Why I became a dive instructor

I love scuba diving, I had a occupation that offered much freedom and I had the opportunity to work hard in bursts and then take time off. What is hard work and what are long hours? Well, I worked an 84 hour week as standard, anything after that was considered overtime.

How many years can you do that? Quite a lot actually, naturally, I had a fairly high disposable income for all those hours worked and no immediate family ties. Time off saw plenty of overseas trips to South East Asia to dive some pretty amazing places; I dived up and down Western Australia, parts of Queensland, some Pacific nations, around the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

On one of those extended breaks I had six months off and I was backpacking around Europe, I had worked my way down the Agean coast of Western Turkey and was now on the Mediterranean coast of Southern Turkey where I found myself in a small seaside hamlet of Kas. My plan was to get to the Egyptian Red Sea and undertake a divemaster course to pick up some part time work as a backpacker; I never made it past Kas and I have no complaints - this was a life changing event.

I worked one season as a divemaster, I returned the next year and they upgraded me to assistant instructor status and for the third year, they wanted me to become a full instructor - so off to a instructor course I went. I never made it back that year after all instead working a short stint in Africa in my profession and then taking a short six week holiday through parts of Europe and the United States. The cost of the course combined with the time off work placed me under a little financial duress, the stint in West Africa restored my finances so I was able to pursue a full time diving career in a major Australian capital city on my return.

So, upon returning from Africa, I was jaded with working in my profession and decided the time to act was now. I started as a contract instructor barely meeting payments, then picking up more contract work, this actually hindered my development too as availability suffered, you just can't keep everyone happy. That is what's required to break into an industry as an unknown but soon, if you are professional in your actions and are exposed to a broad cross-section of clients, you break in and succeed.

Ironically, to break into the market I worked seven days per week for a whole lot less money, would I do it again? Probably not, I already proved to myself I could cut it and I don't feel the need to go back in time. That being said, I was surrounded by happy, carefree people on holiday you were undertaking an activity they enjoyed, they even paid you for the privilege. I had the time of my life and I have no regrets.

Sure, I have a big hole in my retirement plan from the years of low paid but highly enjoyable work. As a further sign of irony, while I am on a pretty decent income again yet I am forced to assign an ever increasing percentage of my income to prop up my superannuation account to live the life I lived during that period, I lost a lot of the benefits of compounding interest. Coupled with years of university study now behind me to catch up on career opportunities in the corporate world; I now embark on a master's degree that will sap my time, energy and funds for a further two years - go figure.