I enjoyed watching the video. One thing that wasn't mentioned that maybe you can clarify is what constitutes becoming a dive guide. At my LDS, an SSI shop, the IT (Instructor Trainer) says that becoming a Divemaster is not like taking a weekend class and doing say 4 dives but it is an internship that can take as much as a year to complete. At my LDS prospective clients become DMC's (Divemaster candidates). They usually go to a lot of pool sessions to watch over other divers and to attend training sessions. They go along with instructors for the OW classes and dives. Along the way they take Science of diving (SOD) as mentioned in the video. According to the IT most of the work is to become a dive guide. When you complete SOD you automatically become a Divemaster. Is this true for other LDS's and is the DM program an internship? My understanding is the internship varies in time according to the individual DMC's skills and ability to demonstrate the skills and learn the material.
EFX, in regards to your question, the DIVE GUIDE is the first part of the Divemaster certification. Each training agency has their own terminology in regards to what a Divemaster is. An example would be as follows: PADI- Divemaster, SSI-Divemaster, SEI/PDIC-Dive Supervisor, etc. They are all the same in regards to rank. Prior to 2010, the PADI Divemaster course consisted of Standards, Teaching, and Physics Training. SSI followed as well with Dive Guide, the teaching and standards portion, and then Science of Diving, the physics portion. Just as with PADI, SSI issues the Divemaster rating in house once a student has met the requirements as set forth by training standards. The instructor that teaches the course files the appropriate paperwork and then SSI reviews it. The biggest difference is SSI does not charge for the rating, but PADI does. As far as how long the training takes, is up to the student and shop he trains through. For the majority of the ones we teach SSI to, they go through an internship that can range from a month to a year. With PADI, we usually train the Divemasters in a few weeks time frame. Given credit to a person for being a fast learner is something a lot of shops neglect. In our area, a lot of our dive professionals are professionals in the real world, such as Police, Fire, EMS, School Teachers, etc., and have been diving for several years. With this being said, their ability to pick up on how to teach and conduct courses, and how to manage students comes naturally to them. Those tend to be very short courses. On the other side of the isle, the longer internships are useful in training someone for the administration side of working the store, or in the industry as a whole. Reason being that we focus more on the SSI is because we are a Diamond Facility, and SSI professionals have to be associated with an SSI Facility. With PADI they can be independent. So we explain to the candidates their options. We charge the same amount no matter which route they choose. As far as getting a job after certification, the ones that meet the needs of the company are hired. Lastly, in this business (The Scuba Industry), I have learned not to talk people out of what they want. Just because I would rather them do the SSI way of things, why would I refuse their money just because they are PADI-fied. In the end, a person has to meet the minimum standards set forth by the training agency. Whether it takes 2 weeks or a year, to me is not the problem. For instance, take a Fire and Technical Rescue Ropes Instructor, who teaches every day for a community college and has done so for 20 years. He wants to be a Divemaster for my store. Once he has taken the class room, passed the standards test, and met all practical requirements, why would I tell him he must work an internship with me for 6 months to learn how to manage and teach students. He makes a living hanging people off the face of a cliff, and among other things, now he is tasked with being an extra set of eyes for me under the water. I'm sure he knows how to manage people. Furthermore, all agencies promote fast Instructor courses in a 2 week time frame, which the Instructors holds more responsibility than the Divemaster does, but we seem to be putting more emphasis on the Divemaster course. I get that it is the first level of professional diving but with the evolution of training now days, people learn pretty darn fast if you allow them to and don't hold them back. Sorry, I seem to have gotten off on a rant in regards to how long it should take to become a Divemaster. I remember when I first became a Divemaster, my instructor brought me up all the way from Open Water, and I had worked the store I got certified in since I was 12 years old, not just filling tanks and sweeping the floor, but helping in the class, pool and open water. When I turned 18, it was as simple as signing paperwork and getting a card that said Divemaster. I would venture to say I had audited over 20 Divemaster courses, from start to finish, and even was allowed to teach classroom and pool sections right beside the lead instructor on Open Water and Specialty courses. That meant I did a 6 year internship with the Instructor. Now when my time came (age being the biggest obstacle), do you feel that I was qualified. I was a kid, but I knew that Divemaster course both inside and out. To this day I still look back at how much I learned, but I wonder how much easier it would have been if I was older, and could I have learned things quicker when I was more mature. The experience I got being right beside the Instructor while he was teaching and he letting me teach small classroom sections or demonstrating skills in the pool help build my confidence. But like I said I was 12. Some one who is much older may not have a confidence issue and may be a genius. I have trained doctors who during PADI's Emergency First Response Course, or SSI's React Right Course, who told me the slides and information was wrong. Who do you really think had more knowledge, me the simple CPR and First Aid Instructor, or a Doctor (The Doctor DUHHHHH). Now, moonlighting as an EMT Instructor for the State of North Carolina a few nights a week, I can usually hold my own in an argument a little bit better now with a Doctor. The point I am trying to make, and once again I apologize for throwing the thread I started way off course, is that some people can do what we call the zero to hero course in a short 1 to 2 week time frame based off other skills they have and what their background is. Others will definitely need the internship. I tell all students to interview their Instructor to see if he or she is best suited for them and to explain what your goals are. If a person is looking for a job, the internship is a good route to take, if they are just wanting the certification or they want the ability to work elsewhere than my shop, than they need to meet minimum standards and then they can earn the rating. I will end with this, one of the truest statements I have ever heard, came from one of my Rookie School Instructors (for the ones that don't know what Rookie School is, it is the Police Academy here in North Carolina). He told us that we would only learn just enough during class to get us hurt and sued. Once we graduated and got a job, we would learn so much more during the job. Boy was that the truth. Once I got sworn in as a Law Enforcement Officer, what little bit I learned during school was only a small fraction to what I learned on the streets. Ironically, most seem to think it should take longer to become a Divemaster than a Police Officer. Now for some perspective, my schooling was only 3 months long. Which do you think should be longer? No need to answer, just some food for thought.
I hope I didn't sound too arrogant on the topic, definitely not my intentions, just trying to clear up some things.
