Going for DM

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KaizerWilhelm

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Messages
172
Reaction score
17
Location
Seattle, WA
# of dives
500 - 999
Starting July 27th, I'm beginning my PADI Divemaster course. I was roped into it through the shop I work for and am pretty stoked about it.

I hope that y'all will support me in my quest versus what everyone else seems to do here when someone has a few number of dives and wants to achieve something seemingly large.

Any who, Good luck to my fellow candidates and I'll see y'all on the other side!

Will
 
Starting July 27th, I'm beginning my PADI Divemaster course. I was roped into it through the shop I work for and am pretty stoked about it.

That's great, and it will certainly help you be more involved and valuable at your shop.

I hope that y'all will support me in my quest versus what everyone else seems to do here when someone has a few number of dives and wants to achieve something seemingly large.

I think that by the end of a well-run course, you will probably understand where a lot of us are coming from when we offer that seemingly negative advice to people on the fence (or considering "zero to hero" programs based on cost and/or hastiness). It's certainly not that we want to see people fail, or alternatively that we don't want to see people succeed. It's that we want to make sure that when people attempt professional training that they have the prerequisite skills necessary to get the most out of it. Following certification, we want new divemasters to be capable divemasters - people we would be happy to dive with, or that we would trust our loved ones to in the water. The greatest compliment I've received since finishing DM came from my DM instructor, when he told me that I was now one of 5 people he knows that he would trust his daughter to in the water.

Certainly if you've got a great instructor and a shop that's willing to really work with you to turn you into the kind of divemaster they hopefully want (and not just a guy with a card), then I (and I'm sure many others) will simply wish you the best of luck! :)

There are lots of resources here, and always remember that you get out of it what you put in...
 
Will, what shop are you doing your DM through? It's an interesting process . . . I really enjoyed working with the students.

One thing you should really have some personal honesty about is where your own personal diving skills are. If you're going to teach, or lead, it is my belief that your skills and training should be well above the people you'll be a guide for. I would suggest you have a look at the 5thD-X videos on YouTube, and think about whether you can reach that level of stability and precision in the water, and if not, start working on it.

(BTW, if you're interested in doing that, I'd be happy to help.)
 
I appreciate what y'all have said so far and I understand the thoughts about unprepared and under-experienced divers. I have been told by my instructors I have dove with (not trying to toot my horn here) that I am a great diver and they would love to have me DM in their classes once I have been certified. That is not saying that I do not need improvement, I do. And I look forward to gaining improvement and learning more.

I'm not at liberty to say which dive shop I'm working at but I will say we have multiple location throughout the greater Puget Sound area. :wink: That should be enough help. I will take all the help and advice I can get.

TSandM, any time you and I can schedule a meet up, dive, and talk about improving skills, I'm there.
 
That's great, and it will certainly help you be more involved and valuable at your shop.



I think that by the end of a well-run course, you will probably understand where a lot of us are coming from when we offer that seemingly negative advice to people on the fence (or considering "zero to hero" programs based on cost and/or hastiness). It's certainly not that we want to see people fail, or alternatively that we don't want to see people succeed. It's that we want to make sure that when people attempt professional training that they have the prerequisite skills necessary to get the most out of it. Following certification, we want new divemasters to be capable divemasters - people we would be happy to dive with, or that we would trust our loved ones to in the water. The greatest compliment I've received since finishing DM came from my DM instructor, when he told me that I was now one of 5 people he knows that he would trust his daughter to in the water.

Certainly if you've got a great instructor and a shop that's willing to really work with you to turn you into the kind of divemaster they hopefully want (and not just a guy with a card), then I (and I'm sure many others) will simply wish you the best of luck! :)

There are lots of resources here, and always remember that you get out of it what you put in...


Amen.

Its not that we don't want to support anyone but when we see "DMs" that barely have the skills of a new OW student you....or maybe I am just speaking for myself... can't help but get irritated with the zero to hero programs that turn them out. It makes every good DM look bad.

Getting your skills to the point where they really should be to be an effective DM and to be able to set an example for your class takes hours of dive time and practice. It can not be done is a few dives and during your DMC is not the place to do it. If you can’t hold a horizontal hover for an hour while watching a class on the very first day you join a class as a DMC, you need more dive time. As far as the students are concerned you are a DM and you should look like one from day 1.

Unfortunately there are shops that turn out DMs for no other reason than profit and then there are those who turn out DMs because they need them to assist the instructors. Talk with some of the DMs at the shop you intend to train with- and if there are none you have to ask yourself why. If they are part of the instruction team and actively assist the instructors great, go for it IF your skills are really where they need to be. If on the other hand, they end up being slave tank monkeys then go elsewhere.
 
I really don't want to be negative, and you asked us not to be . . . and you may be doing unusually well for a new diver. But do remember that shops make profit on continuing education, and DM classes are expensive. I have watched one shop I know relentlessly march students up through con ed classes and through DM, when the students don't really get any chance to just be divers and go gain diving experience (and have fun doing it!)

I can speak about this because I was on the same track. I loved diving from the beginning, and did a bunch of classes, and thought getting my DM and becoming an instructor would be really fun (I love to teach, anything). And then I went diving with some folks who gave me an example of a whole different level of skill from anything I'd seen before, and they sent me to take GUE Fundamentals, where I got a solid reality check on what I didn't know and what I couldn't do. That was in November of 1995 and almost 900 dives (and a lot of classes) ago. This year, I finally reached a place where I thought I was really ready to be a good DM and a good role model for students. I still don't think I should instruct.
 
Congrats on your decision! Good luck in the course and feel free to pop in here for advice or guidance, but always use your assigned Instructor Mentor (if you have one) as well. There are quite a few PADI Instructors who haunt this forum and can help you with standards/performance questions.

I always keep an eye out for exceptional students in OW, AOW and Rescue. Seems every season there are a few "fish" who just immediately get it, are very comfortable in the water, and look like they've been doing this for years. They have a natural leadership ability as well. We always encourage these few to proceed. Sounds like your Instructors saw this in you.
 
Thanks Joe! I will be here a lot more starting the 27th and with many questions I imagine.

I appreciate the advice y'all have given me and I hope I don't let anyone down be it, my instructors, my friends, y'all and most importantly myself. I know I can succeed at this next step in my learning process.

Hopefully I will get to dive with y'all one day down the road, Lynne-maybe sooner than that.

Keep on giving the advice, I like reading what everyone's perspective is.

Will
 
I can speak about this because I was on the same track. I loved diving from the beginning, and did a bunch of classes, and thought getting my DM and becoming an instructor would be really fun (I love to teach, anything). And then I went diving with some folks who gave me an example of a whole different level of skill from anything I'd seen before, and they sent me to take GUE Fundamentals, where I got a solid reality check on what I didn't know and what I couldn't do. That was in November of 1995 and almost 900 dives (and a lot of classes) ago. This year, I finally reached a place where I thought I was really ready to be a good DM and a good role model for students. I still don't think I should instruct.

I'm pretty sure the reality is that you were plenty qualified to be a successful DM (and certainly by PADI standards) quite a while ago. :)

Interestingly enough, I'm going through the same thing, but retroactively. I felt I was competent and ready when I completed my DM course. Actual DM activities and instructor feedback post-certification seem to confirm this. For a little while now, I've been getting ready to start undertaking initial technical-style training. The more I learn and practice the more inadequate I feel to be doing the job I'm certified to do.

I absolutely agree - 110% - with the idea that you should always be able to act at a significantly higher level than the people that you're leading and/or training. I've believed that since well before I started my DM course, and I spent a lot of time practicing and training to make sure it was true at the time. It's the reason I also have no interest in becoming an instructor any time soon, despite the fact that the instructors I work with regularly tell me I'd do really well. Some of my DM classmates are making that mad dash to instructor (some will be "okay"; some will not IMO). With the additional training I'm pursuing, everybody I dive with who's much better than I am, and everything I learn beyond the PADI course materials, I'm continually redefining my personal bar for being competent.

It's a very odd feeling to go from internally identifying as competent to incompetent in the span of one dive, or one class session. The first dive I did with a UTD instructor gave me the same "oh sh*t" feeling it sounds like you had. My first scooter dive gave me that feeling again recently. It's a very humbling thing, and an experience that I wish more prospective DM candidates had. I've been fortunate enough to have had a number of them in the last few years.
 
Starting July 27th, I'm beginning my PADI Divemaster course. I was roped into it through the shop I work for and am pretty stoked about it.

I hope that y'all will support me in my quest versus what everyone else seems to do here when someone has a few number of dives and wants to achieve something seemingly large.

Any who, Good luck to my fellow candidates and I'll see y'all on the other side!

Will

If you take this course with the right instructor, it will be one of the most meaningful learning experiences you will ever have. What do I mean by the "right" instructor? This is basically a mentor who is going to take the time to teach you, have patience with you, really care that you are learning and loves what he or she does. If this is not that person, go with someone else. Make sure you pair yourself up with the right person. You will eventually know. Good luck!
 
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