News
& Views by Kim Davis
Happy Birthday to us! "Extraordinary Jobs for Ordinary People" is one year old today! Thank you all for sticking with me!
As you can see, we have a smart new format - just one of the little secrets I've been
keeping from you. I had hoped to have Extraordinary Jobs - the Book ready
to share with you by this week, but computer issues have conspired against me.
While I came close to getting this new site completely functional, I have not yet put
the indexed archives together. And I have not yet set up the paid subscriber's
area. For now, "archives" links you back to the old archives at KPDavis.com.
I will be sorting through the articles and creating more subject specific links
over the next week.
I don't want you to get stressed out at the thought of paid contacts and jobs links. You'll still be getting new links and job leads on a weekly basis in every issue. The paid
service will just offer some extras - like access to the whole database, which
is continually updated. I'll be adding other enhancements as well.
Shifting Priorities
In life our priorities shift. Think about it. What do you
place as your highest priority? If you're like me, it is likely to be something
like "Safety". In the west, most of us are blessed in this respect.
If...
Immortals in the Fog
Why do people drive around in
the fog with no headlights on? Do they think they are immortal? This morning we
had to go through a thick fog on the way to school, which makes me nervous to
begin with....
For the rest of these stories and more, visit
www.ejopedge.blogspot.com
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My husband agreed to share his story this week in the feature article, Treasure Diving.
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This week's Question was sent in by a doctor who wants a little adventure in her life.
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The Contacts & Jobs for the week include a Couple's Job
on a Motor Yacht, Airline Ops, Rig and Cruise Ship Jobs, and lots of jobs for
professionals and adventurers alike in the Caribbean.
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If
you have not seen my other website yet, stop by. The URL is www.yachtie.net.
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Want
to submit an article? Read the guidelines at: www.kpdavis.com/submission_guidelines.htm
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I
hope you are experiencing weather as beautiful as I am, but if not, I hope it
improves! Have a great week!
----
Kim ;-)
Feature
Treasure
Diving by Kim & Bill Davis
We
are always amused and flattered when people take an interest in the unusual things
we've done for a living. One such topic that always draws an appreciative audience
is Bill's first real "career" as a treasure diver. (That's a bar of
solid silver he's holding in the picture!) It's never hard to get him to talk
about those days, so when I asked him to write a few words for the newsletter,
he was happy to oblige. So I turn the story over to my handsome husband, Bill.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bill's
Story
I was on my gap year
after school, staying with relatives in Miami on my way around the States when
my Mum called to tell me that a school friend had written from the Turks & Caicos Islands. I bought a ticket to Provodenciales the following day, and the
day after that I was there.
All I
knew was that I was about 500 miles South of Miami. I had no idea what language
the locals spoke, what kind of money they used, or where I would stay.
My
friend was working on a sail boat that took Club Med guests out on day trips.
The Captain said I could stay on board for a week until I had found somewhere
else. In return I helped out on the trips. By the end of the week I'd found work
on an old converted shrimp boat that was being used for trap fishing. The Captain
never managed to get me a work permit because he "forgot" to stuff the
application forms with pictures of dead US presidents. I went out on a long-line
boat once too, but I don't recommend that if you require a good nights sleep.
I
left the fishing boat over a misunderstanding with the 1st mate. While the Captain
was in Miami, we had refueled the boat using a Boston Whaler and a 55 gallon drum,
a somewhat involved process, as you might imagine, and somewhere along the way
the mate's wallet went missing. He blamed me, and threw me off the boat.
I
always kept up-to-date tickets to get me home if needed, so I went to the airport
intending to go back to England, but the airport was closed. What could I do but
I hitch a lift to the bar? As luck would have it I got a ride with the girlfriend
of the manager of TACMAR, Turks and Caicos Marine Archeological Research, a salvage
company.
I told my tale of woe, and
hung out in the bar over happy hour, (always a great time as the barmaid, "Dotty",
thought "happy hour" meant she should put twice as much rum in the drinks
- rum is cheaper than the coke down there.) Before Happy Hour finished, I had
a job as a diver with TACMAR. It felt pretty good when a few drinks later the
mate from the fishing boat turned up to apologize and say he'd found his wallet
on the beach. Too late! I had just become a Treasure Diver! (AKA adventurer or
whatever would get tourists to by us drinks in exchange for stories of danger
and troubles underwater while looking for Spanish gold.)
The
pay was $1000 per month tax free. All food was provided. We stayed at sea for
two weeks, returning to port for two days to resupply and get very, very drunk.
My only training when I started was
a PADI Open Water Scuba Diving Certificate. The salvage work, I learned on the
job. We almost never went below 30 feet so we wouldn't have to decompress, and
we dove for about 5 hours a day, returning to the ship just long enough to change
air tanks. We spent a lot of time being pulled behind a 28 foot work boat in snorkel
gear looking for wrecks. Two guys and a magnetometer between us. We found many
wrecks and gave each one a look over. But we never found 'the big one'. We only
excavated one ship of any great length - a British warship.
My
general responsibilities other than diver were:
- deck
hand
- watch keeper
- lookout,
and
- occasional navigator
Nearly
all the work was in the Turks and Caicos. We went to Miami every two to three
months to fill the water tanks, which held 34,000 gallons of water. It was cheaper
to burn the diesel than buy water in the Caribbean.
We
went to Panama once when the boat was chartered by another company. The wreck
was on the pacific side, the 'San Josef' carrying gold and silver bars, coins
and other goodies. The Spanish had salvaged most of the bootie when the ship went
down, but several million dollars worth of treasure was still down there. We knew
this going in thanks to Spanish records held in Barcelona.
I
would have gone to North Carolina but was prevented from doing so by none other
than the lovely lass I went on to marry. Hey, the choice was 5 hours per day in
the cold water off North Carolina with a bunch of smelly salvage guys, or First
Mate in the Caribbean on a luxury yacht with the most beautiful girl in the world.
I ain't stupid!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
some
treasure diving sites:
Rest
assured that we will come back to this topic, but for now my best advice if you
would like to work as a treasure diver is to pursue commercial diving qualifications.
Once you have the training, then you'll be ready when you hear of an illusive
opening in this field.
Commercial
Diving Schools
(North America)
Please
note, although all the schools listed here are in the USA and Canada, they welcome
students from around the world. All these schools offer assistance to their students
in securing jobs upon graduation.
Q & A
Hi Kim,
Do you happen to hear about any really cool jobs
for a physician? I’m double-boarded in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics,
am female, and willing to travel some. I am based in Augusta, GA. Do you know
of a site that I could look through if you don’t have any current suggestions
or openings? Thank you very much for your time.
By
the way, I have worked with insurance companies, hospitals, tend to have great
rapports with all my patients, have never sailed on a yacht but have been on a
cruise ship, seem to always be on a plane with a medical emergency, and have children
in school.
Most sincerely,
W.
C. L., MD, ACP, FAAP
Dear W.C.L.,
I
found an online agency that will get you going with the cruise lines. That is
the most likely place for you to find a job, though with children in school, you
may be stuck for a while. Here is what they have to say about medical jobs on
Cruise Ships:
- Medical Department
With the ever increasing size of vessels being manufactured and numbers of crew
and passengers onboard the need for a fully trained medical department is crucial.
Being a more specialised department than others the entry levels requested by
cruise companies are very high. Below is a flavour of jobs available within this
department:-
- Nurse (Salary $2300-$2200
US dollars per month)
Reporting to the doctor you will be responsible for
the medical treatment of crew and passengers. Medical qualifications required
for this position along with fluent English.
- Doctor (Salary $4000-$4500 US dollars per month)
Reporting to the Chief
Doctor you will be responsible for maintaining medical records of the crew and
the passengers. You will also require to issue medical advice to nurses and administer
treatment to crew and passengers. Medical qualifications required for this position
along with fluent English.
- Chief Doctor (Salary
$5000-$7000 US dollars per month)
Overseeing the whole medical department
on the vessel. Medical qualifications required for this position along with fluent
English.
Follow this link:
http://hop.clickbank.net/?1meanmommy/rigjobs
(Once
there, choose Cruise Working, then Job Types, and finally Medical)
P.S.
Me again, I just re-read your e-mail and noticed that last little kicker "have
children in school." That changes things, doesn't it! In that case you should
probably have a look at this site:
http://hop.clickbank.net/?1meanmommy/jobinthesu
It's a paid service, but they offer all sorts of professional jobs in the Caribbean,
and go a very long way in assisting you with relocating. They also have a very
lively discussion area. |
