How much does it cost to BE a Divemaster?

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.

PADI has an annual fee as a dive professional which is a small amount. The BIG cost is for liability insurance...in the range, I believe, of $300+ annually.

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.

I'm a NAUI DM ... and yes, as others have said once you reach that level you have to pay membership dues and insurance. For NAUI the membership is $90 annually. Insurance runs quite a bit higher ... mine was about $350.

However, I've also seen some financial benefits in terms of discounts on gear purchases, equipment repair, etc. This probably varies from situation to situation ... but I saved more on the purchase of my BP/wing and new regulator than I paid for insurance this year. The repair on my drysuit (at a place that's totally independent from my LDS) was half what it would cost a non-professional ... all I had to do was show him my DM card. Heck, I even stopped in at a competitor's store for air, and he didn't charge me. When I asked why he said "professional courtesy".

So there are benefits to offset the costs ... at least up here in my neck of the woods ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

The thing to remember about becoming a DM is you also become more responsible when you are diving, I also find myself more critical of the people I dive with.. Especially from a liablity stand point. And I pick my buddies a lot more carefully now.

I guess you realise diving with someone who isn't trained in rescue and dive leading skills is not buddy diving and more dangerous than solo diving.

As far as the cost in training to complete MSD or DM, it's close to even, maybe MSD is a bit more, depends on the specialties you elect to take. You have nitrox, so you need 4 more. If you take specialties that help make you better/more prepared for the unforseen, in the water...like deep, wreck, navigation, night, you'll have some additional skills over the DM that can be usefull on every dive. The DM, on the other hand, gives you leadership training and skillls that MSD doesn't. To me, PADI really overinflates the "Go Pro" line of hype. Once you do your rescue classes, they really start trying to suck you into the $600 DM "be a padi professional" course. It is a good course, and you'll learn a lot, but you DO have to be affiliated with a shop to get the "KeyMan" pricing on gear perks. Also, there aren't many/any jobs available at the DM level, most shops want OW instructor at the least. They have all the DM's they can stand when the do classes and intern/apprentice them.

It's all in where you want to go in your diving future. For personal persuit, I'd go MSD and then maybe into tech if that interests you. If you want to feel like a dive Pro and have a bit of c-card status, or really see teaching/leading as where you want to go, then DM is your path. OR, you can just do Both, Everything you learn will help you sometime ...somewhere....somehow.

Anyway, food for thought....


Darlene

At least for PADI, Master SCUBA Diver is earned by completing rescue, and at least 5 specialty courses, so depending on the courses, can be much cheaper than DM. Although, I lucked out...I took my time getting my DM and as result, worked a lot of OW classes with my instructor. In the end, he didn't charge me anything!

DM becomes expensive with the liability insurance required to actually work as DM. But, if you do enough DM work, some shops will pay that for you.

Umm, just leave the check OPEN! *snicker*

Ok, first question, WHY do you want to be a DM? (Not knocking it at all, just want to know what motivates you to go into leadership)

I was fed up with DM's who were less experienced than myself telling me what to do.

Benefits
- have already bought BC and got extra discount for being DM
- going on local dive trips where i help out. so costs me nothing to dive although it can be a lot of work and you can end up looking over shoulder the whole dive.
- understanding more about diving, and being more critical of what you expect from other divers.