DIVE INSTRUCTOR

Written by Charlotte Boan Thursday, 29 May 2008 00:00

She previously managed bars and restaurants in the UK before learning to dive on her travels.

Salary range: In Sharm, instructors earn anything between €900 and €1,800 a month, depending on their workload and commission on extras courses and dives.

Skills/qualifications needed: A professional open-water instructor qualification. Other languages are beneficial.

What the job involves: It’s varied: being a dayboat guide, teaching entry-level and advanced courses, working on the counter, holding welcome meetings and going on night dives. I also teach technical-diving courses. I have the option to work ten days and then take one day off, or work 14 days and take two days off. I usually work a 12-hour day.

Best part of the job: I love to teach and I love to dive. Guiding in the summer is almost ‘fun diving’ because you often get the more experienced, hardcore divers and the best marine life appears during these months. I also find working with disabled divers rewarding.

Worst part of the job: Being covered in salt all the time. First-day divers practically biting at your heels in the water is a little annoying.

Advice to jobseekers: Get experience in difference conditions. A lot of people go straight to instructor from open-water level and don’t get a chance to build experience. You need to have stamina as you must be physically and mentally alert for long hours.