Becoming a Dive Master

[chocolate]

Hi all,

After having dived as an AOW for a couple of years. I am now considering doing my rescue then straight onto a Dive Master. Is that a good/bad idea?

It seems to me that the two different courses teach different things. Is that the case?

Cheers.

 

[Doc]

If ultimately headed for DM, then yes- most folks do it that way, one after the other.

Certainly two different courses and curriculum, but after becoming comfortable with diving, any and all should well consider the Rescue Diver Course even if there is no thought to continuing on to DM.

 

[herman]

Do you mean Dive Master or Master Diver, they are totally different things. Master Diver is just another card after you have gotten Rescue and 5 more specialty courses. Dive Master on the other hand is the beginning of the professional side of diving. It involves more teaching and leadership studies than actual dive skills. If you want to instruct or just work with classes then DM is the next step. How soon after rescue is up to you.

 

[dive_lover88]

thats what i'm gonna do. Rescue thn onto DM. I just want to work with the class.

 

[pir8]

Thats the way to go

 

[chocolate]

I meant Dive Master, the one that would eventually lead to teaching diving.
And I'm planning on the two courses one right after the other. So, no problem with that?

 

[TSandM]

Rescue and DM are very different. Rescue class focuses on the skills needed a) to avoid getting into a rescue situation (self-rescue, recognition of stress) and b) to accomplish one when it's required. The DM class, on the other hand (at least judging from my husband's) is focused on the skills needed to lead and help instruct divers.

The one thing I would say, chocolate, is that I hope you have enough diving experience, and good enough skills, to be a good model for the students with whom you will work. A couple of years ago, I was all gung-ho to go through DM and probably instructor, and then I was exposed to some REALLY good divers and teachers, and decided to put things off until I had gathered a great deal more experience and polished my skills much more. I think students deserve the best role models they can have.

 

[String]

Provided you have a good number of dives (100-150 or so) id see no issue combining rescue and DM.

The important thing with DM is diving experience as opposed to anything else.

 

[ClayJar]

Okay, first we need to clarify something. Are you talking about PADI courses? This is significant, as PADI doesn't *have* a Master Scuba Diver course. There is a PADI Master Diver *card* that you can get by meeting some prerequisites, but there is no *course*.

Whereas in the NAUI progression, you can take the NAUI Master Scuba Diver course and learn a great deal, in the PADI progression, such in-depth information is only available in the PADI DM course. PADI DM is a sort of recreational/leadership hybrid course. Some people take it for the knowledge, with no intention of leading, while other people take it as a step toward leadership roles. NAUI puts all the non-leadership knowledge into the recreational NAUI Master Scuba Diver course and then works solely on leadership-type skills in DM, which I personally believe makes DM much less bipolar in the NAUI world than in PADI.

Anyway, so the question really becomes "What are you trying to do at this point and in the future?" If you're just trying to increase your knowledge and skills, it's far better to go with a non-leadership course. NAUI Master Scuba Diver, GUE Fundies, and other courses can often greatly expand and improve your knowledge and skills.

On the other hand, if you are planning to go into leadership, you should take a step back and have a serious look at yourself and your diving. You can even ask some mentors about it. Are there any missing pieces in your diving so far? Using a spool/reel to shoot an SMB, playing around with lift bags, working low-viz navigation, holding no-reference stops, diving locations far different than your usual, or being the "buddy in charge" on dives or even trips are some examples of things with which a diver may not have much experience, even with many dives logged. Anyone planning to go into leadership should have a broad base of skills and experience already. (Those who do not quite often end up being the zealots who have The Law without any understanding of why it's there and when it may not apply.)

If you take an honest look at yourself and see that there are areas you find yourself lacking, just start building up those thin spots. You can take a course (such as NAUI Master Scuba Diver or the others), which is a good way to get a broad foundation, or you can just work on things on your own if you're good at self-study.

 

[String]

PADI MSD is for badge collectors. Its a"course" where you pay some money and get taught err nothing at all.

By all means do the specialities you're interested in but i see no use at all in paying more money on top of that just for a card. That is unless you aim to go around telling people youre a "master scuba diver".