So today is the day…

Excitement and tension are high, after the next 2 days of examinations I will finally be a Scuba diving instructor and doing what I really love to do from the bottom of my heart, Teaching others diving and introducing them to this world underwater which has been capturing me for all my life.

But stop, how did I even get here?!

So, this is me, Magdalena, 36 years old, from Frankfurt Germany and I have been dedicating the last 1,5 years to start my career path in diving.

In 2017 I went on 5 days liveaboard trip in Thailand to the Similan Islands and fell in love with the country on land and underwater. On the second day on the boat, after seeing me diving, briefing my buddy and talking about the fish we saw during the dives, the trip leader approached me asking, if I ever thought about turning my hobby/ passion to a professional job. Well, the idea has been swirling around in my head already, but I had my concerns and doubts. I was in my mid-thirties, having a good social network back home and working as a Financial Controller in the automotive industry making good money. During the next days, we had a lot of conversations and I found out that there were many similarities in our life stories and the doubts started to get less. Returning from Thailand back to my “old” life in Germany was hard. Knowing what is awaiting me just a 10 hours flight away. So I decided to make a “light” life change. I planned to spend the next season (7 months) in Thailand, doing my divemaster training and working afterwards. 7 months is not that long, and it made it easier to process for my friends & family. So, I saved up some money, quit my job and apartment, knowing I could come back to it after the sabbatical, and booked a flight to Thailand.

DM Training was not always easy. This job is both physical and psychological challenges. Being continuously on a boat for 5 days/nights, having only 24 hours off in between the trips and then helping out in the dive shop as well. Some guests need more attention than others and although they are on vacation, you are not. But there is the other side of being able to dive every day in this wonderful tropical ocean, showing the guests this underwater life they might not have experienced before, meeting different people from all over the world having the most interesting conversations and the family feeling you develop throughout the month bonding with the crew on board. After 3 months I knew already that this is what I want. Although I felt a little drained after the entire season of 7 months, it could not as much as I felt content. 5 weeks after returning to Germany I took my next dive job in Mauritius.

After 1 year working as a Divemaster, I applied for my second season in the Similan Islands with Khao Lak Scuba Adventures as they could offer me to do the Instructor Development Course there as well. I arrived 3 days before the course starts and which I used to acclimatize to the tropic temperatures and the time zone change (6 hours ahead of German time).

The 14 days of the IDC were like a rollercoaster ride. A lot of highs and lows. Together with 8 other students, we studied, we laughed, we helped each other with the presentation in and out of the water and the bond we made, will stay for always special.

The diving skills I’ve learned in my DM time were profound, so I used the time to concentrate on my teaching skills. My Course Director, Mark Soworka, made sure we not just only passed our Instructor Exam, no, his focus was on becoming good dive instructors. He showed us, how to involve our future students in their learning process.

And here I am now on my Instructor Examination Day and guess what, I passed. 

And this is now my life as a PADI dive instructor at Khao Lak Scuba Adventures.

Diving…

Teaching…

Entertaining and enjoying...

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