Advice on acquiring 50 deep dives

[DevonDiver]

As further advice, it may be worth doing some research on courses beyond the remit of agencies like PADI.

Am example of this would be GUE's 'Documentation Diver' course.

Also, drill down in online searches and you might find very specialist courses being offered as 'distinctives' by individual instructors. All sorts have been written.

 

[KevinNM]

There are some really good scientific diving courses out there. There was one that was described to me where the final was a 60 minutes essay test. On a clipboard with waterproof paper in the pool on scuba. If you touched the bottom or surface you failed.

I’m a fan of GUE fundamentals too.

 

[MichaelMc]

I don't know the needs of the project you want to work on, but getting an AAUS scientific diver certification would be a great step. Search the board for AAUS. It is the default certification you need to go on a working dive as a scientist. It's the OSHA scientist alternative to commercial diver certification. Citizen scientists like reefcheck are different, as you are not working. I imagine a sea lab is working. Almost all AAUS certification programs are at academic institutions, and are cheap. The one Kevin mentions is one such. See Organizational Members - American Academy of Underwater Sciences for member organizations, mostly college/universities. I assist in teaching our program for fun, though my research doesn't involve the water. Our program issues NAUI Rescue and Master certifications to graduates who take the two extra written exams. Taking and then helping with your schools program would give you a lot of experience, our's has recently created a few DMs and one or more PJ's.

 

[tursiops]

The non-DM path would be to still do EFR+Rescue, follow with one of the Solo courses to get independent skills,

SOLO requires 100 dives as a prerequisite. That's a long way from 9.

 

[Ankush Mittal]

I think people have chimed in enough and most of what I have to say may sound repetitive, but in case it helps, here are my two cents:

The very purpose of acquiring these deep dives for you is to work in an industry where Diving is a means to an end. Which essentially means that the most basic skills of Diving should not only be a habit but come second nature to you. Part of this is good trim, good buoyancy skills and being a diver aware of his/her surroundings. There is no quick workaround for these. It comes with practice and experience. Get as many dives as you can, and that too including dives like 40 - 50 feet so you can practice your skills and make Scuba Diving your habit so that you are not concentrating on the act of Scuba Diving but the activity you are doing using Scuba as a means to reach your research goals.