Doing DM in Canada or in Paradise....

[UserNameBella]

I've been thinking about doing my DM course this year instead of next...since things are going so swimmingly with the diving and all that.

I'm currently doing my Rescue diver and have also done advanced and peak performance. Right now I am at 40 dives and I should be done around 60-70 by the time the spring thaw happens in Canada and I get home. In Canada I live on a lake, so I can just keep on diving and working on skills.

There are two ways I could go about doing my DM. Do it in Canada over the summer and fall months out of my local dive shop. The benefits of this are harsher conditions, trainers that I know will put me through my paces and not just hand me a card, loads of practice time in the lake and more time to take it all in. It might be harder due to the limited visibility and colder water. The only real non benefit is, I won't be DMing in Canadian lakes. I want to travel and dive mostly warm caribbean waters where I can see fish and coral. I won't be training where I plan on working.

The other option is to do it over a month in the tropics, most likely Utila or Roatan. The benefits of this is that all these places do is churn out DM's (which may not be a benefit I don't know) and that I will be training in conditions close to what I will be hopefully working in some day. Utila and Roatan are probably the only tropical places I can financially afford to do my DM right now too.

My question is this, which will look better for hiring purposes? I am afraid that having a DM factory like Utila on my resume might make me look like I'm not that serious because lets face it, this place turns out hundreds of zero to hero divers a year. At the same time will someone in Belize, for example, hire me if I trained in Canada where conditions are so different? And what will make me a better DM?

 

[underH2Oman]

Great to see you pursuing a diving career. You may get lots of opinions regarding the viability of working as a DM. This is because there are many locations that have more DM's than they can support. While some areas may offer a viable living others you may be lucky to scrape by.

Employment as a divemaster can include many varied responsibilities, as well as those the certification qualifies you for. Jobs are often based on what you may be able to provide in addition to having the certification. While some DM positions keep the DM busy guiding and moving gear others do not and may require additional qualifications.
Some things many look for include knowledge and or experience with;
-Fill station operation
-Equipment service qualifications(scuba equipment, mechanical items like boat motors and compressors)
-Boating qualifications

Some programs have you doing more work for the facility than learning. Look at what each program involves and what you may or may not have to do at each location.

Enjoy your program either way.

 

[decompression]

Just let me throw these points out as a pro in this industry for almost 20 years.
- Canadians are sought after in many places because of the demanding conditions in which we dive and train. Also because of temperament and our ability to say sorry even if it's not our fault.
- DM's are second rate compared to instructors as you are far more employable as an instructor. Further, locals can afford a DM course (or slave labor for it) but not the cash for an IDC and will usually work for less than us gringos.
- if you want a job you must show you can earn or save the shop money, either by sales, equipment repairs, boat maintenance.....etc.
- languages are a big part, the more you speak, the better.
- dive with your prospective employer, learn the dive sites, learn the operation and the people.
- and always have an exit strategy, you may experience a challenge to your ethics and the ability to not compromise your standards/values will let you sleep at night.

I hope this helps......best of luck.

I hope this helps


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RJP]

Didn't read above, so this may have been mentioned, but my suggestion is simple:

Do your DM training where you expect to do your DM'ing.

FULL STOP

If you want to DM in Canada... the fact that you trained in clear calm waters of the Caribbean or Pacific will be of limited value in making the case as to why a Canadian shop should bring you on staff.

If you want to DM in clear calm waters of the Caribbean or Pacific... train there. (Or train in Canada... because that will translate to diving in the clear calm waters of the Caribbean or Pacific.)

 

[Akimbo]

Your analysis is well considered and brings up some interesting points. Do you have any idea where you ideally want to DM in the Caribbean? Your citizenship suggests that one of the islands in the British Commonwealth would make work permits and travel easier. If so, train there. All the better if that location is not considered a DM factory. You could go really crazy and do a DM course in Canada for one agency and do one on your island of choice for another.

Remember that many DM jobs are on boats ranging from glorified skiffs to luxury liveaboards. Polishing your seamanship skills and credentials will give you a leg-up over those who lack those skills. DMs sometimes also work in dive shops so LDS experience, regulator repair certifications, or even time as a fill-station monkey will help. A letter of recommendation from your LDS owner can’t hurt even if you are an unpaid apprentice for a while.

The same goes for first aid courses beyond the minimum required for a DM card. Island life favors Jacks and Jills of many trades. Even some work scrapping boat bottoms and polishing brass looks better than someone who has only worked as a barista far from the coast.

A popular DM on a liveaboard I met was a Canadian young woman paying off her student loans. She mentioned that private yacht positions paid very well and sometimes required a DM card. Her degree was in Hospitality Management which she believed was a helpful background.

Remember to document every day you are on a boat so it can be used for a Masters (captain) license in the future. That will give you tons of opportunities even if you like being a divemaster. ATBE, a liveaboard would rather have a backup captain aboard than not.

See: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/basic-scuba-discussions/486534-major-career-change.html#post7160871

Best of luck with your career.

---------- Post added March 16th, 2015 at 04:17 PM ----------

Another idea came to mind since you live on a lake. Learn everything you can about outboard motor repair and maintenance. I can’t think of any DM position where that won’t be valued.

 

[TMHeimer]

I'm the least knowledgable so far, but I agree with RJP, as my experiences (in the U.S. at least) with quite a few shops I patronize is that they tend to hire those they train. Different situation for them hiring Instructors. Our shop in NS has hired a number of Instructors over time that moved here, but I think all the DMs are home grown. But that's only from a Can/US perspective. Anyway, you don't want to DM in Canada, so logic says the best place to train would be where you hope to work. Of course, all the advice about being able to do other stuff, like run a boat etc. is a big plus, so I read. I don't know how difficult it would be doing a thorough search for a tropical place that would train and hire you to your satisfaction.

 

[diver_dj]

I became a DM in NJ and then eventually moved elsewhere. This is my experience...

Diving in Canada is much more challenging than in the crystal clear Caribbean, plus the course takes longer because of the weather. This would make you a better DM.

On the other hand, you'll be lucky to find a shop anywhere that would hire a DM they didn't train themselves. In fact, no-one would hire a DM if someone with an Instructor card applied at the same time. I found that most LDS already had a long list of DMs they had personally trained, so were happy to add me to the end of that list but couldn't guarantee I would actually get used.

So unfortunately it's a tough call either way. As someone suggested above, consider doing it twice. This would at least get you known where you eventually want to work. The second time should be a breeze!

 

[RJP]

And what will make me a better DM?

That's a different question that what you might be asking:

What will help make you a better DM? A wide range of experience.

What will help make you employable as a DM? Being an instructor.

As Irving Berlin tells us via Annie Oakley "Anything you can do, I can do better."

A dive operation only has a limited number of headcount available. If they have a choice of filling one of them with a DM or an instructor... they're going to hire the instructor.

DSD in the pool?
- You can take 4... I can take 8.

DSD in confined open water?
- You can take 2... I can take 4.

1st DSD dive in open water?
- I can take 4... you can't take any.

Subsequent DSD dives in open water?
- I can take 4... you can take 2. (But only after I've taken them on one.)

Someone wants a few days of guided local dives?
- Sure, we can both do this
- But you can't say "Let's add a night dive and make an AOW course out of it!"

Some one comes in to ask about an OW course?
- You can sell them the class.
- I can actually run the class.

Someone comes in and says they want to do a DM internship at our shop for no pay?
- I can run their DM internship.
- You're out of a job.

Of course if the next Instructor that comes through the door can speak German, has a captain's license, and can repair marine diesel engines... I'm out of a job too!

I don't say these things to be snarky or to pop your balloon. It's just the reality of the situation. To be valuable as a DM... or even an instructor... you need to bring more to the table than a certification. There's a million DMs out there... and nearly as many instructors. You'll need more than that for your resume to get a second look.

Beyond dive pro stuff...
- retail experience
- travel/leisure/hospitality experience
- CRM expertise
- website/content marketing/social media skills
- video production/editing
- track record of small-business building success

Also note that while you say you want to "travel and dive mostly warm Caribbean waters where I can see fish and coral" there's not a dive operation on the planet that gives a damn what YOU want to do. They have a business to run/grow. Don't get distracted by the fact that their business happens to be located adjacent to warm water that contains fish and coral.

 

[UserNameBella]

Great answers guys (and girls).

I will most likely be dive mastering out of the DR. I did my OW and Advanced with that shop and they offered a job. I will NOT be doing it for the money, I don't need a living wage due to good financial planning and sheer luck. No one gets paid well there anyways, I'd be doing it just to dive because I love diving. They need me because I am a woman (almost all DM's there are locals and a little known fact is Dominican women don't ever get there hair wet unless the hairdresser is doing the wetting ) and because I am not a local. I can speak Spanish as a second language and I could re-learn French if necessary. I wouldn't need to worry about residency ect. People go the DR all the time and just don't leave. Unless you are Haitian the Dominican government does not care when you leave (another little known fact). And as long as the shop employs more Dominicans than foreigners the law says I can work for them legally.

I do eventually want to do my instructors course, but probably next year. For that I will definitely want to go to Utila. If they crank out students like they do, I think that is the ideal place to do that portion of the learning.

Beyond pro-dive stuff I have built a successful real estate career (small business) Including social media and marketing. I have experience with hospitality although not recently. I am working on my underwater video capabilities, and it is coming along nicely. I will not be touching any boat motors with a ten foot pole. Nor will I want to drive any boat. I am lucky the Canadian government lets me drive a car, because I can't park that...so I doubt I could park the boat. But you can't have all the skills.

They won't care where I did my training. But I won't stay there forever. Maybe two years to get experience while my kids finish turning into adults and then I plan on taking the show on the road to wherever. I can't train btw where I have been offered work, they are high volume tourists looking at pretty fishies kind of place, no time to do a DM course.

 

[DownbelowDiver]

Hi UserNameBella

It’s definitely something to think about, to consider what you want to do AFTER your professional scuba diving training: where you’re seeking employment – anyone could see your point!

I would suggest you enjoy, as much as possible, your professional diver training because it’s what will define your mentality for the beginning of your career. If someone doesn’t enjoy cold water diving…will they ever? Hmm…

If you train in certain conditions and have never experienced the other extreme, it doesn’t necessarily make you a better or worse dive leader. I wouldn’t presume that a dive instructor who had been teaching in icy lakes of Scotland to start confidently taking student divers out on their first experience of the warm, crystal blue waters of Fiji…for example!

It’s a matter of comfort and preference, so it’s a choice YOU need to make. I’ve never experienced LEISURE diving in cold waters, nevermind teaching in it, and don’t intend to either!
Internships will of course be conducted with variation from region to region to suit the environmental conditions, and I have to say I would choose the choice I made several years ago, over and over again, without hesitation – Sabah, Borneo!

Downbelow Marine and Wildlife Adventures based in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Borneo, offer comprehensive Go PRO internship programs that can be tailored to suit the needs of a candidate. Due to our award-winning PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC), the PADI Divemaster course is geared towards preparing the candidates to progress to the next logical step: to become an Open Water Scuba Instructor. They are then more than prepared due to the supportive atmosphere our Go PRO team’s counselling provide.

So good luck on your decision – Canada…or paradise?