# I'd like to become an expat but ...



## polyrhythmicSouL (Nov 19, 2007)

... i'm not so sure i'll "make the cut". 


Hello my name is Eric, 

I am a 30 year old male from outside of Boston, Massachusetts in the United States.

I dropped out of high school but earned my "general education degree". Although I have not completed any college.

I am wondering ... If I am able to pay for some type of specialized training through an accredited or unaccredited school , could this possibly be enough to qualify for a visa ??

I have money and I have a love for scuba diving so i'm hoping that I can somehow use these two resources to overcome my obstacles and maybe even become a scuba dive instructor in NZ or even Australia. :fingerscrossed:

anything helps , 
thank you
~ Eric


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## topcat83 (Apr 16, 2009)

polyrhythmicSouL said:


> ... i'm not so sure i'll "make the cut".
> 
> 
> Hello my name is Eric,
> ...


Hi there - welcome to the Forum.
I'm afraid you'll have some difficulties getting a visa without some kind of formal qualification that is on Qualifications. And I'm afraid that 'scuba dive instructor' is very unlikely to be one of the ones on the list  . You'd be best looking at taking a course that would give you those elusive points.

However I can give you some information about scuba diving as a career in New Zealand, as my son has been fortunate enough to make it his. 

He was lucky enough to come to NZ on our visa - he was under 18 at the time. For his 18th birthday, he asked to go to Egypt to train to be a PADI dive instructor. I'm very proud to say that he ended up being the youngest working scuba diving instructor in the Red Sea. 

When he returned to NZ, and after a stint in a bar, he was again fortunate to get a job with one of the best dive shops in NZ - Global Dive, in Auckland. I say fortunate, because they not only sell basic dive equipment but also more specialised equipment, plus they teach PADI and technical diving. Plus service & maintain all the kit. 5 years later he's still there, and making a name for himself in the NZ dive industry.

BUT there are very few openings like this, and the pay is abysmal. You do not become a dive instructor for the money . And he's a medium-sized fish in a very small pond. The 'tourist' dive industry is small, and many NZers who dive (much to my horror!) do it in order to go hunting off the back of their 'tinny' (small aluminium-hulled boat) with scant equipment and even less training. It amazes me that more of them don't have accidents!

There is a commercial diving school at Huntly - NZSOS School of Commercial Diver Training New Zealand. But it's not cheap, and most recreational scuba divers really don't want to be diving in sludge all day. The final money you can earn is better though.


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## polyrhythmicSouL (Nov 19, 2007)

Thank you very much for your assistance. I appreciate all the info and insight.


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