Going for a Divemaster certification

Ever since I started scuba diving, it has always been my objective to eventually become a divemaster; if for no other reason than to be paid to do something I love doing anyway. It wouldn't be my primary occupation, but it might bring in some extra cash in the summer when I'm not working in my career of choice (I plan to become a mathematics teacher). However, now that I'm coming within arm's reach of this goal, I find that I'm faced with a decision regarding how exactly to achieve it.

After the NAUI Scuba Rescue course that I'm currently enrolled in reaches completion, I could go one of three different routes: NAUI Master Diver + Divemaster, PADI Divemaster, or SSI Divemaster. I'm not really sure which organization to go with, and any honest advice regarding the pros and cons of each would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I would be eternally grateful if you could give me some baseline price ranges for the certification classes (yes, I'm aware that they differ wildly from shop to shop, but just a ballpark answer is sufficient) so I can judge who is offering me a decent deal on the classes I need (for NAUI, this would include the Master Diver course, as it is a prerequisite to DM).

Thanks in advance!!

Sorry to bust your bubble....You will not make money working as a DM. Get that out of your head right away. You will make more money working partime as a landscaper or at your local McD.

You will be working your arse off serving your time doing everything for your instructor, students and dive shop. You will learn alot. but making money to suppliment a hobby. Um no. Chances are you may be able to dive for free or get good rebates from your LDS. Aside from possibly meeting hot chicks and working with nice folks...the reward is what you will take away from it. ...it is not money.

Price will range from 500$ to 1000$. If you do not have all your gear be prepared to fork out more cashola for it. If you choose this path. You will need all your own gear. You will need a car and MONEY.

Either agency is fine. It is your instructor that will determine how much you will learn and take from it. Find a very good instructor regardless of agency make sure you are compatible with them. Remember you want to learn more than what is in the book. Make sure your instructor will go the extra mile to show you stuff outside the box. work with you if you have difficulties in certain areas of the DM training.

There is more to being a DM. You need great people skills. you should be a good listener, be able to interact with everyone and make clients feel comfortable. Be sales man. Understand marketing. That is right, you will be a walking advertisement for your Diveshop. You should also brush up on your gear repairing skills. Take an equipment repairing course and eventually learn how to properly service regs and gear. This is an avenue where you can make a little money when working for a dive shop.

there are several threads here. look them up. Just realize being a DM is not a partime job for the summer..more of a long term course on how to become a better diver all around. Your skills must be up to par, you will learn alot.

safe dives

scarefaceDM:

Chances are you may be able to dive for free or get good rebates from your LDS.

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That right there is money enough for me. The only thing I really do with my cash is buy food and go diving, so if one of those things becomes free...well that means more bottom time! I never expected to make anything substantial DMing anyway, just a little something on the side that will get me in the water a little more often than I would be otherwise.

Thanks for the advice!

Hi
You don't make money with diving, and if I can give you a suggestion become an instructor quite soon after your DM because at least you remember the theory which is where most of people at least with PADI crash
Instructors are more versatile employees and even if at the beginning you are just guiding and work on a liveaboard you can still teach the odd Nitrox or DUP course
There are places where you can take the whole go pro do the DM and then work in an internship so that you do your 100 dives until you get to IDC stage. In some cases you also get lodging and course material free, that may be an option for you

Interceptor121:

There are places where you can take the whole go pro do the DM and then work in an internship so that you do your 100 dives until you get to IDC stage. In some cases you also get lodging and course material free, that may be an option for you

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I'll certainly have to look into that.

Something to consider when deciding which of the agencies to become certified with, is where you may want to use your Divemaster qualification. Many (most?) dive shops are affiliated with one dive training agency and will only take staff trained by the same agency.

As an example, here in Curacao, about 95% of the dive shops are PADI (including ours) and I don't believe there are any SSI shops, so trying to get work as an SSI DM here would be tricky. So as this varies from region to region, it's just potentially something else you should consider.

Crossovers to other agencies are entirely possible, of course, but cost more money.

Whatever you decide, good luck. It's a tough course and not for everyone, but it sure worked for me

All best
Suzy
(The Dive Bus - HOME)

And not all terms are created equal. In the PADI terms, the level of certification from the lowest is Divemaster, Assistant Instructor & then Instructor. In NAUI terms it is Assistant Instructor, Divemaster & then Instructor. So a PADI Assistant Instructor is roughly on par with a NAUI Divemaster. This will probably skew your cost comparisons.

For which agency program to take? Which instructor(s) or shop(s) do you wish to help? They (shops and instructors) tend to like to have certified assistants that are familiar with the agency they teach. The more valuable you are, the better the shops treat you. Some shops like bringing up students through the ranks & hence do a "mentoring" type arrangement that makes is very cost efficient.

Getting your training as a PADI Dive Master will give you more opportunity than as a SSI Dive Control Specialist (Divecon). A PADI DM can work independent of a local dive shop and DM on any boat so long as they carry their own waiver for insurance.

A SSI DiveCon can ONLY work with their "home shop" or lead trips for their "home shop". The Divecon role is a bit more expanded than being just a DM where you can help instructors teach classes and such.


Become an instructor, most international dive shops and operators prefer to hire an instructor over a DM/DiveCon because the instructors can fill a many roles where the DM is limited.

OP,

I'm a NAUI guy, but I am a PADI DM. There are simply more shops that are PADI than any other agency out there. So depending on what you want to do, being a PADI DM is more useful as far as getting in somewhere. NAUI is a better course (in pretty much all cases). SSI is like the nose-bleed section of diving, I cannot even remember the last time I have seen an SSI only shop. Even our local SSI shop is also NAUI. Divecon may be a good qual, but it's not very well known. The guys from Peru and Brazil whom I was diving with thought I made SSI up to play a joke on them.

I would also recommend that you not run right into instructor. Try actually being a DM for a bit. DM is not just a stepping stone to IDC.

TheDiveBus:

Something to consider when deciding which of the agencies to become certified with, is where you may want to use your Divemaster qualification. Many (most?) dive shops are affiliated with one dive training agency and will only take staff trained by the same agency.

As an example, here in Curacao, about 95% of the dive shops are PADI (including ours) and I don't believe there are any SSI shops, so trying to get work as an SSI DM here would be tricky. So as this varies from region to region, it's just potentially something else you should consider.

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--tom--:

And not all terms are created equal. In the PADI terms, the level of certification from the lowest is Divemaster, Assistant Instructor & then Instructor. In NAUI terms it is Assistant Instructor, Divemaster & then Instructor. So a PADI Assistant Instructor is roughly on par with a NAUI Divemaster. This will probably skew your cost comparisons.

For which agency program to take? Which instructor(s) or shop(s) do you wish to help? They (shops and instructors) tend to like to have certified assistants that are familiar with the agency they teach. The more valuable you are, the better the shops treat you. Some shops like bringing up students through the ranks & hence do a "mentoring" type arrangement that makes is very cost efficient.

Click to expand...

I know that most of the dive shops where I live are NAUI (I can think of only one that isn't, and it is SSI), so that might be the road I need to take, at least when thought about in the short term; however, I also know that I won't be living here forever-I will eventually graduate from college and then I'll likely move into the vicinity of some other university for my graduate work. When thought about in that light, I might be better off going PADI, as it is the largest and most widespread certifying agency.

As for the cost...it would definitely be cheaper to go PADI (two less certs I have to worry about), but will the skills I learn at least be somewhat comparable? Much of my desire to become a DM has nothing to do with money (I know the pay is poor, but I would be diving more often), and much more to do with bettering myself as a diver. I would also like to eventually get into tech, but that is a ways away for me yet.