Newly certified Instructors

[chiara]

I'm a Dive Master with 182 dives in less than three years, starting my Assistant Instructor next week.

I was having a beer with the Maldivian diving base manager and his wife (him a Master Instructor, her an IDC Staff Instructor) discussing job opportunities for Instructors.

On goes the discussion and at a certain time he asks me: do you intend to pass IDC just for fun or do you intend to work as an Instructor?

I said that I was thinking of taking a sabbatical of about six months somewhere warm once I qualify (as long as I manage to) before coming back to real life.

Then a thought struck me: would you be happy to employ me as a freshly qualified OWSI?

He said yes, why not?

This comes as a pleasant surprise considering so many people seem to look upon new Instructors as jokes.

 

[MikeFerrara]

New instructors aren't jokes they are just new. Everyone has to start somewhere. In the beginning you rely on your training and hopefully th guidence of someone more experienced. I currently have a new instructor teaching for me. I poke my nose in enough to know what's going on and make myself available to help. I try to do it without "cramping her style". The students are getting a good class.

 

[aquababe]

enjoy every minute of it!!!

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I hope your training goes well, sounds like you're in for an interesting life experience!

Like Mike said, it's nice to have someone more experienced to guide you. It's even nicer when they can maintain the distance that Mike does
Ber

 

[Jonathan]

or it's the old Catch 22 - can't get a job without experience and can't get expereince without a job.

I too may go down that line some day - currently AI with 250 dives - and I hope people will give me the chance.

When I was doing my DM when working with students I was always introduced as a DM not as a DM candidate. The same should be true of instructors and don't stand up in class and say "Welcome to my first course as an instructor!"

bon chance
Jonathan

 

[Lead_carrier]

chiara once bubbled...

Then a thought struck me: would you be happy to employ me as a freshly qualified OWSI?

He said yes, why not?

This comes as a pleasant surprise considering so many people seem to look upon new Instructors as jokes.

Joke? Only by the ones that can't pass the instructor courses. It was a bigger deal for my family and friends than it was for me when I passed my course. A new instructor should be an asset for most any shop or resort. You will probably know a few techniques that will be new to some and they may or may not like them. Fortunately, I have to freedom to use different techniques as long as they are within standards. You will probably know the by the bood standards as good if not better than most instructors that have been around for a few years. Some tend to get sorta slack on updating their manuals. Congratulations and give heck.

 

[Lead_carrier]

Jonathan once bubbled...

When I was doing my DM when working with students I was always introduced as a DM not as a DM candidate. The same should be true of instructors and don't stand up in class and say "Welcome to my first course as an instructor!"

That didn't work for me Jonathan, when I got my full certification I to the shop manager that my first class would be limitied to no more than 4 students,no one under the age of 18, and they all had to be female. Since my wife is shop manager, I got 1 student, 26, and a black eye. :bonk:

I let my student know that she was my first student, and we would probably be learning a lot together. She was estatic. After her training dives, she had even bought me a cake with one candle.