down to two core values Wicked Diving holds. First, our programs are designed to be a force for good in the local community. Second, we train you to the highest standards and above, taking pride in the Divemaster you will become.
The Local Community
When you sign up for a free internship, trading your work for training, you will be putting in lots of hours around the dive operation. Filling tanks, hauling gear, rinsing, washing, sometimes even standing in front of the shop selling trips and courses for the shop! Now getting a feel for the business is an important part of the learning process, but in this situation, there’s now a local who doesn’t have a chance to do the same work and earn a living for their family. What is their motivation to protect the beautiful locations they live in?
Wicked Diving Komodo believes in empowering the local community through training and careers in the dive industry. Instead of keeping a local from a job, at Wicked Diving you learn and dive alongside them, gaining from their experience and giving back to the community.
The course quality, the mentorship and support
If the dive operation takes no money for your course, how is the instructor being paid for training you? You are working lots of the time and spending less in training. That means less diving and experience. What instructor is responsible for you and becomes your mentor? How many and what level instructors teach you when it’s busy? At Wicked Diving, you are a customer and a student, so your needs are a very high priority. We have a very experienced Master Instructor whose primary job is teaching you, and class size is limited to four DM trainees. Instead of filling tanks or handing out leaflets, you are learning and diving and being guided towards your goal of becoming a Divemaster.
Some places around the world offer do offer free Divemaster interships – in exchange for working a certain length of time at the dive centre (organising boats, sitting at the office, doing paperwork, greeting guest, filling tanks, cleaning equipment etc.) Sure, at first a free internship looks like a great deal. It WILL mean less time focusing on the actual training aspects of the course, and less time spent diving and in the water. It will also mean taking jobs away from the local community. This method of training can also take longer which could work out more expensive in the long run when food and accommodation costs are considered.
Paying for your training might seem a bit more expensive at first, but with us it means more fun, more dives and dedicated a Divemaster Mentor that focuses on teaching you to work in the diving community. It means time on liveaboards, local sites and morea. Plus, as is unique with Wicked Diving – you will be helping support the local community as we train in the school and support the community development. You will come our of the Divemaster course with a diverse set of useful skills that are far more useful in your diving career.
This is how we do the Divemaster course at Wicked Diving – superior training combined with supporting the local community, and our program delivers these values. Click here to learn more about the Dive Master Course or contact your mentor directly.
