Screw university, diving is way better

Corina joined the team at Trawangan Dive a few months ago, after doing her PADI Divemaster and PADI Instructor Development Course with us. As well as being a semi-permanent fixture at any party at the Irish bar, she’s also keeps guests entertained with her quick humour and funny stories. We love her to bits and hope she never leaves!
 
Tell us about yourself Corina..

Young, sexy, big boobs, nice bum. That kind of sums it up!

Quite! Ermm.. anything else?

I’m from Switzerland, I’m 21 years old and I speak English, German, Italian and a weird local dialect called Romanch. There are only 15,000 people that speak it. So super useful.

How did you end up on the island?

I was on a bus in Bali at 6am and I met Sarah one of the dive instructors at Trawangan Dive. She seemed really friendly and she knew I was on my way to Gili Trawangan. She basically dragged me to the dive shop.

Had you been here before?

No. But I heard about it from a best friend who visited it two years ago. It sounded like a lot of fun.

How long have you now been here for?

Since May last year .. almost one and half years.

What made you decide to stay?


I originally came to do some fun dives. But Sarah, with her great sales technique, sold me the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course. After one week and lots of diving, I tried to leave. My boat and flight to Singapore were booked. After a big night out at a snorkel test, and a little encounter with one of the Divemaster trainees, I was ready to leave, bags packed and everything. I paid my bill. But Adam, Sarah’s boyfriend and also a great salesman, told me to stay and to do my PADI Divemaster.

A group of friends at the dive centre then created a pros and cons list on the whiteboard. The pros list for staying was much longer (of course) and so I decided to stay. The boat, by that point, had left anyway. I crawled back into my room and started my PADI Rescue Diver course the following day. The course lasted ten days because I was in no rush and it was so much fun.

Do you remember your PADI Divemaster course or is it all a blur?!

At that point, my English wasn’t so great and it took me a long time to read the books and study for my exams. My mentor helped me though. Otherwise, it was great fun. I learnt so much and did almost a hundred dives during the course. This was invaluable for when I became an instructor.

Did this mess up plans you might have had at home?

Totally. I was meant to study Geography. I went home after my Divemaster course. I was depressed and cried a lot and I didn’t want to see my friends. I started university but quit two weeks later because I couldn’t be bothered. My heart wasn’t in it. I booked a one way ticket back to Indonesia with the intention of staying for a few months.

And then you did your PADI Instructor Development Course!

Admittedly, I was a bit of a star student because I had done my PADI Divemaster training at Trawangan Dive and all the others had done theirs at different dive centres. It made me realize what a high standard we have here.

What was your diving experience before coming to the island?

I did my PADI Open Water Diver course when 14 in Egypt. When I arrived on Gili Trawangan, I had about 20 dives. As well as Egypt, I’d also dived in Australia and Turkey.

What are you doing now?

Sitting in the office all day and drinking coffee!

I occasionally teach but my main job is now Marketing Manager. I’m responsible for administration of the accommodation at Trawangan Dive. I organize bookings, and travel arrangements for people and make sure all of the rooms are looking lovely.

What are your plans for the future?

Taking over the world. Why not! I’m staying for a while. It’s very difficult to leave. I hope to teach some more. Party some more. Find a rich husband. You know, what every girl dreams of…

If you'd like more information on how to follow in Corina's footsteps, please contact us!

This article originally appeared on www.idc-gili.com.

 

Thinking about becoming a PADI professional?

Pick up any diving magazine or surf the web for dive related websites, and you’ll find lots of images taken in exotic destinations combined with interactions with aquatic life. In certain people, this often stimulates the dream of working full time as a dive professional.

There are few professions in the world where you can spend a Monday morning commuting to your work place on a boat, enjoying beautiful weather with customers who admire you for the job you do.

You’ll never forget your first breath

Most divers never forget their first breath underwater during their initial confined water training. For the majority of scuba participants, the entry level certification opens a whole new world. For some, it creates the dream and goal of becoming a scuba diving professional.

Build your self esteem

Scuba diving is a sport that builds self esteem and improves physical fitness. It also creates an environmental awareness and shows individuals how to make a positive contribution to the aquatic world.

Unlike many other sports, scuba diving is non-contact, three-dimensional and multi sensory. The competition is with each individual to better themselves as a diver, not over others. Whilst many divers enjoy the silence and serenity of the underwater world, scuba diving is also a very social activity and fosters camaraderie amongst participants and leads to lifelong friendships.

You’ll make a positive difference 

As a scuba diving professional, you get to make a positive difference to other people’s lives and to the environment. Whether an individual seeks scuba instruction to learn about the environment, as a self fulfilment goal or to challenge themselves, you become a facilitator and help them dive safely and have enjoyable experiences.

The PADI system of education

The PADI system of diver education has some of the most comprehensive educational products. It’s a system that enables the instructor to work more on individualized instruction as most students are free to learn at their own pace.

This allows for you as the instructor to focus on individual needs, remediation and delivering the course in a fun and effective manner.

These materials can be used anywhere in the world to teach a standardized course. However, the instructor will need to adapt each course to the local environment and culture, which is something you will be taught to do.

Work wherever you choose

PADI instructors can choose to work part or full time in tropical resorts or local dive centres. Many instructors also have their own full time jobs and work in their spare time or weekends as either freelance instructors or through a local PADI dive centre.

In the resort environment many instructors enjoy teaching on tropical islands in warm waters on beautiful coral reefs with an abundance of fish and other aquatic life. It’s obviously this dream lifestyle that motivates many individuals to switch careers.

Join the tribe – become a PADI Divemaster

There are different methods of completing the Divemaster course; it can be done through a local dive centre, on a part time basis, either interning on classes or via practical simulated training components. Many candidates choose to take time out and intern on a program over several weeks in the tropics, and get real world hands on exposure whilst training.

Take the plunge – become a PADI Instructor

The next step after the PADI Divemaster course is to enrol in either the PADI Assistant Instructor course, or the complete PADI Instructor Development Course.

To have the best chances of employment within the dive industry, and to make a reasonable pay, then the instructor rating is a logical progression after the Divemaster course.

What you can teach

As a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor, you can conduct introductory programs such as Discover Snorkelling and Discover Scuba Diving, and certification courses from the PADI Open Water Diver, PADI Advanced Open Water Diver, PADI Rescue Diver and the PADI Divemaster course.

It is also possible to teach specialty classes such as Enriched Air/Nitrox, Digital Photography, Deep, Wreck or Fish Identification upon taking a specialty instructor class or with sufficient experience.

Sounds amazing! What’s the catch?

PADI instructors seem to have the dream job. They get to work in exotic locations, they dive for a living, they interact with nature, and their students look up to them like heroes. In addition, they get paid for all this.

But teaching requires a special set of skills including patience, adaptability, open mindedness and basic business principles in customer service and marketing.

Often, the job of a PADI Divemaster or instructor has long hours. It can require the person to truly multitask and there may be significant periods without days off.

However if you talk to an instructor at the end of a bad days work, the majority would not swap it for anything else in the world.

It’s not all about the money, money, money

Whilst the job may not have the highest pay scales and most instructors do not work solely for money, the pay can be enough to allow good savings after a season. This could be used to finance a flight to the next destination, purchase new equipment and reinvest in additional training, or simply to bank.

If wealth could be measured in job satisfaction, then PADI instructors would probably be the wealthiest professionals on the planet, and with a life they could look back on with the biggest of smiles.

Branch out and discover new avenues

Many instructors work for a period of a few years teaching recreational classes then advance into more senior positions.

Friends who I have worked with now hold prominent positions in the scuba diving industry – from working as PADI Regional Managers, to owners of live boards, to PADI Course Directors. Others own or manage dive centres and resorts, and some specialize in technical diving and exploration.
When I think back to the career path I had originally chosen, in international financial institutions, I never for one day regret my choice – where it has taken me, the people I have met, and the memories I have.

If you'd like more information about the courses we offer at Trawangan Dive, please contact us.

This article originally appeared on www.idc-gili.com.

100% AWARE

AWARE month is now up and running at Trawangan Dive. For every diver we certify we will be donating money to Project AWARE, and each of our divers will recieve a free Project AWARE card! We are also running events through out the month of April making our customers 100% AWARE. 

Keep up to date with all the latest right here:

James teaching

Event Guide for April

Events during April

Supporting the cause

Instructor James!

Trawangan Dive Team!!

Trawangan Dive Quiz night!!

One not to miss out on!!