Does it make sense to enroll in a Divemaster course with no intention to work with?

[theminidiver]

Hello,

I find diving a very pleasant hobby. I started diving 6 months ago and I really liked it. Today I have AOWD + Nitrox certs.

But one thing I really enjoy is studying hard things I that I like. So I plan to enroll a lot of the recreational (then Tec 40 to plan deco dives) courses just because.

Talking to the Dive Shop, they said it is cheaper to enroll the Divemaster course (plus specialties) rather than paying for avulses courses. He show me the prices and the courses are cheaper when its packaged with the "career plan".

I don't intent to work as a DM neither show off my DM credential. I just like to learn more about things that I like. And if the cheaper path is towards a DM, why not?

Does it make sense? Or I just describe a Master Scuba Diver (MSD)?

 

[Wibble]

The DiveMaster course isn't worth much for your diving unless you want to help out in a shop.

If technical diving's your future, go down that route and make sure you get a good instructor. The agency is less important than a fully experienced technical diving instructor who dives the dives -- not talks about the training course they once took to xxx metres/feet.

Typically that instructor will dive a range of equipment and will regularly do decompression dives for fun. They'd be a wreck or cave diver as that's where the interesting deep stuff is.

What you don't want is a recreational instructor who hasn't any real experience with technical diving.

A great way of finding this out is to talk to them about their technical diving career; what they dive, how often, the kit they use, gasses, rebreathers...

Agencies include TDI and IANTD. There's some PADI technical courses, but beware of the local dive shop pushing their "tec" courses on you to extract your money. It's the instructor that counts!


In technical diving terms, the DiveMaster is a worthless certification. They're not masters of diving as they know nothing about decompression diving nor mixed gasses outside of basic nitrox.

 

[rongoodman]

You'd learn a lot more about actual diving from a Cavern, Intro to Tech, or Fundies course. Chances are that your Divemaster course would have you demonstrating basic skills on your knees.

 

[Wibble]

Or I just describe a Master Scuba Diver (MSD)?

That's the certification for doing lots of PADI specialities. They even charge extra for it.

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

You'd learn a lot more about actual diving from an Intro to Tech or Fundies course. Chances are your Divemaster course would have you demonstrating basic skills on your knees.

If i had a penny for every time i heard some one trying to flex on OW & AOW in the club with "I'm a dive master, you should listen to me" only to later see them kneeling on the floor when clearing their mask, I'd be rich.

Last time i tried to confront one of them because as he was fixing something with his BCD he decimated all of the corals beneath him, i doubt he even paid attention.
It was like talking to a wall. maybe talking to an actual wall would be better, as a wall wont answer back in the dumbest way possible.

 

[Blackcrusader]

Hello,

I find diving a very pleasant hobby. I started diving 6 months ago and I really liked it. Today I have AOWD + Nitrox certs.
But one thing I really enjoy is studying hard things I that I like. So I plan to enroll a lot of the recreational (then Tec 40 to plan deco dives) courses just because. Talking to the Dive Shop, they said it is cheaper to enroll the Divemaster course (plus specialties) rather than paying for avulses courses. He show me the prices and the courses are cheaper when its packaged with the "career plan".

I don't intent to work as a DM neither show off my DM credential. I just like to learn more about things that I like. And if the cheaper path is towards a DM, why not? Does it make sense? Or I just describe a Master Scuba Diver (MSD)?

I've been diving since 1986. Never wanted to be a DM so never did a DM course. I don't think the MSD does anything either really it's just bling.

TDI ANDP course is one to consider you would learn a lot from that. It's to 45m deco diving. Having a DM Cert is not necessary as you do not need it to do the Tec 40 for TDI ANDP. I do a lot of recreational diving, which for me also includes deco diving as that was part and parcel of my sports diving courses back when I took those courses. I have done rescue certs. Actually did it twice over 20 years apart.

In normal years I get in over 200 dives a year. Getting in the dives in various conditions you get more out of that than doing specialty courses in my humble opinion,

The TDI ANDP I choose over the PADI Tec courses.

 

[Wibble]

I find diving a very pleasant hobby. I started diving 6 months ago and I really liked it. Today I have AOWD + Nitrox certs.

But one thing I really enjoy is studying hard things I that I like. So I plan to enroll a lot of the recreational (then Tec 40 to plan deco dives) courses just because.

Technical diving...

The main thing about technical diving is you must have really strong "core" skills: buoyancy, trim and finning. Specifically this means you're rock steady with buoyancy, you're flat in the water and you use a range of finning techniques according to circumstances: frog kick, helicopter turn, back finning.

These take some time to master. It's particularly difficult as many recreational divers really do not know what good looks like; they think that flappy finning, kicking up the silt and average buoyancy is good enough. Having a real technical diver demonstrate their core skills really is a massive eye-opener.

Technical diving is a progression. You need to have excellent core skills as you *must* be able to hold your decompression stops and deal with all sorts of issues (shutting down valves, putting up an SMB and the like). The ANDP (Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures) is a hard course to pass as you're really in to new territory for diving techniques.

It is worth you doing the Rescue Diver course -- IMHO PADI's best course. That teaches you to think about others and just be more observant.

It *could* be a good idea to do Peak Performance Buoyancy, but ONLY if it's taught by a technical diver as you need to experience their superior skills.


Technical diving does take some years to learn and practice. It's most definitely worth it but you will only get out what you put in.

Good luck.

 

[grf88]

I took Divemaster in order to help out at my club. It really doesn't do much to improve skills other than demonstration skills. Get your Rescue cert, nail down your buoyancy and take a tech course with an experienced diver who regularly does tech dives, I took the TDI AN/DP and it was the first course that really challenged me and greatly improved my skills. With the exception of things like AOW, Rescue and Nitrox many of the other recreational courses are just fluff.

 

[Marie13]

I’ll vote for a cavern course. Pick FL or Mexico depending on where you live and like to travel. You can do cavern single tank, with some gear modifications (long hose). There’s no deco if you don’t want to get into that yet.

I did cavern/intro to cave as cavern alone wasn’t an option at the unusual dive site I have local time to me. It really improved my diving.

No DM. Worthless to those who don’t want to lead dives/teach. Plus it’s probably to be more expensive than cavern or intro to tech.

 

[lexvil]

The best way to make a million $ in diving is to become a dive pro; and start off with two million $