Divemaster internship Questions

[SubMariner]

That's a ridiculous statement and the OP would be well served to ignore your entire response.

Firstly, how does the "tropics" figure into your rationale? Are the only "good" divemasters the ones who've done it in some dark, freezing Canadian quarry like perhaps you did? Preposterous.

Intensive, immersive programs that have students living, eating and breathing diving seven days a week are excellent ways to do training and become proficient. I could certainly give you some Canadians who did their instructor training here "int he tropics" of Thailand who would equal or better any locally grown example you could find.

Now, for the OP, the program and prices you cite are not exceptional. In fact, our Aquanauts Value program offers 2 full months of daily diving -- working in real-life situations with real-life customers doing real-life DM training work -- as well as a set of Scubapro equipment you KEEP, accommodations, fees, materials, job placement, visas and airport transfers for less than 3,000 pounds.

See the link below or PM me.

Don't believe the naysayers and old hacks. Just because they walked 200 miles to school barefoot in the snow in the last century doesn't make them any better than someone who takes a reputable, good quality bus.

Since you offer this type of program, perhaps your answer is somewhat self-serving? Can you say "conflict of interest". Yeah, I know you can...

However, I am someone who's had to deal with "Zero to Hero" from the tropics when they return from the sunny climes because they were unable to make a living there. Then they had to deal with real life in North America or Europe where they WEREN'T prepared to contend with students in less than perfect conditions.

 

[jpcpat]

Unclebob, the price seems high to me, but without knowing the breakdown between education/accomodation and food, I can't really say.

After all is said and done, you will have an aow card, a rescue card and a DM card. You will also have a good THEORETICAL knowledge of Divemastering. You MAY also have a limited practical knowledge of divemastering (or not). 6 weeks of hauling tanks for tourists is not enough to turn an OW diver with 0-24 dives into a DM. Please don't think that's enough to get a job as a divemaster, or to safely divemaster. It isn't, and lives depend on a DM.

 

[String]

Zero to hero is a bad idea wherever its done in my view. You need experience to guide divers and deal with potential problems and that can't be taught. The DM minimum dive number is tiny.

It also depends where you want to work, if you do zero to hero in a warm nice tropical environment you cannot easily go to colder, murkier waters without substantial readjustment. Learn where you want to teach.

FWIW in the UK there are no jobs or money for DMs - there are no DMs on boats at all.

 

[String]

excellent[/B] ways to do training and become proficient

Disagree with that entirely. Its a great way to have students with minimal experience become "competent" on dives run in the way one particular dive centre runs it on the few dive sites they're exposed to and in those conditions they've dived in.

Change the sites, the conditions, the procedures, the group size or anything else and they're outside anything they've ever experienced. I see it all the time.

 

[Hepcat62]

The main question I have (which I think was lost early in the first page) is, "Why do you want to be a DM?". I've said it before, and I'll say it again...

1) If you want to be a working DM, train where you want to work. I can tell you with absolutely no hesitation that dealing with students and new divers in clear water and little to no exposure protection ultimately says very little about your ability to deal with them in 0-5' visibility while wearing 13mm of neoprene for the first time. It's not about who's "better" or "worse", it's about what you're experienced with and trained to handle.

2) If you want to take DM to improve your dive skills, then I would recommend that you save your money. DM is about turning good divers into dive professionals - not turning new divers into good divers. If you want to improve your skills, you'll generally be much better served by GOING DIVING. Go diving a lot. Go diving locally. Go diving with much better divers than yourself. You will learn much more about diving by DIVING than you will in a class designed to teach "demonstration quality" skills and Liability 101. Feel free to purchase a copy of the Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving (or similar) and learn all the physics and physiology you care to.