Bit the bullet--PADI DM it is.

[Scottri]

I signed up for the PADI DM class last night. I decided more based on the instructor than any other reason. I drove to a local shop and met the instructor and really liked his attitude.

Can any of you DM's clue me in for what I can expect? The way the class is structured is as follows:
Monday night one hour of DM classroom work followed by OW classroom with OW Students.
Wed night OW work with students.
OW dives with the class.

I need to go through 2 OW classes and do the DM work as well and hopefully finish up in about 6 months.

Is this a resonable time frame?

Thanks for all your help in the past.

Scott

 

[The Chairman]

Lots of pain and agony!!! Actually the DM candidate is in the best position to be mentored by his favorite instructor. I am not sure that I would make it my first "course" with any instructor. I would do a specialty first as it can be a long four to eight months if you don't gel with them (and we ain't talking toothpaste, Chester). I flew through mine, as I worked through the knowledge workbook way ahead of time, and was always out in the pool helping him out. After every CW or OW session we did SOMETHING. I figured the more I helped him out, the quicker I would get through the course. Lots of diving, and lots of fun. The best thing you can do though, is to learn to anticipate their EVERY need. Whether it is extra weights to help get all of the students properly weighted, or that perfectly timed bottle of water in between tasks. Hey, I had one of my instructors blow the o-ring on his SPG. I met him at the surface, gave him my BC and went and fixed his while he continued on with the class. They needed him more than me, and he showed his appreciation later! (and hey I was already a DM by that point). Bottom line is you will get far more out of it that what ever you can put into it, so GIVE of yourself generously. You won't be sorry for it!!!

 

[Drew Sailbum]

The good news is that you'll learn a lot about how to effectively structure a class.

The bad news is that you will learn that a lot of class organization is grunt work, and you are the indentured grunt.

Get the Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving now and start committing it to memory. That will cover most of the academics.

If you haven't already, get PADI's The Wheel and learn to use it. Don't worry, many DM candidates have never used one before.

One of the last rites of passage is the equipment exchange exercise. You exchange gear (except exposure suits) with another diver while buddy breathing sharing a single regulator.

Don't let any horror stories about this scare you. One of the instructors at the shop where I did my DM told me of his experience. He told of how his instructor would turn off the air, poke them with sticks, and rip their masks off mid-exercise. Nonsense! There were no sticks!

 

[The Chairman]

No sticks??? I think we should report your instructor to PADI... and dang! The wheel was a trip. Our instructor even got confused, and I finally went home to read the stinkin' manual to figure it out.

Of course, in my day, we had to buddy breathe a snorkel during the gear exchange!

 

[Greg G.]

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[Dee]

You probably already know about the water skills you'll have to do. Practice ahead of time and get comfortable with being timed. Knowing you are being timed can put real stress on you at pool time. Practice your demonstration skills. It sounds easy to say you'll demonstrate skills....hey, you do most of them every time you dive, right? It's WAY different when you have to slow it down, do it perfectly, and enjoy it!

NetDoc and Drew gave you excellent advice. Work with your Instructor every chance you get, over and beyond what is required. You'll only benefit from it. Sit in on the academic part of classes. The students will get to know and trust you from the start. You'll have alot of influence on the students. They are sometimes intimidated by the Instructor and will ask you things they won't bring up with him/her. And I mean everything! Being in such an influential position, make sure you always act professionally, yet still have fun. Have your gear in order ahead of time so you are available to help the students and the Instructor. One reason some shops want you to use only the brands of gear they sell is that students will buy what you use. (Our shop doesn't have that requirement but some do.) I always let the students try my gear on (but not dive it), explain how it works, why I have it configured the way I do, etc. Gear purchases are always a big topic with students and I like to show them there's more than one way or one choice of gear.

As Drew mentioned, anticipate what the Instructor needs before he needs it! His job is to teach the students. Your job is to do everything possible to make his job go smoothly. If that means setting up his gear, making sure he stays hydrated, giving extra SI time to the students, etc., it's part of the job. There is a difference between helping all you can and an Instructor treating you like a mule. Learn to recognize the difference!

The Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving and the workbook that goes with it will be your academic Bible...learn it.

6 to 8 months is not unreasonable and there's really no reason to be in a hurry. Every bit of time you spend will be well worth it.

Don't forget that there is alot to learn around the dive shop itself. When I go to the shop, I may fill tanks if students, or customers, need it. I help with gear selection and educating the students/customers about various gear brand choices/features. And just understanding how a dive shop works will help you understand alot!

Being a Divemaster working with students, is one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. Yes, it can be hard work. It can be frustrating and even scary at times. But all it takes is one student to thank you for being there for them when they needed it, that the quick touch on their shoulder while sitting in murky water on the platform was what they needed to calm down...and you can't wait for the next class!

 

[SubMariner]

First of all, congrats on taking the plunge. You are now a Divemaster Candidate (DMC)!

Now for the advice part of our program:

1) Have a positive attitude. This is the THE most important thing in a dive professional, regardless of how far up the food chain they are.

2) Relax. It takes as long as it takes. You are on a steep learning curve here... there is a LOT to absorb.

3) Don't be afraid to ask questions. The only "stupid" question is the one that was never asked. There are many Instructors here on the Board (myself included) that would be happy to help you out. Just ASK!

4) Be safe, but have fun. If you have fun, then EVERYONE has fun.

We now return to the rest of our program, already in progress...

~SubMariner~

 

[Campana]

First of all, this has nothing to do with PADI per se. My instructor had never done a DM class, and wasn't sure of the requirements. It took 2 years because of this. We got the class room work done rather quickly, and I started helping with every class I could, and ended up with about 10 times the number of assists that I needed. Getting the skills done, however, took forever, because he sort of kept "adding" things we had to do. Then he took several months to finish paperwork, because he hadn't been keeping up with it as the class went on, he just put it all off until the end. Then he had to take our logbooks to "reconstruct" dates of requirements being completed. It was very frustrating. I still don't have my card, but I expect it any day, since I already got a "Welcome to PADI" letter. My wife even got frustrated and angry, and she's not even a diver.

My suggestion is to make up a form with your requirements on it, and check them off, or have instructor sign, as you complete them. In case he/she is a procrastinator, this will make him/her realize when you are wrapping up.

Take responsibility for getting the jobs done. Don't expect the instructor to do that. Then if he/she does, you'll be surprised and happy.

It sounds like your classes are better organized. I hope that this is so.

As far as the skills, practice the gear exchange a few times before you attempt it. Also, go all out on the timed swims, because if you're not a great swimmer, you may barely end up with enough points to pass that part. It's not too difficult, but it's not a pushover either. I can swim for miles, but I'm not fast at all. I had to really hump it on my tired buddy tow because I didn't go all out on my mask, fins, snorkle swim. I barely made it, and could have gained an extra point or two by having practiced and gotten my pace down.

Anyway, good luck.

Dave

 

[The Chairman]

As a PADI divemaster, I was elated to have all the timed BS out of the way. Hey, Im in shape, if you count "round" a shape! Its been told that I do a great imitation of a manatee.

Anyway, I have a tremendous opportunity to jump ship and train with one of the Elite NAUI instructors for my Instructor Training Course. New agency, so I have to go and prove myself all over. Oh well, it's getting my but down to the pool to do laps. One wrinkle... they require that you go to the bottom of a pool and remove your gear. Come up and then retrieve/don the gear and surface with a cleard mask and snorkle. Pretty sure I can do this, not sure if I ever would have to in a real worl situation...

 

[SubMariner]

I am sorry you had such a negative experience; your Instructor totally dropped the ball.

As you rightly pointed out, there is a path to be followed when becoming a DM and paperwork to chart your progress along that path. (In fact there are severall sheets that the Instructor has to sign off on.)

When we do a DM course we always have two sets of these forms: one for our files and one for the DMC. That way they can take a more assertive role in the whole process. And know exactly where they are in their training.

FYI, *any* Teaching Status Instructor sign off on any part of your training; it doesn't always have to be the same person. So any of our DMCs can work with another Instructor, and have him/her sign off on the appropriate section on the training form. Then they come back to us & we update our file on them.

I suggest a couple of things:

1) Contact the Training Dept and confirm that they got all your paperwork and are processing it. They should even be able to give you your DM number.

2) Contact Quality Assurance. This person has not only done you a disservice, but the dive community as a whole with his unprofessional behaviour. Don't let him do this to someone else!

~SubMariner~