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Scuba Diving Internships FAQ (your questions answered) Mermaids Dive Center Pattaya, Thailand pioneered the scuba diving internship programs in 1999 and now have a lot of experience indeed in this area. Of course moving away from home for a good few months possibly with the intention of moving directly on to a dive job is a large undertaking. You'll wish to know about accommodation, visas, which airport, local costs etc - many many questions. I was one of Mermaids first dive interns in 1999 taking the OWSI program at the age of 26. When I was in the UK enquiring about the dive internship I had so very many questions to be answered. Please do have a look at the information that is written here but please do feel free to contact me personally with any further questions. Even if you wish for me to expand upon the answers given here ... please just ask. Dive Internship FAQ's - Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3 - Page 4 - Page 5 - Page 6
A. There are NO hidden costs for the diving internship programs at all. Student divers pay nothing more than the stipulated course fees. All PADI fees for each course are covered in the course payment. For every 1 baht more that you have to pay I shall refund you 2 baht. The dive equipment and diver accommodation is all included - the only bill with the accommodation is the water and electric at the end of the month. This averages at between $25-50 US per month - this is with normal usage i.e. 3 showers per day and only using the air-condition when you are in the room). There are NO fees for any bonus courses that are offered to any divers. NONE at all.
A. All of the equipment supplied within the scuba diving internships is brand new high quality Scubapro, Suunto and Technisub gear. Made with extremely durable materials and well known brands the equipment is extremely suitable for a recreational scuba diving job. All of the equipment is yours to keep from the moment that we "kit you up". This equipment is your "tools of the trade" and will be needed for your dive career. A list of the intern scuba equipment package can be seen by clicking "Diver Equipment". It includes every piece of dive equipment required to be a professional scuba diver. (Also included in the professional packages is a pocket mask, reel and lift bag etc). On arriving at Mermaids Dive Center you shall be shown all of the equipment on display in the showroom. From there we simply get all of your new equipment from the shelves and size you up. From that day the equipment is yours to keep.
Q. What is the Dive Accommodation like? A. The rooms are single with double beds (but can take 2 people with single beds if required), Air-Conditioning, hot water supply, Cable TV and a fridge. Security is very good and 24/7 also. They are basically mini apartments / condos / hotel style. The diver rooms are very clean and near the dive center for convenience. You'll be there amongst friends also. There is a real sense of community spirit. Details of ACCOMMODATION - click here! There are NO sharing of facilities - all apartments are SELF-Contained with private bathroom / shower. Any diver that wishes for a spouse or partner to stay with them is perfectly entitled to do so at no extra charge - you have the room and it is up to you if you have guests or not. Make it like home-from-home as it will be for up to or even beyond 6 months depending on the program. (If you have further needs i.e. a bigger family etc then upgrades are available from approximately $100 per month extra. If you are coming as a couple then the rooms are fine for two people - and you get a discount too as the room only needs to be paid for once. Some of the rooms have internet connectivity as interns like to bring laptops. Please Note: - The diving accommodation is a short walk along the beach front to the dive college. It is close to many restaurants, the beach front, convenience shops and internet cafes. - Bedding and pillows etc are all supplied with the interns apartments. - In-house laundry is available as a room service. This cost of this is very inexpensive. - All leisure facilities like the swimming pool(s) are open to the dive interns. If the dive accommodation is required to be extended for any reason the cost is approximately $150-$200 per month depending on the room and season.
Q. How many days will I need to study diving? A. As a general rule of thumb look at 75% of your time here being dive study related. I.e. if you are here for the 6 month program then 4.5 months will be dive study and diving with 6 weeks of leisure time. This "leisure" time can be used how ever you wish - for a little traveling, meeting friends or take advantage of our un-limited diving policy. You can jump on any one of our 4 boats for pleasure diving Pattaya when ever you wish. The diving is un-limited meaning that you can pleasure dive at any time. Many of the intern divers at Mermaids share a lot in common. Many like to put in a longer time of study i.e. 10 days straight for example and then have 5 days or so for a little travel. This can be locally and many of the guys like to take live-aboard trips in other parts of Thailand. There is so very much to do here - diving is the purpose to be here but it'd be a shame not to get involved in some of the other activities or Thai culture. Splitting the Internships: There is no problem splitting any of the internships also. This is actually very common indeed due to their length. We have dive trainees coming here form all over the world with different commitments and schedules. Some interns like to return home for Christmas or a birthday etc, we have others that are attending MBA's and need to be away every 6 weeks or so - ALL OF THIS IS NO PROBLEM - all you simply do is let us know of your movements and you can simply pick the dive training back up where you left off the last time that you were at Mermaids Dive Center. You might wish to take the 6 month OWSI PADI Instructor training in 3 x 2 month segments (for example) - this is absolutely fine and has been done many times in the past. If you require to split the training we assist with any storage of dive manuals and equipment for you. We have done this many times and all is not a problem.
Q. Do many Internship Divers attend the diving life program? A. Mermaids have a healthy amount of both scuba diving interns and regular day customers being Pattaya's most well established dive center and only PADI Career Development Center. Mermaids have worked on the diver career programs for many years making this our mainstay of diving services whilst not ignoring other areas such as technical diving, regular courses and day trip divers. Due to having many different programs - Master Scuba Diver, Dive Master, DM - OWSI, Dive Instructor Training, MSDT, PADI Staff Instructor and individually tailored technical dive internships - there are a lot of divers all participating in different areas. This keeps things very interesting indeed and also allows for an excellent community. The Mermaids community is absolutely superb and everyone can assist each other with study and practical dive exercises. Not only that but it gives you a good few social buddies too:-) Generally we have a new candidate or two interning each week - the course CAN BE STARTED ANY TIME (Official start dates of the 5th, 15th and the 25th of EVERY month of the year - year in and out). Scuba interns can begin the course on any day of any week of any month - whatever schedule or date is convenient to them. Having a healthy amount of students allows us to actively operate and excel with Dive Career Development programs such as the MSDT and the PADI Staff The Mermaids community spreads world wide with many of the divers staying ion close contact with each other and also the dive center. Many of the diving interns that are now in diving jobs contact us for other dive staff that they require. This has happened many times. It's great that they can share their experiences with each other and offer support and even dive jobs to each other. It's nice to have friends and if you're a friendly person I assure you that you shall be very happy indeed. If you wish to contact any of our former or current scuba diving interns please contact me for details to contact them. It is of course better to hear any details of the dive program and community from our actual unbiased divers.
Q. Are there any AGE restrictions? A. NOT AS SUCH. A diver is required to be 18 years old in order to become a PADI professional diver i.e. Divemaster or higher dive certification. Having said that there is no reason why we can't train 17 year olds to Rescue diver certification and then wait for the following training - as indeed we have. There is NO maximum intern age for the internship. We have trained divers from 17 - 59 years of age. I would not be surprised to have a 60 year old++ join the dive program at some stage. Due to the fact that there are younger guys and gals that would like to get involved in the scuba diving industry we added the Master Scuba Diver program that takes dive trainees up to the highest possible recreational scuba diving qualification. When they turn 18 they can then become a dive professional and work in the dive industry. Please see details of the Master Scuba Diver certification and the Master Scuba Diver all inclusive internship program.
Dive Internship FAQ's - Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3 - Page 4 - Page 5 - Page 6 |
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