How do I get a Diving Job?

After months of training and hard work you are now a professional diver! The next step in your diving career is finding employment, so the search for a diving job begins. Koh Tao probably has the biggest demand for divemasters and instructors in an area this small. On a global level, scuba diving is an activity that takes place in a phenomenal amount of countries. We try to offer employment opportunities in-house wherever possible. We are also happy to help with CV’s and can offer references for diving jobs elsewhere.

Job Placements in the Dive Industry

Compare the ‘return on investment’ when you become a diving instructor to many other businesses. You will see that it will not take long before you make back your investment. Obviously this will depend on the type of dive venture you work for. Some operations will only pay 100% commission. Others will offer a base wage plus commission or a wage and living cost. With 65 or more dive schools on Koh Tao and many more on Koh Samui and Phuket it does not take long before a position arises. We’ll do our best to aid you with CV preparation, placements and a reference. We include this for free in your MSDT internship program.

Whilst we can’t guarantee that every student will be offered employment at DJL, we always try to give opportunities. We look to employ people who come through our training programmes before recruiting from outside of the dive center. This applies to both divemaster and diving instructor work.

There is regular freelance work available on Koh Tao. Some diving instructors prefer instead of being tied into one dive school. Once you are certified as a divemaster or diving instructor it’s simple enough to join one of the freelance Facebook pages. This is a great way to build up a network of dive centers that you enjoy working for and have a good relationship with.

Earning Potential as a Diving Instructor

As an active Dive Instructor in a trustworthy facility do not be surprised if you actually find that you are able to save 2-3 times more a month than you actually spend. That is why when most scuba diving Instructors do make a decision to move on, they have usually saved enough to head off to the next exotic location. The only question is where next? Hawaii, Galapagos, Bali or Australia? That is one question we will let you answer.

Underwater Videography

Completing an underwater videography internship can provide you with some great employment opportunities in the dive industry. There is regular work available on Koh Tao as many dive centers film their Open Water students. Open Water videos are a fantastic souvenir for students to take home and are very popular. This is also a great way for videographers to build up experience and hone their skills. An experienced videographer can find opportunities to work with dive centers globally. Underwater videography is a also skill that can open the door for jobs in media, film, tv etc. You can find out more about training on our underwater videography internship page.