It was one little detail that I somehow managed to forget about over the last year: I moved here to be a dive instructor. I didn’t move here to run a dive shop, or to make websites, or to update Facebook pages. I worked myself almost to the bone in Canada with two full time jobs to save enough money to become a dive instructor – to live on Roatan (and other beautiful warm water locations), teach people how to dive, and take certified divers out diving.
 |
| it was a lovely office, but it was still an office. |
I recently left the company that I have been with since I first arrived on Roatan nearly two years ago. It was not an easy decision. I took my professional level courses there, was hired right out of my instructor exams, worked there as a dive instructor, and ran a second location for them. It’s been nearly two years with some incredible ups and downs. Even while my other friends here thought I was crazy for staying at a shop that paid so little and seemed to have abnormally high dive shop drama constantly, I liked the idea of a permanent, stable job and working in a place with higher-end facilities. And I didn’t know any different, because I hadn’t ever worked anywhere else.
But after spending the last year or so basically out of the water 90% of the time while running a shop, and then being asked to move to the guest services/marketing side of the resort and completely out of the dive shop due to internal politics, I started to slowly remember the real reason I came to Roatan. I came here to go diving. I didn’t come here to stare at a computer in an office all day. (Ahem, did you see the title of my blog??)
I was supposed to be in Guatemala this week, exploring Antigua and Lake Atitlan on an extended vacation. I haven’t left yet because I decided to give freelancing a try. I was hired right away for what was supposed to be a 5 day contract with a dive shop in West End…I just finished 14 days straight in the water with them and am starting tomorrow for a 4 day contract with another shop. I am making about 3x the money I used to make, and more importantly, I’m diving, and loving it. It’s brought me back to why I came here two years ago. So while I might have also been really good at the social media/marketing job that my old company offered me, I didn’t come to Roatan for that.
I have some of my divers to thank for this… I had divers tell me this week that I made their entire vacation, or that it was some of the best diving they had done in their lives. I had new divers thanking me over and over for introducing them to the underwater world. That kind of stuff makes me so happy!! I met my coworker’s girlfriend, who recognized me from this blog and told me she had been reading Cubicle Throwdown in New York before moving down here and that she loved it (hi Tonya!). Equal parts ‘yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!’ and ‘oooooh, I’m internet-famous’ and ‘see, I’m not just spewing crap on the internet out into the abyss, people are reading this and finding it helpful!’ Then my brand new open water students sent me this after they got home:
If that’s not a damn good reason to teach people to dive, I don’t know what is. Thank you Hayley and Joel!!
I am a walking contradiction at all times, and this is nothing new for those who know me: at once both flighty and fiercely loyal, scared of change and changing everything in my life in a moment. I am thankful that I realized before running away from this island that it wasn’t Roatan I was sick of – it was my job. While I still think I will be moving on to a new area of the world to explore in the near future, the rest of my time here will be spent exactly where I always wanted it to be… under the sea.
 |
| i’m freelancing here this week… i much prefer this view!! |
(And yes, I am still going to go on my vacation to Guatemala, as soon as I have a break in freelancing jobs! I’m still accepting submissions for guest posts while I’m away, so please get in touch if you’re interested. Also, I would love to hear from anyone who has been to Copan, Antigua and Lake Atitlan and has suggestions to offer.)
Thank you so much for this post. I’m reading back through your archives as I recently finished my divemaster and have been looking for inspiration as I prepare to head off for my IDC.
This post has been so helpful as I was offered an office job with the dive centre where I did my DMT but it was solely marketing. This is the job I am escaping from. I turned it down but wondered if I’d done the right thing. So good to hear about someone in a similar position. And interesting to see how things have progressed for you since then.
Hey Emma, best of luck at your upcoming IDC! Always watch for the “problem” student who descends with a snorkel in… 😉
It’s been really funny for me to have a look at this old post again. What a rollercoaster! After this I freelanced myself into serious burnout but it was great to have a lot of money for a bit haha. I got back out of the water again for a while and ran a hotel for the better part of a year, then I got the itch again and went back to diving. Unfortunately I pushed myself so hard for so many years diving there that I physically couldn’t do it full time anymore. When I left Roatan I was doing a pretty good mix of freelancing and online work and that seemed to be the sweet spot for me. When I left in 2016, I thought I was sick of diving for good but re-reading this old post makes me very homesick for being underwater blowing bubbles. Say hi to the fish for me!!
xo
rika
Thanks for the best wishes. I’m looking forward to the IDC. And I’ll keep my eye out for that student. Actually had a guest who did that when I was on my DMT.
I’ll also keep my eye on burnout. Good to be aware of the risks with that. Will definitely wave (sorry, bad pun) at this fish for you.
Glad you get to play in the water again. Awesome! I have read your blog plenty of times so I'm passing on the Liebster to ya! Hopefully you can keep it going. 🙂
http://whereintheworldisnina.com/nominated-leibster/
The last one I've been on had tanks on the top deck all the time. I'm sure you won't have to do 4-5 dives a day either. Give it a try. You might like it.
Don't think I have the constitution for a liveaboard… hauling tanks from below deck all day and 4-5 dives a day is too much for me!! Would be cool though 🙂
Have you considered interviewing for liveaboards? Like Aggressor Fleet and such. Might be a very good fit.
Not sure yet, exploring some options in Thailand and Indonesia… I've been on Roatan for over two years, it's time to see more of the world!
Which move? 😉 Tell us more!
Thanks Dmitri!! I am really enjoying the flexibility (and money!) that has been coming with freelancing so far. I have quite a few gigs lined up so I hope to ride that all the way to slow season in the fall, and then make a move 🙂
I figure if I get at least 50% of it, I'm doing okay 🙂
Amen sista!! Woohoo!
Thanks Steph – all of it totally forced me to re-evaluate what the heck I was doing here. I'm terrible for slipping back into old patterns, but thankfully I'm back on track… underwater 🙂
Thanks Karyn – yep, totally right – once I got back in the water I was instantly much happier. And freelancing is the way to go… I've already been offered two permanent positions but right now I really prefer to have the flexibility to take time off if I want it (and if I don't, to go to work and make lots of money!)
Thanks Sandra! I'm glad too 🙂 I agree that MUCH more entertaining things happen when I'm in the water!
Hey Erika,
That's great news! Glad to hear that you are having fun again. Hopefully you'll keep scoring cool freelance gigs for a long time to come.
Hey, congratulations on figuring it all out! (OK, well some of it.) Some people never do that
oh good! i'm glad you know what you WANT- that's the most important part of GETTING it!
Yay! I'm so happy that the rollercoaster that has been the last year in Roatan has finally gotten fun again for you! I know the past few months have been really stressful and kind of angsty for you, but I also believe that it prompted you to do some soul-searching and to identify your true priorities for being in Roatan; ultimately, I think that can only be a good thing. Even when you're living somewhere exotic, it can be all too easy to slip back into the patterns and habits that made the last chapter of life so unhappy/unhealthy. Every so often it's good to take a hard look at where you are and what you are doing and make sure you're still living the life you want or have gotten off track. So happy to hear that you've gotten back into the water and back to what you really love doing!
That's awesome! I remember when you were feeling really crap a few months ago and you were asking what you should do, so many of us were like, um, you moved here to get away from desk work! So I'm glad you have found a new situation that involves more diving – whether it's on Roatan or off, the important thing is that you are living the life you want!
For the record I met a girl in Thailand who is a freelance diving instructor and she loved it. She said that in off season money was tight but of course that's to be expected. She loved her freedom.
Good for you! I'm looking forward to reading about your underwater adventures! (Office adventures are not half as entertaining 😉 ) I'm glad you're diving again full time – for your readers and for you 🙂
Haha haha. It's all part in parcel to the experience. And thanks, I will.
Well, don't read too much of last year's posts then haha 😉 should be a lot more diving posts now! Keep me updated on how the DM goes, okay?
Well I've been saving my money and am planning to finally do my DM and maybe a year later my instructors. And I read your blog to help keep the inspiration levels up.
Thanks Jason! So far I've worked for two shops and it's gone great (they both said if they had room on their permanent staff they would have loved to keep me!) with a third lined up for next week. I am making a lot more money, am much happier and am DIVING!! All good 🙂
Yay!!!!! Good for you. I had wondered what had happened to girl that loved to Scuba Dive. Can't wait to hear about your free-lancing and maybe a move to another tropical location.