46 replies to this topic

[BeachJunkie]

hehe. I completely understand where you're comming from and heed the advice and suggestions happily.

I am, just as you said, way too much of an adrenaline junkie / thrill seeker. I don't think I could do a desk job or anything resembling one. I think its the risks that make me like what I do. Thus my attraction to jobs like law enforcement and military. I'd be happy to take you up on that internship though. I could totally use a cup of coffee haha.

Edited by BeachJunkie, 30 January 2009 - 11:34 AM.

[WreckWench]

hehe. I completely understand where you're comming from and heed the advice and suggestions happily.

I am, just as you said, way too much of an adrenaline junkie / thrill seeker. I couldn't don't think I could do a desk job or anything resembling one. I think its the risks that make me like what I do. Thus my attraction to jobs like law enforcement and military. I'd be happy to take you up on that internship though. I could totally use a cup of coffee haha.

LOL!!! You are on!

However I must get back to the work at hand...but TRUST ME...you will get that cup of coffee and you'll get all the EXPERIENCE you can handle!

Just want you and everyone to remember that you ASKED FOR IT!

[Victoria]

Junkie, have you looked into a lovely combination of LE and Military? I've got a good friend who was USMC, a scout sniper, who went through this degree program with me. But he really wanted to get back to a life that at least had occasional adrenaline rushes. So he's now in Border Patrol. He gets the law enforcement aspect, plus occasionally gets some serious adrenaline fixes.

Even better, there's DEA, which may actually utilize all of your skills, LE, Military AND diving. Uncle Sam will pay about the same or better than local LE agencies, the bennies are great, the retirement even better, and a far better utilization of your current skill sets down the road. And DEA has a nice presence in the Keys......... Just sayin'..........

[BeachJunkie]

Oh they're certainly on the list of perspective employment oppertunities. I like some aspects of local, and some of federal. Plus, my time in the military will transfer over to any federal employment and make it that much sooner than I can retire!! We'll see what happens. I didn't know that they did much in the keys though. Is that one of those things where you have to have been there for a while in oder to get lucky enough to be stationed there? As far as border patrol goes, they have tried multiple times to get me already. They send recruiters to the bases. I just don't think I could handle being in some crappy middle of nowhere town in south texas or california. Plus I have other issues with the BP that I won't expound on since I'm trying to stay semi on topic. Thanks for the suggestions though!

[Victoria]

I gotcha, and I'm trackin' on the BP thing. What I'm aiming at is this: IDC for the dive skills, college for the CJ/LE booklearning and skills, something like DEA for da job that will make for an awesome retirement at an early age while giving you plenty of opportunities to dive/teach/play on the side before retirement.

[ev780]

Absolutely do it! You need to grab those types of opportunities whenever they present themselves. You may not get another chance. It sounds to me like you've already made up your mind.

I agree with the Sandy!!! You sound to be about 25 or so. Believe me, you will blink and be 40 with a mortgage, maybe a spouse and kids. You will never have this chance again. If it works out and you fall into a lucrative career, cool. If not you have plenty of time for school and real life.

Fred

[BeachJunkie]

Yup, I'm 25. I feel old though haha. Does that count? Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I'm pretty sure I'm going to go ahead and do this. I haven't really found any negatives to it yet (minus the money and skipped semester... I have both money and time right now). Now all I have to do is narrow it down to where I'll be doing it. Any suggestions for that part?

[Quero]

Yup, I'm 25. I feel old though haha. Does that count? Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I'm pretty sure I'm going to go ahead and do this. I haven't really found any negatives to it yet (minus the money and skipped semester... I have both money and time right now). Now all I have to do is narrow it down to where I'll be doing it. Any suggestions for that part?

I suggest you look again at Thailand. Sure the airfare will set you back some, but once you're here living expenses are low. You plan to return to the US for your college studies anyway, so you'll have lots of opportunity to dive the Caribbean, and you won't have the time or resources to come halfway round the world to dive over here where it's so different. Now, however, you do have the time, and I'm willing to bet that in the long run you won't spend any more by coming here than you do by going to Mexico or Honduras. And it IS worth it!

[BeachJunkie]

All of the internships that I've looked at in Thailand have been THOUSANDS of dollars more on top of the additional 700 dollars for airfair. The two that stood out to me were Aquanauts and Mermaids. While pattaya seems like an AWESOME place to party it up and hang out and dive for a few months, I can't see spending that much money on it right now. I completely understand the allure of doing the schooling in Asia as, like you said, its not a place that I will get to visit and enjoy frequently like the Carribean. I've been looking at the all inclusive style IDC's with housing. Also looking for ones that will give me a chance to actually work as a DM or Instructor instead of just certifying me and kickin me out the door. The two that I'm trying to decide between (so far) allow you the chance to work as a DM while waiting/studying for your IE and you get to keep any and all tips. They both also afford you the chance to work for them afterwards and work towards additional specialty instructor ratings. I'll certainly look into thailand as it would be a cool place to live for a while. If you have any suggestions, by all means, shoot them at me. I've still got time to decide where I'm going to do this and want to get all the first hand information I can. You can promise the world on a website and pick and choose your feedback postings but nothing is better than word of mouth!

Heres another question to add to the thread. If you were going to be doing unlimited diving somewhere would you prefer Phuket/Pattaya Thailand, Manzanillo Mexico, or the Domican Republic?

I'm open to any and all suggestions for places to seek training!

Thanks for the suggestion Quero!

[WreckWench]

Phuket/Pattaya Thailand

Then you'll be SPOILED for the rest of your diving career by comparison. Quero lives there and may be able to help you. If I were to choose a place to dive for this situation...it would be Thailand.

DR to my knowledge does NOT get that many divers so getting tips from minimum numbers of students may be a bit misleading. You should query the schools as to how many divers actually go there. Search the internet to see how many operators in the area. Mexico should be a better situation but not as good as Thailand.

Also the cliental from Thailand will be mostly Brits, and peeps from the other side of the pond. That may or may not be an advantage! I'm sure no matter WHERE you go to school EVERYONE will want to know about SingleDivers.com!

[BeachJunkie]

I'll be sure to shamelessly plug SD every chance I get

[WreckWench]

I'll be sure to shamelessly plug SD every chance I get

You say the NICEST things!

[uwfan]

Hey BeachJunkie, watch your six so you can enjoy doing whatever you decide to do...

That said, I have to put in my two cents from my life experiences. If you want to do this, do it. I've taken a wandering path through my working career and while some might say I should have had more focus, the ride has been great. I started teaching in an inner city school in Houston, made a few moves within the US, hopped the pond to China for a year, did a couple other things on the side, got certs here and there and a couple of degrees in the process. The broad base of life experience and classroom seat (or that 'other' word ) time opens up a wider view of life for me that I couldn't have gotten any other way.

As for the diving part, I'm a newbie and I'll freely admit it. But I'll say this, my first experience with anything close to scuba was when I had an opportunity to snorkel in Puket. WOW!!! You would be AMAZED at where you get to dive. WWs already said this, but I will echo it (as I find myself doing a lot with what she says ). Thailand is cheap living, people like to go there, and you will love the diving (did I say that already ). If I were 25 and doing it all over again... a semester is very short time (a year is too...), especially if you have a plan to follow to go back into school after doing your dive training so that as others have said, your eggs aren't in one basket. As far as the $$ outlay for Thailand over the others...my personal opinion, do Thailand, it's worth it. How worth it... let's just say I've been reading this thread with my own thoughts about IDC at forty-something, and trying to figure out how a year off sabatical might be done within my latest teaching career.