Divemaster (utila dive center)

[maxdufour]

You're a bit spoiled

[/QUOTE]
So the diving in Utila is a bit less beautiful? Is it corals in general or fish in particular? Have you dived in the Philippines? What are your thoughts on that?

 

[Doc]

I would say both of them, I want to learn to bc a dive master, i want to perfect my skills as a diver and i want good diving as well.

Your perceptions of how you imagine/hope this works through might be a bit different than mine were. I was on a time table, focused on the DM punch card, rolling through it. I spent 8 hrs a day, then some night study. Two week wonder, I was.

Many DM “courses” fill your daily activities by teaching you how to carry tanks, make coffee, feed the shop’s dog (and pick it up after processing), work the rental counter…. Interesting stuff that one learns in the advanced pro level IDC Schools classes of ‘resort management’, but not part of any real DM curriculum.

DM courses in paradise? Great idea. Falling into the trap of a 30 or 90 day DM Intern? Dubious at best. I did my First Aid/Rescue/DM at the age of 50 with 45oo (?) dives. I completed it in 2 weeks. It was tough, but all I did was learn the stuff needed to get into AI/OWSI/IDC.

The DM course should indeed teach you a lot about diving, but more in the book learning zone… certainly 100x more than the OWSI-IDC. You could speed up your DM labors by doing about a 100 more dives (give or take 150) and simply watch dive processes, DM behaviors, all the while learning to dive. Really, a DM course when done properly is NOT to teach you how to dive, it’s there to make sure that you already know how to dive, testing your knowledge base as to your understanding and grasp of what you are now to be trusted to convey.

I can tell you, for PADI, if you can read, understand and regurgitate the Encyclopedia of Diving, come get your DM. The IDC is really not much more, just ‘teaching you to teach’. Read it cover to cover BEFORE you go.

If you have time and money to do recreational dives outside the DM instruction, lucky man you are.

Your continuing queries about the ‘quality’ of diving in Utila and asking if it measures up to your SoPac experiences are indicative of …. Something. It is great diving, for the Caribbean, that’s the best that can be said.

We old SB denizens have seen your query a few times. Decide your real goals, your budget in dollars as well as time. Chose intelligently after careful consideration.

 

[maxdufour]

Your perceptions of how you imagine/hope this works through might be a bit different than mine were. I was on a time table, focused on the DM punch card, rolling through it. I spent 8 hrs a day, then some night study. Two week wonder, I was.

Many DM “courses” fill your daily activities by teaching you how to carry tanks, make coffee, feed the shop’s dog (and pick it up after processing), work the rental counter…. Interesting stuff that one learns in the advanced pro level IDC Schools classes of ‘resort management’, but not part of any real DM curriculum.

DM courses in paradise? Great idea. Falling into the trap of a 30 or 90 day DM Intern? Dubious at best. I did my First Aid/Rescue/DM at the age of 50 with 45oo (?) dives. I completed it in 2 weeks. It was tough, but all I did was learn the stuff needed to get into AI/OWSI/IDC.

The DM course should indeed teach you a lot about diving, but more in the book learning zone… certainly 100x more than the OWSI-IDC. You could speed up your DM labors by doing about a 100 more dives (give or take 150) and simply watch dive processes, DM behaviors, all the while learning to dive. Really, a DM course when done properly is NOT to teach you how to dive, it’s there to make sure that you already know how to dive, testing your knowledge base as to your understanding and grasp of what you are now to be trusted to convey.

I can tell you, for PADI, if you can read, understand and regurgitate the Encyclopedia of Diving, come get your DM. The IDC is really not much more, just ‘teaching you to teach’. Read it cover to cover BEFORE you go.

If you have time and money to do recreational dives outside the DM instruction, lucky man you are.

Your continuing queries about the ‘quality’ of diving in Utila and asking if it measures up to your SoPac experiences are indicative of …. Something. It is great diving, for the Caribbean, that’s the best that can be said.

We old SB denizens have seen your query a few times. Decide your real goals, your budget in dollars as well as time. Chose intelligently after careful consideration.

Thank you for your reply, I'll think about all of that and I appreciate the time you took to write this .

 

[Stout]

I did my DM at UDC, back in the day. Back in the day when it cost $500 for two months of keeping myself busy and all the materials were included. I'd do it again now that I know that PADI has deleted my DM from their system, probably because I didn't pay them, if I could find a place that would let me stretch it out over months. I did a lot of diving but it wasn't the type of diving you'd do as a customer. You're looking at people and occasionally trying to find "the greatest hits" to show them. Lobster, green moray etc.

There's all the stuff that Doc mentioned along with...you may need to be the first person at the shop in the morning to open it up and get ready to dole out the gear to divers and students. I painted weights, a different color for every weight, using housepaint, which (of course) came off and left little red, white, blue flecks of paint everywhere...which I had to clean up. Hey that wasn't my idea.

I ended up referring to it as paying money to be a slave in a dive shop.

I loved it though.

I've dived in Utila more times than I can remember. I liked the place, I liked the diving but my last dive trip was to Bali and I have to say with regrets, I highly doubt I'll be returning to Utila. Sure I think about it, but not for long. Bali diving is head and shoulders above Utila's and where I was, Amed, specifically Jemuluk, was like a giant Utila without all the ******** like, well, crime. In Amed the dive shop actually laughed when I asked to store my big wad of cash in their safe which is standard procedure for Utila. Amed lacked the party vibe of Utila.

I was unimpressed with the diving on Koh Tao. Koh Lanta was way better.

Can I say getting my DM made me a "better" diver? Not really, but buying a magnigying glass did

 

[Lorenzoid]

I ended up referring to it as paying money to be a slave in a dive shop.

I loved it though.

There were people like you back in the day, and there are people like that doing it today. It's awful. It's wonderful.

 

[RobPNW]

When I visited UDC, I got to see the DM interns quite a bit. Yeah they were free labor but they also did all their diving for free. Since it's a professional certification, I assume part of the process is learning how dive center operations worked as well, as opposed to just being purely a diving training class.

I also assume that they learned a lot working side by side with instructors for weeks that they wouldn't have absorbed in a classroom environment. Repeatedly observing the student learning experience while assisting instructors implementing classes was probably valuable.

I'm not sure if other dive centers have a similar deal but if you do the DM through UDC, you get free diving there for life. So, for example, if you went to Roatan for a week, you could then take the ferry to Utila, just pay for a room and do all the diving you wanted.

Honestly, I wouldn't over think the quality of the diving aspect compared to everywhere else in the world as a determining factor. Every place has its own pluses and minuses and you could go mad trying to analyze that. If it were me, I would be more concerned about the quality of instruction and absorbing as much experience and knowledge as possible during the stay.

 

[Stout]

That give free for life offer could save you a ton of cash if you plan on returning to Utila. I never took them up on it, for reasons I won't get into but I've talked to several people who have. Today's online research shows that UDC isn't the only outfit offering this deal. I'm in no way trying to talk down UDC, it's a bang up shop.

Which leads me to

There's no real need to book and commit to one dive shop based on online research. A better option might be to land on Utila, book into a hotel then spend a few days interviewing the different dive shops and see what's on offer. The pot may get sweetened with, say, an accommodation offer and you'll be able to check out your new digs before you decide to move in.

The DM course starts when you want. Monday, Wednesday, Saturday there's no fixed dates like going to university.

One interesting thing to note and as it states on Alton's page that completion of the course in no way guarantees employment on Utila so if hanging around and working in the industry after completing your course is a goal then the best bet is to take money, enough to support yourself for the months it will take to find work. Extremely low paying work, possibly on call work.

$1500 to keep yourself occupied for up to 12 weeks? Deal of the century.

 

[laurenceh]

I did my DM at UDC, the tuition was good, the atmosphere fun/professional and all in all I thoroughly enjoyed the experience

 

[maxdufour]

Thank guys for all the reply. I'm going to Utila the 24rd February and I'll be starting my DM a week later

 

[RobPNW]

Thank guys for all the reply. I'm going to Utila the 24rd February and I'll be starting my DM a week later

Rock and roll