Is "slave labor" a rite of passage for DM candidate?

[amp0611]

Hello! I am preparing to do my DM cert later this year. I have spent 2 years now thinking about it and being picky about where to do it, so as you can see, it is so important to me that I choose the right place, both because the money I will be spending has taken a long time to save and also because I want the most valuable and professional experience possible.

I have one particular concern that keeps popping up for me, and it really is one that I hesitate to ask because so far, whenever I have asked this of a dive school, I often got negative reaction, which makes me even more curious and concerned about it. So here it is...

Is "slave labor" a rite of passage for a (paying) DM candidate intern? I am well aware that the DM course involves hard work, and I am more than ready to work my bum off to get as much experience as possible. Let me clarify. What I am talking about here is, I have seen and heard of a lot of DM candidates spending much of their days loading tanks, rinsing suits, and even doing menial tasks that have nothing to do with diving, such as mopping floors and cleaning toilets. The worst I saw at one dive shop that I spent some time at, the crew spoke disrespectfully to the DM candidate and made comments and jokes that implied that he was their "slave". He only got to go diving every other day, and on the opposite days he was cleaning rooms in the accommodation at the dive shop! And yes, he was a paying customer!

When I have asked some potential schools about work expectations they don't always get what I am asking, so as uncomfortable as it is for me I have to be blunt and ask if they sometimes regard their DM candidates as "slaves" and expect them to do the grunt work that no one else wants to do. Many times I have got a reaction like they can't believe that I had the cheek to ask this question. On one occasion, a young instructor told me that if I wanted to be a DM I needed to know first hand of what being a DM was all about, so they do expect you to do as your told even if that means menial tasks, because that is what is going to be expected of you as a DM. He also said, almost with a grudge, "well, I had to do it, and so did many others, so you will have to do it also".

So, it sounds to me like it is sort of considered a rite of passage for a DM candidate to be treated this way. I'm not sure that I am ok with this. Don't get wrong, I'm not afraid of hard work, I just feel like if I'm laying down $1000 or more of my hard earned money, I want my time to be spent learning and training to do things that I don't already know how to do, and I also want to be treated with respect, like any other paying customer.

So please dive professionals out there, I need your advice...are my expectations unreasonable? What really can I expect from a DM internship? And if this is not normal then what is the best way for me to discern which schools have this philosophy?

 

[kierentec]

NO!

hauling tanks, rinsing gear, filling tanks, etc. is to be expected. working shop hours, cleaning bathrooms/mopping floors, mowing the lawn, and cleaning the pool are NOT part of the DM course.

when I first met my girlfriend, she was doing her DM full time with another shop. it took her almost 2 months to finish, because most days she was working in the shop for free, and her instructors told her it was required! it was so painful for me to watch, especially when she went to the IDC and was totally lost because her instructors failed to prepare her for any of it.

she knew how to work the cash register and clean the pool, though!


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[Bubble Junky]

Agree with the above comment... Spending a little time in the shop is good - learning how to deal with customers (which questions to ask when signing people up etc...). But completing the course and getting a good standard of training is what you want and need... A DM/DMT is an assistant to an instructor, not a slave !!

A good question to ask a dive centre is 'how many skill circuits do you do on a DM course ?' That will give you a good idea of how serious they take the training. I do a minimum of five circuits, and expect practise in between. I have known many people say they only ever did one skill circuit, and got scored on that one attempt...

 

[DevonDiver]

I think it's the student's option to sit around doing nothing on their DM course - it isn't slave labor because nothing is forced. However, I also think it'd be the instructor's/center's option not to endorse them for employment in the industry on the basis of showing disinclination to get involved...and not having requisite experience in dive center logistics and operations.

If it's an internship (in the real sense of the word)... and those are rare to find in the modern world of 'fast-track' and 'zero-to-hero' programs.... then it should introduce the DM candidate to the full spectrum of work that they'll be expected to carry out in later employment.

That said, not many people need 'experience' in cleaning rooms... so this isn't really a beneficial aspect to be added to an internship. However, some people do...

Also, if the internship is stated as 'leading to potential employment'...and the candidate wished for that... then it can also be considered as a 'rolling interview/selection'. The difference between simply getting a qualification... or getting a job... upon graduation may mean that a more complete spectrum of duties is assigned.

 

[pafindr]

My take on it is if you are a DMC you are a paying customer of that shop NOT and employee.
As a DMC I do believe some of your duties would involve rinsing gear, being a tank monkey, learning to sell gear (notice I said learning to sell gear not making you be their salesman) and other related tasks because this is a service industry and these are some of the things you will need know how to do as a DM. You are to be focusing on your education as a DMC and if the shop isn't providing you with that education you should be finding another shop.

The shop should not be making you clean toilets or other things of that nature. If you are a hired DM and are being paid a wage then an employer can tell you to do those things mostly because the DM is the lowest ranking person in a shop. Yeah it sucks but the low man usually gets the worst jobs.

 

[Pedro Burrito]

It's more like indentured servant.

I'm working on my DM certification now. I'm taking the DM course from an independent instructor so there is no shop involved. Which is good and bad. I finally started a part time job working for a dive shop. I'm learning the retail aspect of a dive shop and I'm also learning how to VIP tanks, service gear, fill tanks and service the compressor while being paid. I think it's a good option but really takes up lots of weekend time.

 

[amp0611]

Good advice so far, thanks! All the things you all have mentioned, sales, filling tanks, gearing up customers, loading/unloading/rinsing gear, etc., I agree that these are all important tasks to learn and to be proficient at as a DM. I didn’t mention in my original post that I do have a little experience already, working in a dive shop, as a volunteer working in exchange for dives. I helped with the above mentioned and yes, also doing the menial non-diving related tasks like mopping up sloppy bathroom floors, etc. So, these are all tasks that I am already familiar with, not to say that makes me an expert and that I don’t have more to learn!

I guess what I am saying is, I do not intend on spending my DM training “sitting around and doing nothing” as Devondiver said, but as a student, I feel like my time should be spent primarily learning and practicing skills that I don’t already know and that are more dive specific, rather than rinsing wee out of suits all day. And I guess just based on things I have witnessed and things I have heard, I am concerned that there are far too many instructors and shops that use DMT’s for their dirty work just because they can - because they know that there are armies of disposable eager beavers out there willing to do whatever it takes for free dives or a foot in the door, or because they had to do it themselves so they see it as a mandatory hazing process. I can see how asking potential dive schools about this could be perceived as a resistance to get my hands dirty or as Devondiver put it, a “disinclination to get involved”, which is probably why I got the negative responses that I did. I guess I need to find a better way to express that I am eager to learn and prepared to get my hands dirty, but there is a limit to how much menial work I am willing to PAY TO DO. Maybe I have had some bad apple taint my perception, or maybe that is just the reality of the business. That is what I am hoping to find out here, based on all your opinions. I am just trying to understand what is acceptable and what is not, what to realistically expect, how to avoid being taken advantage of, and how I can get the most valuable experience for my time and money.
Thank you for all your opinions!

 

[scubamarketing]

Mopping, no; "rinsing wee out of suits", yes.

You may be a customer as a DMC, but you're also a liability. You mess with the instructors teaching ratios and I've personally had to spend plenty of time reprimanding "know it all" DMC's who were dicking around instead of being a helpful part of the team.

Wee needs to get rinsed out of suits. Does the OWSI who has spent $1k+ and significant amounts of time more to get to that level who also has more responsibility as the supervising instructor need to do it when there's a DMC around? If they want to, sure. I got my hands dirty plenty of times because I didn't want to be that jerk instructor who says to do things but won't do them myself. But if I tell a DMC to clean suits after a dive weekend and they complain, they aren't going to be the first on my list to call when I need an assistant for a class.

The unfortunate reality is a lot of dive shops are having a hard time. Managers and long term employees may be stressed and budgets might not allow for a cleaning service. When they get a group of 3 DMC's who are eager to please, it wouldn't surprise me for them to say "hey, break down these boxes", "get on the floor and help customers" or even "clean the restroom". It may suck, but odds are high that 1 of the 3 will do it and keep any complaints to themselves. The bottom line is there are things that need to be done in any business and in most cases I've seen, if it's done, it's rewarded in some way at some time.

 

[boulderjohn]

I didn't experience anything like slave labor when I as a DMC, and you should not expect it if you take the course from me.

In our area the chief job of a DM is to assist in instruction. That means more than just watching the instructor teach. The person who assists the instructor in class does a lot of the setup and cleanup work. When Iwas a DMC observing classes, I helped out with that as much as possible, just as a DM would. I thought that was perfectly reasonable.

 

[bracko]

as long as it's clearly outlined what is and what is not part of the deal then fine (and you're paid appropriately).

getting DM's free of charge to run the store is IMO a huge no-no. I would have walked out and taken the matter to PADI/industrial affairs/fair trading if a store in Australia expected me to do tasks like that without telling me up front.