Scuba Diving Instructor

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Name
Julie
Age
23 years
Job Title
Scuba Diving instructor
Job description
Teaching people from all over the world to scuba dive. We also take guests on private charters to the reef or around the island, either by boat, seaplane or helicopter, which is a fantastic experience. We teach snorkelling and reef awareness. The job also involves some office administration, like bookings. And then of course there is the tedious job of cleaning equipment and maintenance of equipment.
What are the hours worked?
9am to 5pm, 5 to 6 days per week - depending on the season.
What was your first job?
My first job was at the Geelong Dive Centre in Victoria.
What inspired you to work in this particular career?
Since I was a little girl, my parents were always sailing so I've been around the ocean for years. My parents always went scuba diving, so it seemed to be to the most natural thing to do. I've been diving since I was about 12 years old, and got my ticket to instruct when I turned 18. I went straight to Uni. after year 12 and did a degree in marine biology. It wasn't necessary to do it to get a job in diving, but it certainly helped when it came to understanding the ocean, and that's where my interests were. After I finished Uni. I wasn't too sure what I wanted to do, so I went up to the Whitsunday's and looked for work. I found an advertisement in the paper, and I was lucky enough to get the job.
What qualifications did you need to be a dive instructor?
You have to have a certain amount of hours of experience in scuba diving; it's something like 60-100 hours. You do an intensive 10 day course such as PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) or NAUI (National Association of Underwater Instructors). For more information about this I'd go to your local dive 5 star facility.
What is a typical day of work on the island?
I'd have to be at the dive shop on the island by 9am to meet the guests. There's about an hour period where we have to fit the guests with the right sized gear etc. If there are guests who are diving for the first time, I take them for a 1-hour dive session in the pool before we leave, then we jump on the 5 star dive boat. It takes about 40 minutes on the boat by the time we get out to the Great Barrier Reef.
We start with the first dive, where I am responsible for 1 to 5 divers;
I take them for a 1-hour tour around the reef. Then it is back to the boat for lunch, and socialising and relaxing with the guests. I take the group out for a second dive after lunch to a different area of the reef for another hour, and then it is back to the boat and home to the island resort. We have to line up and farewell the guests as they leave the boat, then once the guests leave; the dive team clean the boat and diving gear.
What are the best aspects of working on the Island?
That's easy, the job. And the fact that I go to work in one of the most beautiful places in the world, as well as living on a five star island resort. I get to meet people from all over the world, including celebrities. The social life is fantastic; it is like a party every night. On my days off, I get to use some of the resort's water facilities such as parasailing, island drop-offs (where you get your own private beach), or you can just go sunbaking, swimming, bushwalking - you name it!
What are the worst aspects of working on the island?
The intensive party atmosphere gets a bit much at times! The accommodation for the staff is pretty tight, they squeeze about 400-500 staff members into a small area on the island, so if you enjoy your privacy, working on an island is probably not the right job for you. When it comes to work itself, probably the worst thing is bad weather. If the guests want to go out, and it is safe enough to take them diving, then you have no choice. Also, not every guest is a fantastic diver, and therefore you have a huge responsibility when people are in your hands in the water.

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