Couple of questions

[cayal]

Hello,

I am new here and relatively new to Scuba Diving. I got my Open Water and Advanced Open Water certifications last year in September and have logged about 18 dives so far.
So I am relatively new to Scuba Diving, but I do love it.

Anyway, I do have a few questions that I was hoping someone would be kind enough to answer:

1. I am looking at getting my Dive Master at some stage in my diving 'career'. Can someone briefly explain the process\steps to getting there from where I am at now. I have completed my Advanced Open Water with PADI. My understand is it goes from there to Rescue Diver and then I am eligible for Dive Master once I have logged over 50 dives (or so I believe). Is there a step missing?

2. My main interest in diving, aside from the actual experience, is the animals and sealife itself and from that, photography and video. Is there an actual demand for these types of divers or is it one of the once-in-a-lifetime jobs? I do notice that PADI has the National Geographic Photographers section but I'm guessing that is adding a name to a course\skill.

3. Without getting too specific, I am curious, what does a Dive Master earn in Australia? And, assuming I get my certification, is it something I could do on a weekend (ie, take out Divers on boat/shore dive).

Thanks for your help

 

[mala]

to start dm you should be aow,rescue and have a current efr qualification.
i believe you can start the course with 20 dives but must have 60 before you can finish.

you can be a full-time or part time dm and the pay will be poor.
might also need some insurance it depends on the shop and local laws.

 

[supergaijin]

Hello,

I am new here and relatively new to Scuba Diving. I got my Open Water and Advanced Open Water certifications last year in September and have logged about 18 dives so far.
So I am relatively new to Scuba Diving, but I do love it.

Anyway, I do have a few questions that I was hoping someone would be kind enough to answer:

1. I am looking at getting my Dive Master at some stage in my diving 'career'. Can someone briefly explain the process\steps to getting there from where I am at now. I have completed my Advanced Open Water with PADI. My understand is it goes from there to Rescue Diver and then I am eligible for Dive Master once I have logged over 50 dives (or so I believe). Is there a step missing?

Yes a minimum number of dives and you are eligible for training. The missing step is gaining experience so that you can be employable after doing the DM training.

2. My main interest in diving, aside from the actual experience, is the animals and sealife itself and from that, photography and video. Is there an actual demand for these types of divers or is it one of the once-in-a-lifetime jobs? I do notice that PADI has the National Geographic Photographers section but I'm guessing that is adding a name to a course\skill.

You can make a living as a photographer/videographer but it's probably not National Geographic In some DCs, you can work as a commission-based cameraman but the reality is that in order to sell the videos, you're going to be editing just as much (if not more) than filming. Also people won't buy the product if they don't see themselves, thus you'll be filming divers more than fish. I worked as a videographer in a Maldivian resort and while the learning curve is fun, I prefer instructing to be honest.

3. Without getting too specific, I am curious, what does a Dive Master earn in Australia? And, assuming I get my certification, is it something I could do on a weekend (ie, take out Divers on boat/shore dive).

DMs get beer money... if they're good. Some are working for free as part of ... livin' the dream. There is simply too many people willing to do it for free or peanuts, which means wages are kept very low. The DC's aren't making millions of dollars unless they're pumping out divers in factories and even then... But know that the industry model as it exists for the grunts is a bad one in terms of money.

Please don't take it the wrong way but it's best to have your eyes open before entering this industry. Like many of the 'exotic' service industries, the perceived glamour is often just that: perceived and has not much bearing on the realities of working day in, day out. A typical working day in NZ for eg. was 11-13hrs and for less money than if I'd worked at McD's.

Do I regret my choice of becoming a DM/Instr? No. Guess I'm just a sucker for punishment

 

[cayal]

to start dm you should be aow,rescue and have a current efr qualification.
i believe you can start the course with 20 dives but must have 60 before you can finish.

you can be a full-time or part time dm and the pay will be poor.
might also need some insurance it depends on the shop and local laws.

Sorry, what is EFR?

Yes a minimum number of dives and you are eligible for training. The missing step is gaining experience so that you can be employable after doing the DM training.

Indeed. I don't think I will be looking at this until, at least, end of next year, depending how many dives I do.

You can make a living as a photographer/videographer but it's probably not National Geographic In some DCs, you can work as a commission-based cameraman but the reality is that in order to sell the videos, you're going to be editing just as much (if not more) than filming. Also people won't buy the product if they don't see themselves, thus you'll be filming divers more than fish. I worked as a videographer in a Maldivian resort and while the learning curve is fun, I prefer instructing to be honest.

Fair enough. Might be something that is a hobby, rather than a 'career'. Which is equally as fun.

DMs get beer money... if they're good. Some are working for free as part of ... livin' the dream. There is simply too many people willing to do it for free or peanuts, which means wages are kept very low. The DC's aren't making millions of dollars unless they're pumping out divers in factories and even then... But know that the industry model as it exists for the grunts is a bad one in terms of money.

Please don't take it the wrong way but it's best to have your eyes open before entering this industry. Like many of the 'exotic' service industries, the perceived glamour is often just that: perceived and has not much bearing on the realities of working day in, day out. A typical working day in NZ for eg. was 11-13hrs and for less money than if I'd worked at McD's.

Do I regret my choice of becoming a DM/Instr? No. Guess I'm just a sucker for punishment

No, I appreciate your honestly. I don't think of it as a possible full-time career, but I would like to explore it more in-depth if possible. I have a well paying job in IT at the moment (which bores the hell out of me) so if I could mix in a role as a DM, who knows.

Otherwise I could see what other career jobs there are out (if any) there involving Scuba Diving.

 

[supergaijin]

Being able to do it part time would be sweet and I'd hold on to the job in IT as the money means you'll be able to dive more!

The DM is usually just a stepping stone to becoming an Instr but if you're happy to do it part-time then I think you'll be OK. I would start building relationhips with a few different DCs and go diving with them as much as possible to see their different styles. Try to not talk about becoming DM for a while and see how the relationship goes.

Get 50 or so dives under your belt in various conditions, then buy a cheap second hand camera to practice with. The learning curve is steep, and then you'll start gear-lusting. Then your job in IT will come in really handy!

 

[cayal]

Well I hope so!

Though I am looking about getting into Journalism but that's another matter. I have a GoPro camera which I wear on my head for underwater videoing which has been handy.
Got some good videos, some of turtles in Lifou (that was Scuba Diving though), a wreck dive in Vanautu and a Ray when I did a shore down in Melbourne.

I am using that to get some experience in the videoing and I will get a camera to work with when I can.