Meet John, who completed his PADI Instructor course with us in 2023.
What is your name and where are you from?
My name is John and I'm originally from Brisbane, Australia.
What made you decide to embark on the IDC or Divemaster course?
Around 2019 I fell into somewhat of a rut in life. I wasn't as active as I used to be and I'd started putting on some weight. So I decided to get back into diving. I was first certified back in 1992 and had only done a few dives a year over the next quarter of a century. As I got more and more into it, I naturally gravitated towards thinking about doing it as a professional career. I completed my Divemaster training in Australia at the beginning of 2023 and started planning on becoming an instructor as a necessary step of securing future employment in the dive industry, My wife, a teacher, and I began researching places to live and work. Being an instructor would definitely increase my job opportunities.
What was your favourite part/highlight of the training?
My highlight of the training was the mock exams. Just kidding. Although I did enjoy the exams, the real highlight was working alongside all the different staff at Purple Dive. It gave me a great insight into what makes a professional dive centre tick.
What was your biggest challenge and how did the team help you overcome this?
My biggest challenge was not to do things too quickly. The IDC instructors really showed me the value of slowing things down.
Where are you working now and what is your current role?
I am currently working as a dive instructor at Adventure Cook Islands on the beautiful island of Rarotonga.
What is your favourite part about your job?
The favourite part of my job is the variation. I'm not just in an open water course meat grinder or pumping out DSD after DSD. I teach a wide variety of courses, conduct intro dives and refreshers. A lot of my time is spent guiding and I also help out with gear maintenance, driving the boat, manning the shop, etc..
How did your training at Purple Dive prepare or facilitate you in finding/working as a dive professional?
Apart from training me to be a successful instructor, Purple Dive provided support during the job finding process, both as a reference and with connections within the dive industry.
What is your best dive to this day?
That is an impossible question to answer. I've had so many wonderful dives over the years. Ok, I've thought about it some more and I would say Leru Cut in The Solomon Islands.
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