Divemaster course in 3 weeks?

[Hydrocynus]

I have been diving for some time now and would like to take my 'hobby' to the next level.

I'm wondering how doable it is to complete a legitimate Divemaster course in 3 wks. if much of the didactic preparation is done beforehand.

Also, does anyone have any particular site and/or company they would like to recommend?

Right now I have been told Thailand, Honduras, and Belize might be good sites to accomplish this. However, no particular dive companies were recommended.

Greatly appreciate the advice.

 

[Peter Guy]

I'll bite.

The significant question is "Why do you want to become a Dive Master?" What are your goals? If it is "just the card" then I suppose it doesn't matter where you go or with whom you train. OTOH, if what you want is to become a "dive professional" and work in the industry, then I suppose the best place to do your DM is with the outfit for whom you want to work.

But until, and unless, you can answer the "Why do I want" question, the correct answer isn't possible.

 

[cappyjon431]

We've had several of our DM candidates complete the course in three weeks, but all of them had done their studying prior to coming to here (Bocas del Toro, Panama). These very motivated students came in, did brief reviews with the academic sections, then spent the first two days of the class taking the academic exams, so they could focus their remaining time on in-water activities.

Most of our candidates take a month because they are significantly lacking on the number of logged dive requirement and we need to send them out diving regularly to accumulate their 60 logged dives.

We had one genteman take six weeks, but he was involved in other activities on the island.

 

[herman]

I agree with Pete, if you just want the card then yes you can. However, if you want to be a GOOD working DM then IMO no. Sure you can get through the academics and maybe even the skills in 3 weeks but learning to DM with students takes time, effort and a good instructor. MY LDS requires you to DMC (Dive Master Canidate) for 2 complete OW classes (class, pool,OW dives- everything), 1 AOW and 1 rescue before getting your DM card. All of our skill demos must be at least a 4 with many of them a 5 (on a scale of 1 to 5), just a passing 3 will not do. This is in addition to the hours and hours spent in the pool before seeing your first student. There is no way you can do that in 3 weeks. At that point you are beginning to understand what you are doing but no where close to good at it. DMC is more about learning to deal with students, what to watch for, stopping accidents before they happen and being a good mentor than the "book learnin". Many divers think DMC is about learing diving skills, its not. You should have great dive skills before you even condsider DMC. There may be divers who can "get enough dives in" while doing their DMC and have their diving skills up to DM level but its not likely. We have all seen DMs and instructors with dive skills that are not much better than a good OW student. Its obvious that somewhere out there, there are places turning out DMs and instructors with OK (maybe) instruction skills but allowing them to do so with poor dive skills. Then there is the issue of where you intend to DM. Learning in Thailand is fine if your going to DM there but you would be unequipped to DM in North Carolina or on the west coast of the US. The diving is different. My suggestion is to reevaluate your reasons for wanting the DM card. If it's for the card, go to one of the quickie places, if you want to be a working DM, find a good instructor where you live (or want to live) and do an extended DM course. You, the instructors you work with and your students will all be glad you did.

.............Climbing down off soapbox......

 

[Arizona]

Hydrocynus,

Be a bit flexible as the requirements may very well take more than 3 weeks. You could pre order the training material but I suggest you wait till you choose a shop. Your instructor will be able to get you a discount on the material. It gets a bit expensive when you look at all the material you need to invest in.

It is best to do the internship with real students IMO. Finding an instructor/instructors you get along with is also another factor. I can be more specific about Thailand if you want as I have completed my DM and OWSI over a 2 year period in Thailand. Just PM me. I did it in steps and worked as a DM on weekends when I could after the DM training for about a year to better prepare myself in becoming an instructor. Is the instructor route the way you eventually want to go? Spending time being a DM is essential to lay the foundation you will need to look after students and is all too often rushed. Everyones situation is different some need to go fast for practical work purposes while others have the luxury to go a slower route.

There are lots of places to choose from in Thailand alone. You need to think about what works best for you regarding cost, location and season. Based on the time of year it best to choose a location that has the customers you need to work with.

I suggest filling in your profile with location information to help make better recommendations. Welcome to SB.

Good luck,

 

[Malene]

IMO it also depends on what you mean by "some time"... You need to have a lot of dives, be a very experienced divers, before even learning the skills to be in charge of divers...
Then it would probably best to do your training in the same area than where you plan to work.

 

[diver 85]

I have been diving for some time now and would like to take my 'hobby' to the next level.

I'm wondering how doable it is to complete a legitimate Divemaster course in 3 wks. if much of the didactic preparation is done beforehand.

Also, does anyone have any particular site and/or company they would like to recommend?

Right now I have been told Thailand, Honduras, and Belize might be good sites to accomplish this. However, no particular dive companies were recommended.

Greatly appreciate the advice.

Our son did his in under 3 weeks on Roatan in about '98...Had about 150 dives when he started(think 125??? was needed back then to start)....He did it thru Ray Lopez @ Sueno del Mar who was located @ Sea Grape back in those days....So, yes it can be done, about 2 months later he did his instructor's course on Guanaja & never looked back.......btw, he had alot of fun going thru his DM course, but most 19 y.o. would have too living over the water on a Caribbean island & diving 24/7...lol

EDIT:.found a pic of the old Sueno place(Ray has built a new & relocated since back then)...he lived by himself on the 2nd floor here for the 1st 6 or 7 months he was there....

 

[Orlando Eric]

"Most of our candidates take a month because they are significantly lacking on the number of logged dive requirement and we need to send them out diving regularly to accumulate their 60 logged dives"

Disqusting. I about blech everytime I see one of the "Zero to Hero in 60 days" students coming along.

 

[Tim GGD]

I agree with Peter, why? If your looking to work as a DM, the best thing you can do is fall into a dive shop that will let you work as an intern to learn over maybe 6 months, Also learn the waters you will be diving in.

If your just looking to get a card,you could do the course in about 3 weeks, but I would'nt look foward to jumping rite into a DM job

 

[Web Monkey]

I have been diving for some time now and would like to take my 'hobby' to the next level.

I'm wondering how doable it is to complete a legitimate Divemaster course in 3 wks. if much of the didactic preparation is done beforehand.

It's not quite the same, but our shop generally takes between 1 and 2 years before certifying a DiveCon, and includes assisting with college classes and OW dives and local classes as well as other assorted tasks. The extra time is worth everything. Just like OW, you'll probably get the most out of the longest class.

I'm not well-versed in PADI standards, but if someone is advertising a 3 week class, it's probably possible according to PADI's rules although most certainly not to your benefit.

Terry