Why I chose to become a Scuba Instructor in Bali

Six years ago, I would never have thought I would be one day living the dream in Bali as a Scuba Instructor. When I look back now over the last few years, the day I decided to pack my bags and move to Bali to become a PADI Instructor was probably the best decision I ever made for myself!

Let’s go back a few years: I am sitting in a dull office, thinking about how I have been diving since I was a kid, became a PADI Divemaster a few years ago and dive on every occasion I get but still feel it’s not enough. After 10 years of working up the corporate ladder, I make very good money by working ridiculous hours and getting stomach ulcers over stress. But there is never enough diving and beach time.

In 2011, I take my first trip to Bali and instantly fall in love. The diving is breath-taking, the island is beautiful and its people so kind and smiley, and as soon as I embark on the long plane journey to get back to France I know I will be back sooner than later.

Another few months passed and sure thing, I am back at the first occasion I get, sitting on same beach I was a few months ago and sipping a cold beer with friends, considering seriously for the first time what seemed like a crazy idea: “Wait….what if I came back and never left, became a Scuba Instructor in Bali and finally dive every day?”.

And then, slowly but surely, I did. It took me a year to get out of the job, save a bit more money and plan my escape, find the right place in Bali to become a Scuba Instructor. But almost a year day to day after that second trip where this idea blossomed, I am sitting on the beach enjoying the sunset while studying my theory to get ready for my Instructor Course.

The IDC was as much fun and stress as I expected it to be, after 3 intense weeks I became a Scuba Instructor, and since then never looked back: I have now been working and living in Bali for 5 years, the place I now call home.

At the time, I was told it was “a little bit crazy”, that I was “throwing away such hard work in building a career”, “having a mid-life crisis at 30” and other similar things along the line. A handful of people also told me that I had guts and that if I would never try, I would never know. So I did.

Fast forward 6 years: today I am a PADI Course Director, I teach people how to teach diving for a living, having a great time doing so and still getting to dive pretty much as often as I want.

So if you are having second thoughts about whether becoming a Scuba Instructor in Bali is for you or not….drop us a line! We can tell you more about making a huge change in your life and gaining something that is priceless: get up and go to work every day with a huge smile on your face!