"Turned into?"... that was where the thread STARTED.
oh yeah! I thought I was reading the "DMs bitch about stupid divers" thread. It bounces back and forth. My bad
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
"Turned into?"... that was where the thread STARTED.
My point is that DMs who have never dived outside of a quarry or small fresh water loch (lake) should not be employed immediately as a DM in say the Florida Keys or the Red Sea without some sort of update. And before somebody comments about the North American Great Lakes I understand that these are almost seas and provide yet another specialist area.
Devon Diver has already mentioned that this update system does exist but apparently is not mandatory. And I also agree that the reverse is true, any DM who has never experienced a cold low viz situation such as in a quarry also needs to have an update course if working in these conditions.
Back on topic about the number of dives etc., having given this some thought over the past few days whilst not having much to do except chat with friends and something else that was mentioned in this thread was the number of hours required to solo on a specific aircraft after training etc.
All very well well having 60 dives but some dives may only last 20 minutes! Perhaps there should be a minimum number of hours too!
Correct.And for that matter, no LDS hires a DM just cause he has a DM card. They hire him/her based on their seasoning with whatever conditions the LDS teaches/dives. Like any business.
Going back to the OPs initial question, about the adequacy of experience requirements, there have been a number of interesting responses: In all of these responses, there is a common theme, which necessarily leads to a common question what is the specific basis for the particular recommendation? Why double the number, why 200 for DM, why bump them up? And, what does a bit mean, for that matter? I think RJP applied the optimal term:This really captures the discussion the numbers being criticized, or recommended are essentially arbitrary. There is no basis in data, or even reason, for a particular number.
just having a DM certification just means you've had the cash & were able to meet all the requirements to earn it. It does not mean anybody will hire you unless you have the experience that they are looking for just like manigo & boulderjohn said unless they are just looking for a deck monkey. It's the same for anything. anybody can get a bachelor's or an MCSE, etc. but finding a job and actually getting hired is another story.
Originally posted by boulderjohn:
The consensus of the thread so far is that the number of dives you have is not as important as the skills you acquired during those dives.
OK, what people are forgetting is that there are classes involved in addition to the dives. You should not become a DM or an instructor until you display the skills required for those certifications, and the number of dives is merely a technicality. When I started my DM training, i was not good enough to be a DM. When I started my instructor training, I was not good enough to be an instructor. But each course included a heck of a lot of training that took me from where I was to where I needed to be.
As long as you get the proper training and are certified when you have demonstrated the appropriate skills, I don't think the number of dives matters. Just make sure you have the right people in charge of your training.