Newbie looking to go all the way...

[Scotty g]

scuba41girl,

Yes i agree. I'm a novice and have no shame mentioning to this board. I have very limited knowledge of diving but i do know that it's something that has interested me for some years now. Thankfully i am now in a position to take this up almost 'full time' and enjoy the ride.

I dont believe in stupid questions. I am certain to ask the most dullest of things as you have noticed i am doing here right now.

Scotty

 

[Amberjack]

I'm a newbie too, and perhaps too new to be giving advice, but I've picked up a lot so far just by watching the more experienced divers - above and below water. How they handle their gear, their position in the water and how they fin, ascents and descents, even what they’re looking at underwater, what kinds of questions they're asking the boat captain, their etiquette with one another, etc.

Also listening, for that matter. To the boat captain, particularly. Whether or not you think they know what they’re doing, it’s really important that YOU know what they’re doing. But that’s actually advice picked up from being on a lot of boats, not necessarily as a diver.

 

[fasorud]

Oh and by the way - go all the way - meaning i am going to Thailand to study to go up to perhaps Scuba Instructor after a course for 6 months months in which i complete a set of dives that enable me to do this and gain the experience to become a safe diver to enable to teach others.

Regards

Scotty

I think these 6 month courses are just ridiculous and nothing more but a money making scheme. Scuba diving is not something you just read about in a book and expect to be able to teach it to someone else.
Every dive is a learning experience! The day you stop learning things, is the day you hang up your fins. I have been a PADI Divemaster diving with students pretty much every summer weekend for 3 years and I still see things happen that I have not seen before.
I can guarantee you that a OW-to-instructor-in-6-months instructor is NOT qualified to teach this sport and handle every emergency. Not only that, but what you want to teach in scuba is what you learned from experience (not only what is in the book).

No wonder there are so many badly-taught students out there (and I have seen my share!)...unfortunately it's not their fault.

If you are thinking about learning how to dive, choose your instructor and dive store wisely. Make sure your instructor has been teaching for a while.
The book is 5th-grade material. It's the stuff that's not in there that you want to learn from them.

 

[scuba41girl]

scuba41girl,

Yes i agree. I'm a novice and have no shame mentioning to this board. I have very limited knowledge of diving but i do know that it's something that has interested me for some years now. Thankfully i am now in a position to take this up almost 'full time' and enjoy the ride.

I dont believe in stupid questions. I am certain to ask the most dullest of things as you have noticed i am doing here right now.

Scotty

i've done some crew work on a dive boat so i have seen everything. even the most macho divers with all of the fancy gear panic in the wrong situation. the best advice is to go slow. if you are uncomfortable, slow down. if you are comfortable, keep going. just remember, if you dont feel right, don't dive.

also, ask many divers. dont always trust one diver that is a higher cert than you. last summer i watched an instructor bring 7 guys to do there advanced deep dive 55 miles off the shore. they had never been in the ocean before. they all puked the whole day and their were problems. i had 3 rescues that day. the instructor should have known better.

 

[Web Monkey]

1. Away from the written rules that you find in the manuals, what laws must a newbie adhere to - on land and in the water, unofficial yet constructive.

1. The laws of physics apply everywhere you'll be diving, so don't ignore the stuff in "the manuals". You will have a short, painful and possibly final trip if you do.
2. Aside from that, you are responsible for your own safety. Not the DM, not your buddy, not the guy who trained you. Never allow yourself to be placed in a situation where you feel uncomfortable, or don't think you have had appropriate training for.

Terry

 

[1RUSTYRIG]

I think these 6 month courses are just ridiculous

Scuba diving is not something you just read about in a book and expect to be able to teach it to someone else.

I can guarantee you that a OW-to-instructor-in-6-months instructor is NOT qualified to teach this sport and handle every emergency.

I agree 110%...and Scotty, you may have taught before in other fields, but have you ever taught something where your inability or lack of experience could cost someone their life? This is high school social studies we're talking about.

If my instructor had only been diving 6 months when I went to get cert'd 16 years ago I would have found a different shop.

 

[BarryNL]

I agree 110%...and Scotty, you may have taught before in other fields, but have you ever taught something where your inability or lack of experience could cost someone their life? This is high school social studies we're talking about.

If my instructor had only been diving 6 months when I went to get cert'd 16 years ago I would have found a different shop.

Really? Someone diving twice a day, 6 days a week (which is pretty much what resort interns have to do) is over 300 dives - I'd consider that OK for an instructor. Assuming the diver was receiving half-way decent mentoring during this time they could be a pretty good instructor.

 

[Scotty g]

Really? Someone diving twice a day, 6 days a week (which is pretty much what resort interns have to do) is over 300 dives - I'd consider that OK for an instructor. Assuming the diver was receiving half-way decent mentoring during this time they could be a pretty good instructor.

A very comforting point Barry. Thank you.

fasorud,

I see a point or two but there is nothing on a intern website stating that after 6 months you learn everything you need to know... Quote by yourself "Every dive is a learning experience! The day you stop learning things, is the day you hang up your fins. I have been a PADI Divemaster diving with students pretty much every summer weekend for 3 years and I still see things happen that I have not seen before." I expect to learn more until the day i die, as with everything in life so i am under no illusion that i will walk away in 6 months knowing it ALL - i'm not THAT stupid.

1RUSTYRIG,

I don't think you can class a priority of teaching due to it's life threatning factors (for whatever subject your lecturing). Good teaching is about delivering and the presentation of information to educate others - and making it stick. I'm sorry, but the subject of the lecture is irrelevant IMO.

I understand that there will be many who oppose this idea of the "zero to hero" and that's fine with me. Everyone has their own opinions. Just please remember that some who enroll on this course won't be your average "i've done 6 months and i know it all" kind of person.

I was taught in school by such a passionate geography teacher who was recently qualified. He did much more for my education than our older teacher (due for retirement) who had to be reminded in every other lecture that the war was actually over and he should stop spilling his coffee everytime he heared a plane fly overhead:11:

Please don't judge to quickly. I have faith in my course director who i believe would not pass me if he thought i was not capable of being in a position to teach others at some point.

Scotty

 

[catalinadiver15]

I can see merit to both sides of this argument.
I believe that just because someone is a "patch diver" and has the required certifications, they may not be ready to teach.
I think it all depends on the person and their ability to recognize and use others experience.

 

[jiveturkey]

Oh and by the way - go all the way - meaning i am going to Thailand to study to go up to perhaps Scuba Instructor after a course for 6 months months in which i complete a set of dives that enable me to do this and gain the experience to become a safe diver to enable to teach others.

Assuming you're doing this through PADI, do you know that you have to be certified for at least 1 year before you can do the Instructor course?

what un-official rules are there to learn?

Don't point your feet at the wreath of flowers at the bow or the Thai boat guys will throw you off.