When to go professional

[NorthernMelody]

Right now I am a dive master candidate. I was participating in several IDC student pool sessions last week and boy do I feel small. I know I'm a reasonable diver, but my skill development to a teaching demo level were infantile. They have improved greatly over the past week, but it sure makes me realize how little I actually know! I'm hard at work studying and when I get the chance will continue to practive my pool skills over and over...best of luck to everyone else. Be open, be confident, be humble, but damn it!...have fun!

 

[ZoCrowes255]

Excellent skills does not a good instructor make. Don't get me wrong an instructor needs to have demonstration quality skills, good buoyancy control and trim etc but to me the most important thing that an instructor can possess is good people skills. You can try to teach your student every little trick in and out of the book but if they are not responsive to you as a person then you're wasting your time. I know a few people who have 100 dives who would make GREAT instructors because of the way the present information and also the fact that they are great divers. That being said there are a lot of people who should not be instructors. One example I know of is a guy I went diving with a little over a year ago right after I got my instructor rating. This guy wanted to help with classes and eventually work his way up to Instructor but when I went diving with him his skills were pretty piss poor. Heavily overweighted, had to stop to go to the bottom to clear his mask, rototiller fin technique etc. So I told him honestly when he got out that if he wanted to help with classes his technique was going to need quite a bit of improvement and that we would be more than happy with him to get him up to the skill level he needed to be but it would take a while. Give him an oppurtunity to learn the ropes etc. He decided to take one of those "You too can be an instructor just give us all your money and you are garunteed to pass" programs. Now in all fairness I have not been diving with him in about a year and he has been working down in the carribean and he may have become a great instructor and diver with a little practice but from what I saw he could have used a little bit of work.

 

[RiverRat]

I understand the point of this post, but I am curious to know what others think. How many dives, how many years, how much "stuff" should you have under your belt before you consider enrolling in a DM / instructor program?

According to the certification agencies, the qualifications that Boogie posted (along with some specialized courses) is plenty to become an instructor. So...if the certification agencies are wrong...what's the right answer?

I ask not only because I am interested in the responses, but because I am a relatively new diver, and I am definitely interested in pursuing DM and instructor certifications at some point in the future.

-Andrew

I'm also thinking about the DM course. Mainly for experience, not sure if I want to go the instructor route. I may jump the tracks and take the DIR-F course instead as I like the concepts/mind set taught there. Anyway, I'm holding off until I get in at least a hundred dives or so. I could not sleep at night if I started this course (DM) without perfect buoyancy control, concept of trim and weighting etc. I've got my AOW. While I did learn some more stuff and gained some more confidence I'm definately NOT ADVANCED. I also took the Rescue course. That gave me even more experience and a valuable skill set I can always use, but again, so far I've learned nothing beats real world experience. I just came back from diving wrecks (first wreck dives) in NC. Had an awesome time and I learned a bunch of stuff on those dives. Most of the stuff I learned could NEVER be taught IMHO. Like coming up on the wrong line, noting "something" was strange here, and ultimately coming up on the wrong boat......listening to the guys on the boat yelling "you're on the WRONG boat" What a dork....
When I was in the dive shop before the trip one of the guys was telling me a wreck reel was good to have even if not doing penetration. Run it from the anchor line. Well on some of the dives the DM's did that but not on others. I dove the Indra in 15fsw vis. As we dove along the side we went up over the top. Well after a few minutes I had no clue which way to go back. As luck would have it I picked the wrong direction (lost my compass the week before, next time I'll have one). That was apparent when I got to the "flat" back of the boat. This was the first time I had to surface in open ocean, poor vis, away from the boat. I could sence my "trip buddy" was not comfortable with this. I had to keep him calm, kept us together and made a normal ascent and safety stop above the stern. Although this was mentioned in the pre-dive briefing (losing the line) only actually doing it taught me something. No big deal. Signalled the boat OK, and swam back. Luckily there was only mild current on this dive and we were only doing recreational dives. Now I understand what a deco diver would go through in open ocean, off the line, for an hour underwater Makes you THINK.....

I guess what I'm trying to say is that a combo of training, diving, training, more diving.......is working great for me, no need to rush.

 

[mweitz]

<SNIP>

While I like the idea that I have some "goal" based on this list (rather than just plodding along without any real clue what to do "next"), I almost think it should be the determination of another instructor, or an unbiased agency (like DAN, perhaps?) to determine who is ready to undertake leadership roles in scuba.

Not a bad idea. Unfortunately your LDS that trains you is really the only place qualified to assess you since the see you all the time. There may be a bit of bias though since there is a financial reward for them...

<SNIP>

If there is one thing that has stood out in the training that I have received so far, it is that the courses offered by certification agencies do not prepare you for very much. I have learned more by reading from web sites and these message boards than SSI would ever teach in their entire collection of manuals (most of which read like brochures for other classes). If someone wants to LEARN diving...what are some alternatives? In other words, I don't feel that I will benefit from reading the basic open water manual 30 times, because it's all very simplified, and leaves many more questions than it provides answers. Instructors should be able to field questions that arise from students, but where the heck do instructors gain additional knowledge, if not from courses? "Experience" can be a great teacher, but most of what I'm looking for is also sheer academics -- the academic side of scuba is very nearly as intriguing to me as the actual diving.
I'm rambling...so it's time to shut up.
-Andrew

Interesting. I agree with you. That is why I'm here. There is a lot more to learn. Studying other types of diving (DIR, Hog, etc) and reading DAN books are all good things. Also get into the water a lot. Try to dive the places where there are OW cert classes going on. Hang out before and afterwards and watch the instructors and DM's. Watch the students.

I have had the same thoughts about the SSI manual, especially the last section of the OW manual. I have read the following SSI Manuals:
-OW
-Night Diving / Low Vis
-Navigation (this was worth it)
-Drysuit Diving
-Deep Diving
- Boat Diving
-Equipment Specialty (joke book and video)
-Stress & Rescue (I've read part of it, decent book)

The books are obviously written for the lowest common denominator and are partially sales pitches for other classes. The real question will be what will you learn in the corresponding class, pool work and ocean dives. If your instructor is good ….

I’ve also have and have read or read parts of some other books. There is a lot of reading material out there. The NOAA manual is supposed to be a good read.


So, lets go back to the race driver analogy. Lets say you are a REALLY good driver. You have a bunch of books on Ferrari’s and racing and have taken a couple of defensive driver classes (the advanced ones, with the theory and such). Would you then try to get a job as a race car driver? Course not. Lots of practice, lots of studying and lots of money spent working your way up the chain. It would take at least a couple of years. Since big money and lives are at stake people tend to be more careful. Imagine that you make a mistake while DM’ing and it costs you $100,000.00 out of your pocket. Would you still want to do it?

I’ll send you a PM with more of my thoughts as they are not appropriate for a public forum.

 

[NIKO]

I also think the standards are too low! But, I think they are in line with other courses. to be able to start an Advanced open water course, the day after completing your open water course is nuts! And to start A rescue diver course the day after that is just Insane, if it is to be respected for the course it is sounding like! should you be able to start a DM course with only 20 dives under your belt?????????? of course not! But you can. and that means only one thing! I hope there are enough Instructors Like me and all you others with concerns, to set our own personal standards! I do! and I will not teach someone continuing education until I feel they can live up to their Qualifications name! Not all instructors are as lucky as me and they have a boss who dictates who and what they teach, and that is life. In closing I would say that any course taught is down to the discression of that instructor, so if you dont agree with the standards, SET YOUR OWN! as PADIs are a guide and as long as you are inside them there is no problem! Good luck all!

 

[RIDIVER501]

I would shy away from saying one is ready after "X" number of dives or "X" of years.
I would say you are ready to go pro when you are comfortable with your skills and your diving to the point that being in the water is second nature, that being with someone who is having a problem isn't a problem for you and that you can effectively assist that person. Basically when you are ready to be diving for others and not just for yourself. then you are ready to go pro. Lets face going pro means you are going to be in situations when you are responsible, to some extent, for the lives of others...If you aren't ready for that, you aren't ready to go pro.

 

[dweeb]

I understand the point of this post, but I am curious to know what others think. How many dives, how many years, how much "stuff" should you have under your belt before you consider enrolling in a DM / instructor program?

According to the certification agencies, the qualifications that Boogie posted (along with some specialized courses) is plenty to become an instructor. So...if the certification agencies are wrong...what's the right answer?

I don't think the candidate should make the decision at all.
When I got my DM, it was because the instructor I was taking a continuing ed course from tapped me on the shoulder and invited me to. That's the way it was at our shop - if the staff thought they saw the right stuff, they recruited you. I don't think anyone who independently seeks out a position of authority should be trusted with it.

 

[Northeastwrecks]

This is a great checklist, and I've been thinking about it for a few hours. Unfortunately, it's also really subjective, and I think it would be difficult for an individual to be able to appraise their performance in these criteria. For example, I would suspect that if you asked the current DMs and instructors, they'd all say they are completely qualified to be in the positions they are in, while their critics would argue that half of those instructors shouldn't even be in the water with scuba equipment.

Some of these tests are subjective, but most are not.

The skills can be evaluated easily. When I started my DM, my instructor gave us the list of skills, told us to get in the pool and watched us perform them. That established the baseline.

The same can be said of the rescue and situational awareness skills. You can evaluate them by putting a group of staff together and telling them to act like new divers. Have one panic, tox or pass out, then see how the candidate reacts. If they pass, then you can see how they deal with students in a supervised environment.

The hardest thing to evaluate is the candidate's comfort level, his/her long term ability to maintain situational awareness and his/her ability to react to a real life emergency. One way to handle that is to pair up a new DM with an experienced one so that the newer DM has a backup.

 

[jbisjim]

I don't think the candidate should make the decision at all. When I got my DM, it was because the instructor I was taking a continuing ed course from tapped me on the shoulder and invited me to. That's the way it was at our shop - if the staff thought they saw the right stuff, they recruited you. I don't think anyone who independently seeks out a position of authority should be trusted with it.

I too was tapped on the shoulder and asked to become a DM. I agree that this is a good way to handle it. But not the only way. We have several people, at out LDS who want to become a Dive Master. Which i think it is good that they wish to move along to higher education. However, there are some that will not make the grade. Which I then think it is up to the Instructor to make an honest assesment.

AN earlier post suggested having the candidates take a year or more to make it to dive master. I think that is an excellant idea. My instructor, slowed me down, got me involved with classes. Had me work with Students. I think spending that time with students is a great idea. It teaches you to notice many things you may have not before. It teaches the need for keen awareness.

I do not think it should be X dives either. Some are not ready after X+100 dives. Other are ready X-100 dives as well. Again haveing the instructor make an honest assessment.

Having an instructor or another DM mentor you is a great idea.

my 2cents.

 

[RIDIVER501]

When I see the right balance of talent, attitude and personality, Those are the individuals I personally approach and talk to about becoming DM or Higher. The industry needs individuals like that to keep our sport alive and well.