Living the Dream: Surviving a live-aboard job
Posted By Vladimir Soto on 27 December 2005
Two dive instructors are sitting in a bar and one of them asks the other what working on a live-aboard is really like.
I'm sure just about now you're beginning to expect a punch line. Or some grand revelation shrouded in misty anticipation. Is it really as good as I imagine it'd be when I stare at those ads in the dive mags every morning before jumping into the shower? Or, please, tell me it sucks so I can keep putting up with my stuffy cube job. Oops. Sorry to the latter gang. Yup. It CAN be great. The all caps CAN is not a typo either. Tell me, have you ever heard of anyone, soap opera characters not included, who actually has the 100% perfect job? Having enjoyed the cushiness of a corporate gig at its best and then living the dream any dive instructor would give their primary reg for, my humble and stoic opinion is there ain't no job nirvana out there. But there could never be just one punch line to the story. It really depends on your own perspective and what you make of the opportunity. That said; let me be the first one to push you overboard, the first one to whisper in your ear devilish diving temptations. Still there? Come on, go for it, start packing your gear, what are you waiting for!!
Ok, ok. Take your time. Procrastinate a bit. In fact, question your sanity. Besides, the first thing any dive professional contemplating such a pursuit should do is question what it is they expect to get out of such a job before, ahem, diving in. Financial security? Travel opportunities? A good way to meet a lot of people or perhaps even your soul mate? Sure. All that can happen. Well, if you consider financial security to be the fact that you'll know with fair accuracy how small your pea-size wages will be in return for the super-sized load of hard work you'll have. The travel opportunities will probably end up being eroded by a well-trodden and monotonous marine path around the same reef system, week after week after week. And, ahhh, the people you meet...chances are they will, at times, leave an imprint in your mind reminiscent of that left by very needy, misbehaved, never-listening, high-maintenance...hmm...pets. Finding a soul mate.
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