Is it worth getting your DM certification for the education?

[Sortsol]

I live and have a full time job in Hawaii so I can't do the professional option (no matter how much I wish I could). I'm considering trying to find a place (I have a 1st choice) that will let me work towards my DM cert so that I can get the education that will help make me a better diver. I think learning how to teach or assist teaching others how to dive will help make me better diver too. Is the price/effort worth it? Should I just dive and focus on gaining more experience or does gaining more education while I dive make sense too?

Master Diver seems like a wast of $$$ doesn't do much for me other than assure I learn some other specialties that may or may not be of real value to me as a diver...

Thoughts, opinions?

 

[ajduplessis]

The DM course mainly focuses on leadership development and is a gateway towards instructor. If you are looking at a course that will develop your diving skills, I would not go the DM route. If you like guiding dives and want to get involved with training, I would recommend the DM course. The DM course is expensive like anything else in scuba and holds value in the leadership part of the industry. It also holds additional cost and renewal on a year basis. I see very little benefit in DM course outside of the leadership part.

If you want to develop as a diver I would look at courses like peak buoyancy, advanced nitrox and deep diver.

 

[Spazzy]

There are lots of options other than doing a PADI dive master course. Consider GUE fundies and maybe then some tech or cave training.

 

[syntaxerrorsix]

I live and have a full time job in Hawaii so I can't do the professional option (no matter how much I wish I could). I'm considering trying to find a place (I have a 1st choice) that will let me work towards my DM cert so that I can get the education that will help make me a better diver. I think learning how to teach or assist teaching others how to dive will help make me better diver too. Is the price/effort worth it? Should I just dive and focus on gaining more experience or does gaining more education while I dive make sense too?

Master Diver seems like a wast of $$$ doesn't do much for me other than assure I learn some other specialties that may or may not be of real value to me as a diver...

Thoughts, opinions?

The NAUI Master Diver Course is a real course not a specialty card collection and processing fee. The course imparts instructor level knowledge and skill assessment in the water.

If you are planning on working for a shop or instructor then a professional rating is a good idea. If you have no time to work as a DM and have no plans to complete ITC then I would suggest you save your money and put it towards a specialty course that may interest you. Producing good DM's and Instructors usually involves a good mentor, time, money and experience.

You will also now be paying dues and insurance to maintain an active status should you choose to go the pro route.

 

[japan-diver]

I would strongly suggest against the DM course to develop your diving. If you are looking at being a better diver a good intro to tech level course (GUE Fundies, UTD Essentials, NAUI Intro to Tech would be a much better choice) A NAUI Master course will give you the academics to increase your dive knowledge and skills. The only reason to take a DM course is if you plan on working in the industry or becoming an instructor. I would seek out a good instructor- interview them and discuss your goals for your diving and what you want to improve in and have them design a training program to meet your goals. I find many times a divers goals do not fit into the cookie cutter approach that the agencies have designed. The best classes I took did not result in cards but were taught by very knowledgeable instructors who where teaching something they were experts in and enjoyed teaching it- not trying to fit something into an agencies cookie cutter designs.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I tend to favor workshops for skills development ... the DM course does not, and is not intended to, teach you how to be a better diver. It's intended to help you develop leadership skills.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[zamburinha]

I found the DM internship to be a very valuable experience. It helped me relate to how different divers, especially very new ones, feel about the different environments and challenges. It also helped me develop my skills in an indirect way, as you are required to demonstrate them and guide other people on improving their own. As usual, it is highly dependent on the shop you do the course/internship with.

Having said that, if you are looking purely at skills as a diver, a course like Fundamentals is an excellent route, but it also comes with a particular equipment setup that you might not want to get into.

 

[TSandM]

A DM class will make you review your academics, and perhaps learn a little more about equipment, but you can really do all of that by buying the Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving and reading it attentively. (It's one of the texts for the PADI DM class, but you can buy it by itself.) It will also, if you work with students, hone your situational awareness, and perhaps make you better at buddying up with a stranger or a novice diver. It probably won't improve your own diving skills at all, and depending on the instructors with whom you work, might actually have a negative effect, if you practice the 20 skills to demonstration quality while sitting on your knees. If you do not intend to make a regular habit of helping with classes, or guiding divers, I think there are better places to invest your educational money and time.

If you want to polish personal diving skills, a Fundamentals or Intro to Tech class (depending on who teaches the ITT) is a good place to do it. Since you are on Oahu, you have access to Island Divers, a shop that offers GUE Fundamentals. I'd suggest talking to those folks about going for a dive or two with them; if you like what you see, and those are the sorts of skills you'd like to have, then your path is clear. And you won't lose from seeing what's possible, no matter what!

 

[turnerjd]

I would suggest you have a look back in your logbook and see what sort of diving you do, and who you do it with. This will provide your answer.

The DM course is good if you are, or want to be, an independent diver. It gives leadership skills, partly to ba a "certified assistant", but also in going off with a group of friends and diving independently. The DM course has some good excercises in it like diving an unknown site, producing a reasonable map of the site, surfacing, and then giving a briefing as if it was to others wanting to dive there. I know my Instructor went further than the minimum standards and got me to organise and lead a weekend away with 3 other divers. At the end of the DM course you should have the knowledge, skills and confidence to organise and lead a trip away without relying on anybody when you are there. And to do it in all security. However, the DM course is very dependent upon the Instructor teaching it. Some Instructors place most emphasis on OW in-with-the-students type work, and others include more "get out there and lead dives".

Now, if this is not your thing, and you would much rather improve your skills so that when you go away, and pay for somebody to brief you on the local sites, and drop you in the water you are a better diver, then as others have suggested there are good courses for this.

Jon

 

[scubadiveilat]

It goes both ways!

DM offers both knowledge and leadership. The materials you'll cover will enlighten you in the way you look at scuba diving.

The skills that you'll be introduced will enhance your knowledge of equipment and diving techniques.

With Rescue Diver you'll make a better dive buddy. Giving others confidence to dive with you.

You'll develop your experience to a new level. A professional level. It's an interesting course. To learn is a benefit. If you have the opportunity take it. Living in Hawaii it will open your doors if interested.


Have fun and dive meanwhile!!!!