questions about pro certs and gear

[TekDiveGirl]

ok so i don't have much experience and don't know much about the industry but i am vary willing to learn quickly and throughly. i have tought kids everything from rock climbing to mountain biking to environmental education and just want to learn a new skill to continue my life away from an office building and out in the natural world.
so, seriously, is doing the instuctor thing a super bad idea? or is it that it just seems too fast to you all?
(A friend of mine has done it and works on a nice liveaboard making fair money and having a ball doing it)

Just because you can teach -- doesn't mean you are ready to be a SCUBA instructor.

Personally I would not trust an instructor with the minimum 100 dives. Or even a DM with the minimum of 60.

Why not get some experience in the dive world before taking peoples trust and lives into your hands?

 

[SheriffMedic]

I agree with TekDiveGirl, you need the experience. Have you actually experienced an underwater entanglement? Have you ran out of air and had to do an emergency swimming ascent? There are so many different problematic scenarios that could present itself to you that you need to have the experience to teach your students how to handle them.

I have been a divemaster for about 10 years and have probably 400 or so logged dives. I am just now considering becoming an instructor, I feel I have the experience to be able to honestly tell students about real underwater emergencies and how to overcome them. Granted most people want to learn openwater diving but as an instructor you need to be able to teach dive/rescue, and be able to train a divemaster. I feel that once you enter into the divemaster program your eyes will be opened at just how important and what a huge responsibility an instructor has.

All of the instructors I know are PHENOMINAL divers, guys who have spent hundreds of hours under the water and are involved in many aspects of diving. Again, I don't want to seem negative, get some experience, blow some bubbles, train for emergencies and look into the Divemaster program.

I teach ACLS, PHTLS, BTLS, PEPP, PALS, and EVOC (all emergency medicine classes) and I am apprehensive about taking on the responsibilty of teaching scuba.

 

[MoonWrasse]

Envious? I didn't see any posts as envious...

But if the guys profile is accurate -- he has 0-15 dives --

Learned to dive in college to an advanced cert possibly 2 years ago -- doesn't even have rescue.

And doesn't know the first thing about gear and wants it at a steal.

Somehow this does not bode well to being a dive pro - right now.

Kimber

Seems like you get a new poster everyday on SB asking about going from little or no dive experience to pro in one move. Yesterday it was a fellow wanting become a DM in 3 months even though he had yet to dive.

I've met more than one of these marks on a dive boat, it's kinda sad to see the unfortunate victim of the pro dive sham knowing that there just won't be that miracle dive job waiting for them. Heck, the speed pro dive schools whould start advertising on matchbook covers like the learn to be a cartoonist schools used to

 

[daniel f aleman]

There's a line between critique and libel. I received my DM from Prodive after 20 years of previous diving - they cut no corners with me. A poster comes on here, happy about his diving future, he and his program get ripped.

Prove your statements.

Otherwise, I'll be happy to spend the rest of this thread ripping DIR-F, GUE, and its sycophants to shreds...

 

[TekDiveGirl]

There's a line between critique and libel. I received my DM from Prodive after 20 years of previous diving - they cut no corners with me. A poster comes on here, happy about his diving future, he and his program get ripped.

Prove your statements.

Otherwise, I'll be happy to spend the rest of this thread ripping DIR-F, GUE, and its sycophants to shreds...

Are you feeling a bit hostile here? Are you missing out on something in your life? Maybe we can help you --- because you are not reading for comprehension so something else must be going on.

Nobody thrashed ProDive -- I know friends who have gone there and loved the experience. You are becoming defensive for no apparant reason.

The poster came here with no experience to back up being a professional. Plain and simple. A DM/I who can't rescue himself because he has no water time to back up his certifications is a hinderance in the water to students and divers who believe that they can trust in this persons experience and judgement.

From what I read -- all people are telling the guy it to get some experience and then move forward. You think as a DM after 20 years of diving that the advice is poor?

As as aside -- what in the world does DIR/GUE have to do with this thread -- and why would you say that to me personally?

Kimber

 

[Diver Dennis]

There was no bashing of ProDive here at all, I checked. The point is here that before this guy commits a year and a lot of cash to become an instructor, he better make sure this is what he wants to do, and with vitually no dives he can't be sure. Daniel, you said yourself you had 20 years of experience before you went to ProDive.

 

[vkalia]

In them meantime, to answer your original question:

- if you are getting a jacket-style BCD, get something with 1000-denier Cordura. It'll last longer. Oceanic and Aqualung/Seaquest both make really good, rugged BCDs that last a long time. We switched over to those at our shop, and I cannot be happier with them.

- re. computer - I personally like the Suunto models. Conservative? Yes. But that's mostly ok (although the D9 seems to be a bit TOO conservative).

HTH,
Vandit

 

[Diver Dennis]

He is looking for a reg and computer...

 

[spectrum]

If you have the gifts of teaching and diving it is possible that you could blow right through the program and be a dandy instructor. The problem is that even with course work and hopefully some recreational diving in that period you will not have a rich body of experience of how things can go wrong, how you and others react and how to deal with those situations based on experience. Based on your stated experieince you will not be well grounded in local conditions either. Fankly I would not be likely to entrust a loved one to an instructor with similar experience.

Get out in the water end spend 2006 enriching yourself as a diver. You have AOW, now do rescue. By 2007 if you dive with passion you'll have what it takes to be a credible divemaster. At that point I belive the door is open fot you to be a resource in the instructors pool. Start working with students. Learn what it's like to bring someone who is not a natural from terror to joy. Somewhere along the way if you have what it takes you will be seen as a mentor, that's my goal. Then you can work your way to instructor and you will be teaching from experieince, not a book and course based on someone elses experiences.

That's how I see it.

Pete

 

[SheriffMedic]

Frankly I would not be likely to entrust a loved one to an instructor with similar experience.

Get out in the water end spend 2006 enriching yourself as a diver. You have AOW, now do rescue. By 2007 if you dive with passion you'll have what it takes to be a credible divemaster. At that point I belive the door is open fot you to be a resource in the instructors pool. Start working with students. Learn what it's like to bring someone who is not a natural from terror to joy. Somewhere along the way if you have what it takes you will be seen as a mentor, that's my goal. Then you can work your way to instructor and you will be teaching from experieince, not a book and course based on someone elses experiences.
That's how I see it.

Pete

Well said, the original poster should take this to heart.