Question

[hawkenph]

Hi all,

I am planning to start working towards my Dive master next month. I have found a place that I plan to start Internship with. At first they said, I need to make a deposit that will be returned to me after I have completed my Internship with them. Than a few days later they changed there mind. To where I will pay them and not get the deposit back. Is this something to be worried about? Or is this normal?
Thank you for your time. I look forward to my up coming adventure towards being a Professional..
Kurt

 

[herman]

DM is a fairly long and expensive course if done correctly. I would think most places would require full payment up frount unless they were planning on some form of trade...you finish DM and then work for them as a DM for free for a period, for expample. In that case, the deposit would be to insure you kept your side of the bargin. At this distance, something does sound strange, I would be a little cautious about this shop. Find a couple of their last DMCs and get their opinion....and if you can't find and talk with them, time to find another shop IMO. If your stats are correct, you have a long way to go before even starting DM. You need AOW/Rescue at a minimum and IMO a good many more dives than 0-24. If those are accurate, do yourself and your students a favor, get AOW/Rescue then just dive for a while to get your skills to where they should be to start DM.

 

[hawkenph]

Hi,
Thank u. The shop is at a Local Resort with a very good reputation. It just seem strange to me they changed their mind. I have even asked for a contract to be made up to protect everyone (which they are more than happy to do). I will check with a few more places as far as see what they will do for me instead. During my Interim. I just want to make sure I get enough experience and not just sit around. As far as my dives, yes it accurate and yes I plan to get as much diving in as I can for the experience,etc.. Its only fair to all. Since it all deals with safety. Which I am very much into safety.

 

[JKurk]

Hi all,

I am planning to start working towards my Dive master next month. I have found a place that I plan to start Internship with. At first they said, I need to make a deposit that will be returned to me after I have completed my Internship with them. Than a few days later they changed there mind. To where I will pay them and not get the deposit back. Is this something to be worried about? Or is this normal?
Thank you for your time. I look forward to my up coming adventure towards being a Professional..
Kurt

Kurt,

Not sure which agency you are doing DM with, but as Herman pointed out, you should be AOW\Rescue certified before you can sign up for DM - not sure if the track will get you to this level before you start the DM program but I would also suggest to dive as much as you can (outside training) to gain the experience. 24 dives (or less) is not a whole lot of diving.

Remember, as a DM, you will be expected to master & demonstrate the skills that OW students are learning - if you are leading certified divers, they will expect you to have a decent amount of skills otherwise you are not going to be able to deliver what they will be looking for. You also need to be able to anticipate possible issues & use your good judgement to make the call as things unfold when you are in charge.

You will learn - but experience is the best teacher so get in the water & dive for fun while you are figuring out where you will be training. Don't rush into anything that doesn't sound right to you.

Good luck & keep us updated on how you make out.

John

 

[scubadiver888]

Hi,
Thank u. The shop is at a Local Resort with a very good reputation. It just seem strange to me they changed their mind. I have even asked for a contract to be made up to protect everyone (which they are more than happy to do). I will check with a few more places as far as see what they will do for me instead. During my Interim. I just want to make sure I get enough experience and not just sit around. As far as my dives, yes it accurate and yes I plan to get as much diving in as I can for the experience,etc.. Its only fair to all. Since it all deals with safety. Which I am very much into safety.

On one hand, I can see how a shop might want a deposit because they might have a high drop out rate. If you pay for the Internship by working it off but you drop out half way through the program, they would have invested a lot of time for nothing. If you put a deposit down it would safe guard them. If you drop out, they keep the deposit. If you pass, they get paid back from you working for free in the shop during your Internship. That seems fair to me.

The fact that they are now saying something different and that you will not get your deposit back sounds strange. Training to me is all about trust. If I don't trust the people training me I'm going to worry and that isn't good. I'd move on and find someone else to train me.

I usually find that a company does contracts again and again and again. Over time they learn what to put in a contract so it will benefit them more than you (could even learn how to word things so it hurts you). I never write contracts to be a DM more than once. Not a lot of experience. Again, if I had to rely solely on a contract I'd walk away and find someone else to train me.

Finally, how are we defining a good reputation? Are the customers happy or are the employees happy? They might be a great place to hire as a customer but it might not be the best place to get DM training. It could even be a great place to work but not to get trained. I'd find people who got trained there and see if they were happy with the training.