Am I progressing in my training too fast?

[Pearldiver07]

My advise is "don't rush it" enjoy the growth, the experience, and the opportunities.

I've seen a FEW divers that were very capable at 60-75 dives to be a divemaster, but they were the exception and they still lacked much experience.

That being said, I strongly suggest that when you do go through the DM course take your time, and do the internship method (as opposed to staged scenarios). I will tell you now that real students will do things that you will never encounter in a staged scenario. And if your instructor doesn't "debrief" each and every dive with you, initiate the discussions with him/her. What went right, what could have been better, why did he do things a certain way and why not another way...

Your time as a DM will lay the foundation of how you will be as a dive instructor, should you decide to go on that way (I remember saying to myself that DM was as far as I ever planned to go - yeah, right). Enjoy the opportunity to learn the trade while the instructor has the primary responsibility for the training.

And work with as many instructors as you can. Each one has strengths and weaknesses that will allow you to see different ways to approach the same situation. From all of the time you spend watching, learning, and doing, from now all of the way through, you will be building your own "style" of being a professional.

It's more than a goal, it's a path that you will continuously travel down. Enjoy it - I couldn't think of a more fun way to go.

 

[Buoyant1]

It's not a race...take the time to enjoy what you're doing before moving on to the next "adventure". I'm on my 5th year of diving this year, and I make one goal for each year. My first year after certification it was just dive, the second year it was getting used to my new equipment, (and I took a Nitrox class) the third year I took my AOW and a wreck class (and continued to dive more and master my current gear) Last year I got a back plate/wing system, and learned to dive with a pony, at the end of the year I switched over to the long hose configuration and have that dialed in and comfy. This year I just bought a dry suit, and if I can get that to a point where I'm comfy with it, I may switch to doubles, if not then there's always next year. (and Advanced Nitrox) So I'm not getting cards and certifications to get them, I'm not trying to fast track my way into something so much that I'm stressing over not getting a certification by a certain time.

Ask yourself this:

WHY do I want to be a divemaster?

 

[ffdiver]

What ever you do, take the DM course as an internship and take your time with it. If it takes you a year of internship to feel comfortable then so be it as long as you and your instructor feel confident in your skills and knowledge. There are a bunch of week long DM courses out there and you won't get nearly as much out of them as a real internship with real students and real problems.

 

[Rick Inman]

I really want to get my Divemaster cert ...

May I ask you, why do you "really want" to get your DM cert?

 

[BabyDuck]

Divemastering is more a matter of managing the operations of other divers rather than becoming a more proficeint diver yourself.

this is the essence of the answer. becoming a dm will not improve your diving, nor is it meant to. it's the beginning step to being a dive professional, not a class to make you a better diver.

so, yeah, don't do it yet. more focus on you, for a while, and revisit the question in another 100 dives or so.

 

[underwaterjon]

I had the unfortunate experience of taking my AOW from an instructor who had chosen to do the fast track method. Although he knew the general principles of diving it was clear that he lacked actual experience. He could relay what he had read on certain skills and subjects and he could competently lead a dive. However, diving students need more than the mere coles notes overview on diving. As the previous posters have mentioned, you should build up your own skills by logging more dives and make sure you vary the actual types of dives.

What is even worse is that the DM working alongside the instructor had done all his training and dives through this instructor. He was a prime example of why it is a great idea to dive with various dive buddies and mentors.

 

[Jayde323]

When I finished my OW checkout dives, my goal was to become instructor. Within the first year of diving, I started on my DM cert. Halfway through the class I had an accident working on the diveboat that ended my diving for the season. It was then I realized diving wasn't fun anymore. Every weekend during the summer we were helping with classes and had not taken the time out to do any "fun" diving. Now my goal is to finish DM, then have fun and keep learning! I still want to be an instructor, but not now. I realize there is way to much I don't know about diving and I wouldn't be the instructor I needed to be. If it takes 5 years before I feel i'm ready, so be it. The great thing is I still get to dive and have fun.

 

[Damselfish]

aside from the timing - do you want to get a Divemaster cert because you want to be a Divemaster? Or because you're doing classes with a shop that gives the impression it is the automatic next thing to do? (It isn't, and shops that do that are just doing it to make money - not there's anything wrong with that but it's sort of misleading to their students.)