Gain more diving and work experience through a diving internship
Choose an internship at a diving center to become a divemaster or scuba instructor. The experience you gain during an internship is far greater than what you gain from a standard 10-day instructor or divemaster course. Most importantly, after completing an internship, you will be ready to work in the scuba diving industry anywhere in the world.
PADI Diving Internship options:
- Instructor Course IDC
- MSDT Preparation
- IDC STAFF
- Assistant Instructor
- Divemaster
- Rescue
What is a scuba diving internship?
Do you have some time to spare and want to save money while earning your scuba diving certification? Then our diving internship is definitely something for you!
In exchange for your help, you will receive discounted scuba diving courses and free dives. You will assist our staff with daily activities while progressing through your PADI course at the same time. The real advantage of an internship is not just the money you save, but the valuable hands-on experience you gain during your training. This experience will prepare you to work professionally in scuba diving alongside our experienced dive team.
Continue reading below to discover the pros and cons of completing an internship with a PADI diving center.
You can also read the PADI publication on their blog here.
What are the advantages of a Diving Interships?
Real Experience
A real internship at a PADI Diving Center allows you to make the transition from the theoretical side of the PADI Standards to practical experience with real scuba divers. Throughout the process, the Venice Diving staff will always be by your side, ensuring complete safety and professional guidance.
We have noticed a significant difference between PADI Instructors or Divemasters who completed a standard course and those who completed an internship. This has also been confirmed by other diving centers where our IDC interns later worked during their careers. In general, interns are more capable and experienced in areas such as:
- calming down panicked divers
- teaching more difficult concepts effectively
- guiding inexperienced groups of divers
- handling emergency situations
- sharing and inspiring a passion for scuba diving
With this information, we certainly do not want to discourage you from taking a standard PADI course. We know that every PADI course is carefully designed to train people to become professional divers. However, an internship allows you to live the experience over a longer period of time, giving you the opportunity to learn valuable extra skills and practical tips that can greatly benefit your future diving career.
Curriculum
By completing an internship with a PADI Scuba Diving Center, you can gain valuable references and build important professional connections, such as with our PADI Course Director. This can help you advance your career and find a job more quickly by demonstrating that you already have real experience in the field.
In other words, by already facing real-world challenges firsthand (always alongside certified professionals), your confidence will grow tremendously. And believe us, after almost 20 years in the industry, we can confirm that self-confidence is one of the most important keys to achieving your goals.
Fun
One of the most fascinating aspects of the diving world is perfectly summarized by a famous PADI slogan: Meet People and Visit Places. And what could be more exciting for young divers looking for adventure?
During an internship, you will gain a wealth of positive emotions, fun experiences, and unforgettable memories that you might not experience during a shorter course. Our staff is international and multicultural, and we operate in more than 10 campsites with clients from all over Europe.
Spend the summer with Venice Diving and enjoy close contact with different nationalities, cultures, and personalities.
What are the disadvatages of a Diving Internship?
Time
With an internship, you can save money. But have you considered how much more time it requires? An internship lasts a minimum of two months, even for certifications that you could normally complete in less than a week. Time is therefore the real price to pay when choosing an internship. The choice is yours!
Reputation
Unfortunately, in the past, some diving centers treated interns as little more than free labor to cover the less enjoyable aspects of the job. As a result, internships in the diving industry have sometimes gained a negative reputation.
You may therefore understandably worry that a future employer might not view an internship on your CV positively. However, as described above, our Course Director and entire staff will be able to provide you with strong and respected professional references.
With a PADI 5-Star IDC center in Thailand, a scuba diving travel agency, and upcoming professional courses in the Galápagos, you can be sure you are in excellent hands.
Fatigue
Being a scuba diving professional takes hard work. It’s not just about diving and spending your days in a swimsuit.
It’s a lifestyle that, like any other, has both positive and negative sides. For some people, the hard work can be one of the challenging aspects.
During one of our training programs, you will have the opportunity to understand whether this is truly the right world for you. Unlike standard paid courses, a diving internship involves less relaxation and more responsibility. But that is also part of the experience. Even the more demanding moments will become an advantage when the time comes to make decisions about your future.
When can I sign up for one of the internships with Venice Diving?
Our season starts in May and ends in September. You can sign up from the beginning of March.
We normally require a minimum internship duration of two months. However, the length depends on a few factors:
- type of internship chosen
- scuba diving certification level
- number of logged dives
Contact us for any information, without hesitation.
Prerequisites and Schedule of the internships with Venice Diving
In the tables below, you can find the prerequisites as well as what is included in our internships.
All internships include accommodation with a kitchen and shared bedrooms. Food is not included. However, we have affiliated supermarkets, bars, and restaurants where you can benefit from discounts of up to 30%.
Depending on your certification level and the internship you choose, you will assist with different tasks. These include, for all programs: try dives, customer care, and office and logistics duties at the diving center.
For those enrolling in a PRO program (IDC, MSDT, IDC Staff), you will also be required to assist with dive guiding and/or supporting theoretical and practical training sessions.
Rescue Diver
| MINIMum PREREQUISITES | DURATION | INCLUDED | EXCLUDED |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Water or Equivalent | 2 Months | License Accommodation Equipment | Food |
Divemaster
| MINIMum PREREQUISITES | DURATION | INCLUDED | EXCLUDED |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 logged dives | 3 Months | License Accommodation Equipment | Food |
Assistant Instructor
| MINIMum PREREQUISITES | DURATION | INCLUDED | EXCLUDED |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dive Master | 3 Months | License Accommodation Equipment | Food |
Scuba Diving and EFR Instructor
| MINIMum PREREQUISITES | DURAtion | INCLUded | Excluded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dive Master | 4 Months | License Accommodation E-learning | Food Equipment |
5 Specialities Scuba Instructor – MSDT
| MINIMum PREREQUISITES | DURAtion | INCLUded | Excluded |
|---|---|---|---|
| PADI OWSI | 3 Months | License Accommodation E-learning | Food Equipment |
Idc Staff Instructor
| MINIMum PREREQUISITES | DURAtion | INCLUded | Excluded |
|---|---|---|---|
| PADI MSDT | 3 Months | License Accommodation E-learning | Food Equipment |