How much does it cost to BE a Divemaster?

[Diver0001]

mwilding once bubbled...
I am a soon to be AOW / Nitrox certified diver with aspirations towards further certifications. At the moment I don't have professional aspirations, but you never know... I could go for Master Scuba Diver or Divemaster and am wondering what the key differences are - especially from a financial perspective.

Beyond the cost of the coursework, equipment and dives to get you the certification, I am wondering what the annual costs are to BE or remain a divemaster.

I help with training and it costs me nothing to BE a DM. That is to say that it costs a couple of hundred $$$ per year for insurance and fees but what I earn from training covers pretty much all of the costs of my diving. For example I pay my own gas money but I never pay for fills, maintenance on my gear and so on. Also where I work the DM's can follow all the PADI specialties free of charge.

Having said that, don't get into it for the money. As a DM you'll make more money working at McDonalds. I do it for the love of the sport. I'm sure most DM's do.

R..

 

[mwilding]

perpet1 once bubbled...
Look at teh NAUI Master Scuba Diver Course.

I recommend it for people that are thinking about how far to go in certifications. It has a very high level of knowledge requirement compared to the PADI comperable class. I am a PADI DM and a NAUI Instructor so I have a feel for both. Even if you are PADI certified I would consider looking at it. For NAUI, The only thing you get in a DM class that you do not get in the Master Scubadiver course is the leadership training. The general dive knowlege is the same.

As for the actual cost, Master Scuba diver will be a lot more inexpensive as there is not annual membership. For DM, when you get certified you have to pay an annual membership fee (for PADI and NAUI) then you only need to get insurance if you are going to act in the role of a DM.

Naui may or may not have more knowledge requirements that Padi (I don't know either way - it was your comment), but PADI requires you to be a Rescue Diver in order to go for Master which Naui does not.

 

[scubatexastony]

mwilding once bubbled...
Naui may or may not have more knowledge requirements that Padi (I don't know either way - it was your comment), but PADI requires you to be a Rescue Diver in order to go for Master which Naui does not.

then you'll KNOW for yourself.....

and rescue, response is (re)- covered in the NAUI MSD course, along with 300 pgs of text. And I went ahead and got the "rescue" card back when I went thru it. You do have to have FA/CPR to get it though. And it's a good idea to have DANs O2 provider to round it out.

Dive safe,
tony

 

[Karen Cleveland]

How about a different perspective, and of course this is from my experience. I am an SSI divemaster at a shop in Phoenix. I really think it depends on the shop and how they have their business structured.

So here is my cost vs benefit evaluation. This is annual cost for me, not initial training cost.

Cost : about $550-insurance, SSI annual fees, manadtory annual weekend training(shop specific) and anything I might have forgotten.

Benefit: DIVING FOR FREE!!

Luckily the shop I work with runs trips to CA at least 3 weekend a month, on each trip we try to have 4 divemasters. So while 2 are working the boat the other two are diving. And yes we do have to buddy up with new divers, help with students, and such but I usually get 5-7 dives in on these trips. My food, lodging, and diving is covered. Transport also, but part of the divemaster program with the shop includes getting a CDL to drive the bus. So if I work 1 trip a month, after just 2 trips I believe I have broke even. Plus I learn something on every trip and that counts for something.

And sometimes we are asked to go on long range trips....I went to Fiji and Akumal for free.

Are we asked to assist with classes and special events...yes, but like everything else you have to create a balance and not allow yourself to get taken advantage of. Sometimes I get burnt out but then you just make yourself unavailable for a few weeks, to restore the balance.

I think for myself and others it is a pretty good deal.

Karen