Divemaster

[ssoooll]

Hey guys,

I already have rescue and efr with over 60 dives and I'm doing my divemaster this summer and looking for somewhere in Central America to do it. Not doing it to go pro necessarily at the moment but would love to get the qualification for my CV, have some fun while doing it and do some amazing diving. It seems like the best way to do a load of diving for little money [student budget ].

Utila looks like an amazing place to do it, on the backpacker trail, small island and nice and social however I've heard the diving is very simple and easy. Was also looking at Cozumel where the diving looks amazing with some excellent dive centres, and occasional surf but maybe not the atmosphere i was looking for with loads of cruise ships, resorts and being near to Cancun. I spent a bit of time at nusa lembongan near bali and loved the dive quality and atmosphere there if that helps.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Zef]

If you don't have plans to go pro then attaining DM certification is a waste of time and money unless your personality requires some ego stroking...but even then no one will be stroking your ego except yourself.

If you have the prerequisites to start DM training, then you should have the background to be a decent diver. There are no new dive skills taught in the DM course, and unless your cat herding skills need a boost then there is nothing specific about the DM curriculum that is worth the time and money.

As a non-DM you can spout all you want to your fellow divers and don't really incur any liability for whether or not they follow through with anything you say. As a DM, you can be sued things you say and do as a professional whether you are actually "working" as a dive pro or not. It is far too easy to cross the line from fellow diver to pro, and a plaintif's atorney will have a veritable field day should you do something simple and innocuous as grab a buddy's inflator to help them adjust their bouyancy, or answer questions giving folks tips based on your hard earned experience. You may ultimatelt win the court case/have the case dismissed, but there is the huge pain in the arse factor of having to go to court prepared to mount a defense to either win or press for the dismisal.

Too many folks believe that professional level certifications are the penultimate mark of their skillset...those of us that have crossed over to pro have learned that the other side offers little other than annual professional dues and liability insurance expenses both of which creep upwards every following year, and the payout of being a working pro often does not cover those expenses...

...so if you don't want to be a working professional DM or are not using it as the path to becoming an instructor, then save your money and time, and just go dive and enjoy the waters of the earth.

-Z

 

[mrmckaye]

Overall I'd agree with the above post. Adding DM to a resume isn't really a great reason to do it. It does give you lots of experience working with people but you'd have to pay yearly fees to your certifying agency and may even have to pay your insurance. I think most do it as a stepping stone to instructor. That said, I did my instructorship on Utila and had a great time there. Yes, the diving is pretty easy but it is a nice chill place. Granted, this was over a decade ago. I have heard from friends that the coral condition (which honestly wasn't great when I was there) has gone down.

 

[boulderjohn]

I agree with the above. With the amount of money it costs to get the DM certification, you can get in a lot of training and personal experience that will do you a lot more good.

On the other hand...

A couple years ago I did a liveaboard trip out of Roatan, and we did some dives on Utila in the area used by a Utila instructor training program. I have to say that what I saw them dong was really very good in terms of diving technique. They looked to be very skilled.