We all started out as O/W students

[mselenaous]

This is a sport originally built on machismo, and an industry that is techno-saavy. As with any area that has this type of history, it is hard to break through those stereo-typical attitudes. Men gravitate toward men when it comes to mechanical/technical issues. It takes time & training to prove otherwise. Unfortunately, professional demeanor and friendliness still sometimes take a backseat to the crusty old curmudgeon hiding in the back who knows all since he helped God & Noah invent it but grumbles at neophytes who ask questions.

I've been in this industry a while now and continue to learn evey day. I feel it is my duty to pay it forward and share that knowledge with others.

Calvin Coolidge said it best:
Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
In more colloquial terms, "Don't let the turkeys get you down".

 

[beautybelow]

Why worry about it? What others think of you really isn't your problem. Just be yourself. Anyone who's going to demean you on an assumption about your age or experience isn't someone you want to spend much energy on anyway ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Unfortunately you do have to worry about it when talking about the work place. You have to treat the people who treat you bad the same as the people who treat you nicely. It's just the nature of the service industry.

If of course she is talking about the work place.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Men gravitate toward men when it comes to mechanical/technical issues.

I guess I'm a bit different ... I've always preferred female dive buddies ... they just seem to be a bit easier to get along with.

Unfortunately you do have to worry about it when talking about the work place. You have to treat the people who treat you bad the same as the people who treat you nicely. It's just the nature of the service industry.

If of course she is talking about the work place.

I understand what you're saying, but it's always an individual's choice to let something bother them or not ... ultimately it's what you think of yourself that matters, not what someone else thinks of you ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Vorin]

I was in a dive shop looking for a mask. The young lady behind the counter took me over to the masks and advised trying on every single one of them and picking out my top 3 or 4 that fit best and we would then talk about the features and price of each. After trying on just a couple a gentleman came over and took over and was pushing certain masks. The difference in styles was night and day....I greatly preferred hers.

 

[The Chairman]

when you are dealing with the public, presentation of product and yourself is everything.

Not to belabor the issue Jim, but you aren't wearing a tie in your profile pic. My son would call that shirt a "wife beater". The stereotype would be to assume that you are a poor red neck without a lick of sense. We both know that would be a poor judgement. To be sure, I'm not going to wear a tie on a dive boat or in a dive shop as I think that's completely inappropriate. Also, I am not going to judge my buddy by what they choose to wear that day. If they come dressed in a burkha, I might be a bit concerned about how the billowing fabric will affect performance under the water, but other than that I am going to let her personal choice BE her personal choice.

 

[Roko]

So why the need to have such cocky attitudes?

Okay, I am a somewhat new diver, but have been working in a dive shop for 2+ years. Why is it that when someone comes into the store or comes on to a dive boat they automatically assume that I don't know anything and often times become demeaning? Do other divers experience this behavior or is it because I'm a female? Being young does not equate clueless.

I think some divers actually believe they came out of their mother's womb wearing scuba gear and 1000 dives under their belt.

I think this has been touched on already, but with you being a woman, I'm sure a lot of it is guys trying to impress you.. The other (and not-mutually-exclusive) part is the people who want everyone to think they're hardcore divers, as if recreational diving were some sort of competition.

 

[Kingpatzer]

Some of it does have to do with being female and yound, sadly. The young is understandable, experience usually comes with age.

But the female part has always amused me. I can afford to be amused since I'm a guy, I guess. If I was a woman I'm sure it would piss me off to no end. I've been in my store more than once when someone came in to ask a question and simple would not accept being helped by one of our female instructors.

 

[tddfleming]

IMHO, their mama's did not slap them around enough.

Some people have just never been taught respect and treating another person with it. Just hold your head up high.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Not to belabor the issue Jim, but you aren't wearing a tie in your profile pic. My son would call that shirt a "wife beater". The stereotype would be to assume that you are a poor red neck without a lick of sense. We both know that would be a poor judgement. To be sure, I'm not going to wear a tie on a dive boat or in a dive shop as I think that's completely inappropriate. Also, I am not going to judge my buddy by what they choose to wear that day. If they come dressed in a burkha, I might be a bit concerned about how the billowing fabric will affect performance under the water, but other than that I am going to let her personal choice BE her personal choice.

Hey, check this guy out ... he was our boat crew in the Channel Islands last year ...

... and you should've seen him in the coconut bra ... they set off his tatoos beautifully ... and nobody questioned his professionalism.

I'd trust my life to the dude anytime ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Shasta_man]

What GratefulDiver said: ultimately it's what you think of yourself that matters, not what someone else thinks of you.

However, the situation you describe is understandably irritating, but it's a situation you can never fix.

A few applicable lessons I've learned are:

- perspective makes all the difference when considering something
- few things have a right way to be done. Usually it's just how you feel comfortable doing it, but it can be done other ways.
- don't judge books by their cover, judge them by what they do. That's the basis of much these issues. I want to see organized, and not sloppy, but otherwise I'm going to listen to what you say. If you know your stuff, as evidenced by talking in depth about your subject and responding with knowledge to my questions, you're good. People can be highly educated and successful but not be dressed in a suit. The way I tell the literal geniuses at my work is they are the guys wearing flipflops, shorts and hair down to their rear. No one cares about that because these guys are full on creating the latest highly complex technologies and living and breathing this stuff. You can't tell a millionaire by looking at them. If I was independently wealthy, I'd always be casual mostly because I'd be living, part of the year, on an island. I have a fair complexion and a youthful appearance, though I'm in mid-40s. Many a grizzled character, who turn out to be the same age as me, think you have to have the grizzled appearance to be "experienced" and knowledgeable. Little do they know or sometimes want to accept that I've been through the whole nine yards too from muscle cars to Harleys, military, drinking and partying, travel experience, and probably dealt with more deaths than many people, etc, etc, and I've got some experience with diving too. My trick is I'm willing to listen to advice. Listening doesn't require taking it. That's something this forum could learn.

It's something that's unsolveable so I just worry about me. It'd be a lot better world if people quit worrying about what other people are doing or acting and just worry about themselves and be the best person they could be.