Time to complete PADI divemaster

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jenaddyman23

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Messages
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Location
Merseyside, England
# of dives
100 - 199
hey guys. ive just started my rescue course and am going straight on to my divemaster. what sort of time length am i looking at at for completing both courses??
how long did all you guys take? im not in any hurry, just really exited about getting a starting block for a career!!! :D
 
Depends on how organized and well set up the shop is. I took a bit over 1 year since my shop really was not organized for it. I just read the books and passed the tests.Then went to the lake and worked classroom.

This is something you can do in a week or in a year.
 
for PADI, the Rescue Course should take about 4 days including the EFR. DM can take 2 weeks or 2 years depending on where you go and how you approach the course. If you do an internship then about 4-6 months would be a good stretch.

DM will depend on how many dives you have (60 required prior to certification), your fitness levels (if you can't swim you're not going to be able to to the 400 metres duing a 2 week course) and how brainy you are. If you're a bit shy of physics and biology then you'll need study time. Also, if you're working in the evenings and weekends for a shop in the UK then it would probably take longer than if you were at a full time CDC or working in a resort. I know one guy in Thailand who gives free DM courses to Thai divers for no charge - but they have to sign up to a 2 year unpaid working internship....

I personally completed a ivemaster internship that took me 5 months to complete. I could have done it quicker but I wasn't in a rush and was rather enjoying myself, to be honest! Later, as an instructor, I developed a program at my school that could be completed within two weeks, although we preferred our candidates to spread those two weeks over several months to get an 'internship' experience in between.

Hope that helps,

C.
 
It took me about 3 months, but I wasn't in any hurry either. The written exams and swim test I did in a couple of days. I wanted to take my time with the internship and work with several different instructors, and I think it made me a better divemaster.
 
Depending on how much time you devote to it as well as how many opportunity your local dive center has to help with classes the average person can expect anywhere from 2 - 12 months. I've really never had anybody complete faster and if it's taking over a year they probably arent actually working on it anymore.
 

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