Going for a Divemaster certification

[scubAfr33k]

You could also go to the docks and hit up the dive boat owners to see if they need any miscellaneous jobs done, i.e washing the boat, hauling tanks, gopher, or whatever in exchange for a trip. It never hurts to ask.

About half of the "logged" dives in my log book were involved in helping supervise ow students during my DM internship. I was out there with classes almost every Saturday and Sunday for two months.

You probably won't get paid and the dives may not be exciting, but you will get to log a lot dives and learn quite a bit about all the different things that OW and AOW students can do. Once I actually had to assist a panicked diver on the surface. As a DM candidate assisting with classes, you won't pay for air or entrance/boat fees.

Some people take a year or so to complete PADI DM under the internship. You could easily get a couple of hundred dives that way alone before you complete DM.

I'll definitely take a look into both of those things; if I could get to 60 or so dives (perhaps financed by doing odd jobs for my LDS) and then do an internship, by the end of the program I will have more than enough dives under my belt to earn the cert and to be that much more confident in the water and with students.

 

[Eau_Girl]

About half of the "logged" dives in my log book were involved in helping supervise ow students during my DM internship. I was out there with classes almost every Saturday and Sunday for two months.

You probably won't get paid and the dives may not be exciting, but you will get to log a lot dives and learn quite a bit about all the different things that OW and AOW students can do. Once I actually had to assist a panicked diver on the surface. As a DM candidate assisting with classes, you won't pay for air or entrance/boat fees.

Some people take a year or so to complete PADI DM under the internship. You could easily get a couple of hundred dives that way alone before you complete DM.

I did the same thing to get my DM. I could have finished about a year earlier than I did, but I felt I needed to get more diving in varied conditions under my belt before finishing it off. For me it was a way to learn more and improve my skills (something I am still doing with every dive) rather than ticking the boxes as quickly as possible. No regrets at all!

 

[scubAfr33k]

I did the same thing to get my DM. I could have finished about a year earlier than I did, but I felt I needed to get more diving in varied conditions under my belt before finishing it off. For me it was a way to learn more and improve my skills (something I am still doing with every dive) rather than ticking the boxes as quickly as possible. No regrets at all!

If I wanted to do an internship for my DM course, would I just talk to the instructors at the local dive shops: put my name in the hat, so to speak?

 

[Eau_Girl]

If I wanted to do an internship for my DM course, would I just talk to the instructors at the local dive shops: put my name in the hat, so to speak?

I would ask around at the local dive shops. Currently I live in the UK (where I did all of my training). My DM internship evolved out of my on-going training and practice dives. It's very common here for people to do the DM certification as an internship rather than a time-structured course. I think it's the same in most places.

I'd speak to several LDSs and see what they have to offer. Also talk to some of the current DMITs & certified DMs to see what the expectations were from both sides. You'll learn loads -- I enjoy working with the new students (helping the instructor).

 

[Jayde323]

I am a NAUI DM candidate and have been diving a total of 2 years. After my Rescue course, I tested out of Master Diver (you don't get the cert. if you test out of the class) and went right on to Dive Master. My instructor gave me the option of taking Skin Diving Instructor or Assistant Instructor at the same time as DM, so I chose Skin Diving Instructor (I can do everything the AI does plus certify skin divers). As for the money part, don't expect to supplement much income being a DM. Don't get me wrong, being a DM does have great rewards. On a few occations I have been a "dive guide" for some tourist divers and had a blast watching them see the local dive sites for the first time. Helping out newly certified or "vacation divers" can be both rewarding and trying, but at the end of the day, if I helped someone have a fantastic, safe dive, i'm happy!

 

[scubAfr33k]

On a few occations I have been a "dive guide" for some tourist divers and had a blast watching them see the local dive sites for the first time. Helping out newly certified or "vacation divers" can be both rewarding and trying, but at the end of the day, if I helped someone have a fantastic, safe dive, i'm happy!

Really, that's all I'm looking for anyway: an excuse to get in the water more often and perhaps help a few people out along the way. I know that I'm still very early in my diving career, but can't someone have their ambitions? I love teaching people, some of my fondest memories are of my days being a Calculus/Chemistry tutor, and I love diving...so why not smash those two activities together?

 

[mikemath]

Well, I'm sorry to say that it is true that I only have 36 dives as of right now...I'm not rich by any means and the only way to dive where I live is by charter boat, which gets very expensive very quickly as you may imagine.

...And no, I do not plan on becoming a DM until I get into the 70-80 dive range at least, so I will have to wait a couple more years bare minimum in order to rack up the necessary quantity to complete my certification prerequisites as well as to prepare myself for the course in general. However, it gives me something to look forward to...a goal to be achieved.

In the mean time I was hoping to get a NAUI Master Diver rating, perhaps a couple specialties, and a few buddies to go diving with regularly (I am, sadly, a very lonely diver with no friends that share in my love of the sport :depressed.

Just a quick note on this point, you can actually start the PADI divemaster course with as few as 20 dives (I just started mine with 40 a few weeks ago). You will not be able to earn the certification until you've completed 60 dives and all the course requirements. Considering the intensity of the class, where you need to accompany students on a minimum of 16 training dives, complete a mapping project (between 4-8 dives to do right), and doing enough local dives to feel comfortable running Discover Local Diving tours (Monterey Bay, where I'm located, has 15 major shore sites and at least 10 frequented by charter boats), you're sure to get to the required 60 dives quickly if you're serious about it. You could certainly consider starting now as long as you recognize the time investment required to complete the course

The class so far has been challenging but a huge confidence-builder. If you're out of shape or not a good swimmer, you'll need to spend nights at the pool working on your endurance for that part of the evaluation. One of the guys in the shop spent 6 months going to the pool 3 nights a week to be able to pass the endurance tests--he was very out of shape, but determined. In the process, he really earned the respect of the dive shop staff for his dedication and went on to become an instructor. The PADI Divemaster course also requires to you to demonstrate instructor-level knowledge of dive theory--the Assistant Instructor and Open Water Instructor courses do not cover these in further detail, so the learning curve is really steep on that front. If you love learning more about everything about diving, you can really geek out on the theory, and I've really enjoyed that part of it.

Just keep in mind that this isn't just a typical C-Card you're embarking on. You'll spend around 200 total hours on the course, comparable to most college courses. You'll need to independently study two manuals, both over 200 dense pages; take 9 academic exams; practice 20 skill drills until you can perform them at demonstration-level like an instructor; assist with several classes; perform well on 4 endurance tests; and independently map a dive site. It's a lot of work, but with a good relationship with your instructor, it will also be a lot of fun and a great learning experience. My observation so far in my own program is that if you go into it with the right attitude and dedication, and you'll do great. Good luck!

 

[scubAfr33k]

Just a quick note on this point, you can actually start the PADI divemaster course with as few as 20 dives (I just started mine with 40 a few weeks ago). You will not be able to earn the certification until you've completed 60 dives and all the course requirements. Considering the intensity of the class, where you need to accompany students on a minimum of 16 training dives, complete a mapping project (between 4-8 dives to do right), and doing enough local dives to feel comfortable running Discover Local Diving tours (Monterey Bay, where I'm located, has 15 major shore sites and at least 10 frequented by charter boats), you're sure to get to the required 60 dives quickly if you're serious about it. You could certainly consider starting now as long as you recognize the time investment required to complete the course

Even though I could start it now, I'd like to wait at least until next summer to begin a program like this for several reasons: 1. I'm still young, why rush it? 2. I'm running out of money from the two certs I've already embarked on this summer (completed Nitrox about a week ago and I'm in the midst of a Rescue class), and...

The class so far has been challenging but a huge confidence-builder. If you're out of shape or not a good swimmer, you'll need to spend nights at the pool working on your endurance for that part of the evaluation. One of the guys in the shop spent 6 months going to the pool 3 nights a week to be able to pass the endurance tests--he was very out of shape, but determined. In the process, he really earned the respect of the dive shop staff for his dedication and went on to become an instructor. The PADI Divemaster course also requires to you to demonstrate instructor-level knowledge of dive theory--the Assistant Instructor and Open Water Instructor courses do not cover these in further detail, so the learning curve is really steep on that front. If you love learning more about everything about diving, you can really geek out on the theory, and I've really enjoyed that part of it.

3. I can swim 450 yards on one go, but not in under ten minutes. I'm having difficulty doing the freestyle stroke for that long because I've apparently inherited my family's buoyancy (my feet sink like rocks but my head could serve as someone else's flotation device), and the backstroke won't allow me to move fast enough to cover the distance. Furthermore, I've never been much of a breath-holder, and 25 yards underwater on one gulp is pretty far. Safe to say, I'll need to work on my own endurance before I could get through the course.

As for the academics...that I'm not too worried about really, if I can get through Calculus 1-3 and Chem 1 & 2 with a 4.0 then I can certainly do well in a class where I'm learning something that I'd learn on my own eventually anyway. You can be certain that I'll geek out on everything having to do with the theory and more; late nights doing random calculations, under candlelight in the forgotten corners of the house, staying awake with a 2 liter bottle of rootbeer...ahh...bliss...

I might start up the course this summer if I can arrange it so that I'll do part of it now and the rest of it later, but if the instructor isn't extremely flexible then it will likely have to wait.

 

[Joe-Diver]

....need to accompany students on a minimum of 16 training dives....

Who told you that?

 

[mikemath]

Who told you that?

Regarding the number of class dives required for PADI divemaster, I'm sorry, I misspoke. I quoted the requirements to be a divemaster representing my LDS, which are stronger than the PADI requirements. Here are both in detail:

PADI Divemaster Dive Requirements (earns certification)
- 1 Open Water diver course dive
- 1 Advanced, Rescue, or Specialty Open Water dive
- 3 Additional Open Water training dives from any course
- 1 Supervisory non-instructional Open Water fun dive
- Total: 6 open water dives

My LDS Divemaster Dive Requirements (earns certification + shop benefits)
- 2 Entire Open Water Diver course (2x4=8 dives)
- Entire Advanced Open Water course (5 dives)
- Entire Rescue Diver course (can be counted as 4, but given amount of time on surface I only felt comfortable counting as 1)
- 2 Supervisory non-instructional Open Water fun dive
- Total: 16 open water dives

Sorry for any confusion.