Finished Divemaster, Did I just Make a Mistake?

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I'm curious to know when the operational function of divemaster became a certification. I don't remember it existing when I was certified back in 1972. I'd been diving a while before that, but it was around that year that dive shops began to require a C card before they'd refill your tanks, so I got an NASDS certification. It's the only certification I have, other than nitrox, which seemed like a reasonable thing to have when nitrox became available. Other than mixed gas and instructor, and a couple of highly technical specialties, everything else has the faint odor of a scam. The idea of a person with less than a year's experience serving as a divemaster is comical. A person should have years of experience and hundreds of relevant dives before they are permitted to supervise the incompetents turned out by contemporary programs.
 
I count a dive if its 20 minutes or more. Regardless if its for enjoyment, class, or instructing.
That would explain the 150 dives in nine months. :shakehead:
 
I count a dive if its 20 minutes or more.
I have to say, I love this thread more than I can say.

And this is not any type of personal jab at you, as I did exactly the same thing, but I did it in 1996.

Got certified OW, long time goal, finally did it. Got to hang out with the instructor and the DM candidates, who were the coolest of the cool people, the coolness was overwhelming, and I ran out and did my 100 dives in just a few months. Now, I was living on a small island in the pacific ocean, so it wasn't like I was stuck in some mud pit in Texas somewhere, but still, I needed to get those hundred dives so I could not only hang witht he cool DM candidates, but actually be one, and you know, I loved diving, so it made all of the difference.

So I became a divemaster, and was about to be between jobs, so I thought "I should go be an instructor", so I did. Then I worked on a liveaboard, then I bought a liveaboard, and the rest is history.

So. What's my (cynical) advice? The training agencies love to see guys like you (and me) coming, because the training agency can jam you up for $250 a year in dues and another $450-$850 in insurance. And they don't have to do anything more to do it. I paid dues for over 20 years, because they told me that I wouldn't be covered if I didn't pay my dues and buy my insurance. And I had to continue to buy my insurance for another 7 years following my last class taught (the training agency may get a kickback on your insurance). And you get exactly nothing for all of this except you get to go diving and hang out with the cool kids.

Here's a hint. You are a cool kid, and folks should want to hang out with you. It doesn't cost upwards of a grand a year to be cool and go diving. So be cool, and go dive until you can't dive no more, and then go diving again. You're cool. You can do it.
 
I'm curious to know when the operational function of divemaster became a certification. I don't remember it existing when I was certified back in 1972.

A thing or two changed since 1972 :). Don't know when it became a certification, but when I was first PADI certified in 2004, DM was already well established as a first professional certification level.

Looks like as of now, PADI (Moderator edit) requires 40 logged dives to start DM training.
 
A thing or two changed since 1972 :). Don't know when it became a certification, but when I was first PADI certified in 2004, DM was already well established as a first professional certification level.

Looks like as of now, PADI requires 40 logged dives to start DM training.
2004 is very recent. 'Professional' is kind of a reach, don't you think?
 
2004 is very recent. 'Professional' is kind of a reach, don't you think?
You're just old.
 
2004 is very recent. 'Professional' is kind of a reach, don't you think?

I meant I was first [OW] certified in 2004, I don't know when DM became a certification, but it was well before that. DM is the first role which can be financially compensated for their work, which is a definition of "professional", so I don't see why it's a reach.

Just to clarify: I'm not a DM and have no intention of ever becoming one.
 
Being a DM in a non resort destination is a labor of love. Maybe you can ask the owner to cover your insurance?
Side note: Curious as to why the shop needs a DM at all given they only process 6 students per month.
 
Can we go back to the part where you said you got paid per student to be a divemaster? I have actually NEVER heard of class DMs getting paid from a recreational shop to help with cert classes. Hell, the shop I worked at as an instructor I only made $150/student, and that was for the full 4-6 day class.

For my other thoughts on dive pro payment see:
What an instructor owes a shop?

-Chris
 
I meant I was first [OW] certified in 2004, I don't know when DM became a certification, but it was well before that. DM is the first role which can be financially compensated for their work, which is a definition of "professional", so I don't see why it's a reach.

Just to clarify: I'm not a DM and have no intention of ever becoming one.
Supermarket checkout clerks are also compensated for their work.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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