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Participants
1. What types of people participate in your internship or
volunteer program?
 The
internship program is primarily for college students who major
in Fine Arts, Photography, Marine Biology, Communications, Physical
Education, Recreation and Business. It is also appropriate for
those who have not declared a major or those pursuing liberal
arts degrees.
The volunteer program is for artists, teachers,
university faculty, scientists, journalists, housewives, adventurers;
students (not seeking college credit), just about anyone.
2. What will I get out of the internship ?
In addition to college credit, valuable
work experience and living in one of the most desirable places
in the world, we can certify you also as an:
Open Water Diver, Scuba Diver, Enriched
Air Diver/Nitrox Diver, Night Diver, Underwater Naturalist,
Underwater Photographer, Underwater Videographer, Diver Propulsion
Vehicle Diver or Rebreather Diver.
These certifications are recognized worldwide.
Check out the Curriculum or Scuba
Certifications !
3. What will I get out of the volunteer program ?
 A
chance to live a dream and see Hawaii in a completely different
way. Depending on the length of your program, we can also offer
you the same certifications as interns (see FAQ # 2). These
certifications are recognized worldwide. Check out Scuba
Certifications !
4. How many interns participate in your program ?
At the present time, four, but we will
be increasing this to 6 in the winter in 2002/2003.
5. How many volunteers slots do you have ?
Four, but they cycle in and out on a weekly
basis.
6. What is the average day like ?
 Dayshift
(simplified):
Up early (5.30 - 6.00), breakfast, project
briefings, gear preparation, boat assignments, pack a personal
cooler for lunch.
On the Pacific Ocean from 8.00 a.m. - 1.30
p.m.
Gear desalinization, breakdown, storage
2.00 p.m. - 3.00 p.m.
Studio production work 3.00 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Nightshift (simplified):
At 2.00 p.m. meet for project briefings,
gear preparation, boat assignments, pack a personal cooler for
the boat.
On the ocean from 4.00 a.m. - 9.00 p.m.
Gear desalinization, breakdown, storage
9.00 p.m. - 10.00 p.m.
Studio production work 10.00 p.m. - 12
p.m.
7. If I am not selected as an intern or volunteer, is it possible
for me to be considered for another program at a later date ?
 Yes.
Some of the most difficult decisions we have to make involve not
selecting people as interns. We receive applications from some
very promising and interesting people. Even if you are not selected
for the program you are applying for, we may classify you as a
"possible alternate". In this instance, if you wish
to be considered as an alternate, you can let us know a "Latest
Date of Notification" ("LDN") using the online
application.
In short, this means: up to what date can
we expect you to come to Hawaii and intern or volunteer in the
event we contact you because someone we have selected suddenly
becomes unavailable.
Another possibility in alternate classification
is "Not Program Specific" ("NPS"). This means
you would like to be considered for the next or a future program.
8. This sounds complex, what selection criteria do you use
?
We try to put together a team of people
that will serve our needs and show a high probability of group
cohesiveness. This is a difficult determination to make by email
and telephone interviews, but we have had good success in the
past. The online application is the first step in this process.
If it appears as though you might be suited for one of our programs,
it is likely we will contact you with follow-up questions.
9. Do you consider couples ?
Yes. Sometimes it works better this way
as people are less likely to get "homesick" and have
more fun sharing the experience with their spouse.
10. Why is the volunteer program more costly than the internship program?
Typically, our volunteers only stay with us for a week or two. This gives us very little time to teach them skills that will be useful to us. In addition, volunteers usually require more supervision than interns.
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It
is not a requirement and will not make a significant difference
one way or the other with regard to your selection as an intern
or volunteer. We look at the entire "package" of aptitudes
and desires you have. We also see the advantage of training our
own divers.
Historically,
most interns and volunteers that are certified divers prefer to
use and maintain their own scuba gear, but we can provide gear
and instruction for you, if needed (
Yes.
Although we are not a retail scuba equipment sales business per
se, we have business relationships with a number of dive operations
and can obtain new and used gear at wholesale/reduced prices.
As
soon as your application fee is processed, we will notify you
by e-mail that your application is being considered. Your internship/volunteer
application will then be reviewed by one of our Operations Managers.
He or she may contact you by email or telephone with follow-up
questions. At the conclusion of the review by Operations, a written
recommendation will be forwarded to an owner. If the recommendation
is that you be contacted for a telephone interview, he or she
will call you at the number and time of day you indicated on your
online application. If the Operations Manager does not feel we
have a slot for you at this time, you will be notified of this
by e-mail. If you have indicated that you want to be considered
as an alternate, and the Operations Manager feels this is an appropriate
designation for you, an e-mail to you will state this.
As
a general rule, we do not process incomplete applications. The
volume of applications we receive prevents us from doing administrative
follow-up on those that are incomplete.
The
application fee seems to function very well as an initial internship/volunteer
applicant filter. The fee seems to reduce the volume of applications
we receive to manageable level.
Accommodations and the production studio are at the same location for the 
Most
of our interns or volunteers rent motor scooters, but a few have
went in together, bought a used car, then sold it upon departure
to other interns or volunteers or on the open market.
Our
first recommended specialty course for divers to take after open
water certification is the Underwater Naturalist course. This
gives our interns and volunteers a better understanding of reef
and ocean creatures before they try to photograph or interact
with them. Please check out our