divemasters and instructors course..where, when, how much?!

[emoe1973]

Firstly, Congratulations on passing your OPEN WATER.

And it takes a lot of thought to want to go through to PRO level in diving.

Id like to say that some of the ESSENCE of whats said here has some correctness. Really, you shouldnt start your DIVEMASTER course until you are VERY competent and confortable in the water.
That takes time and experience. Dont worry about NUMBER of dives, just concentrate on your abilities as a diver first. once you can comfortably manage problems then youre ready to progress. Rescue diver teaches you a lot about positive and objective thinking, and stands you in good stead for the DM course.

Again, worry more about what the instructor is like than the price. a cheap rush-through DM course will make you a qualified UN exemplary DM, and it will show. Take your time, choose a thorough Instructor and learn properly.

Good luck!

 

[robint]

Hi,
Thanks for all your replies, its very useful to hear everyones opinions and experiences.
We mainly want to do our courses just because we loved diving, and as we do lots of travelling, it would be nice to have the oppurtunity to maybe work abroad at some point in the future and just generally be more experienced divers . At the moment we are only qualified to Open water, mainly because we only had a limited amount of time travelling in Thailand last year, but we did spend most of our other time snorkelling or bobbing about in the sea...just need to go deeper!
We're planning to end up in Australia for at least a year, but definately thinking of taking our advanced and divemasters in Thailand or somewhere else in the asia region. So if anyone has had experience of learning in any of these countries (i.e phillipines, indonesia, bali etc) and how economic it is to do this, and how the diving is in these areas then please let me know.

Thanks!

back on track...
First you need to do your AOW course, then you must do Rescue and CPR cert. Then you can begin DM after 20 dives but must have 50 dives before completion, along with a large battery of written tests, skill performances, timed swims, and internships working with classes, etc. DM is the hardest course to pass and takes months. After that you can move up to Instructor after 100 dives, per PADI minimum requirements. Also, you must buy all the instructor manuals, in addition to the course fees along the way. IT IS NOT CHEAP. Then you must pay PADI annual membership and must have Liability Insurance (this you must get as a DM in order to work with students). If you think this might be something fun, yes, but something to make some money, think again.

Just a reality check for you. Go diving, have fun, and take a few more courses and build up your skills. If you are meant to become an instructor, then go for it, but don't think it will be something you can do in a couple of months. Get some dives under your belt. Nobody wants a scuba instructor who is new to diving, IMHO.

robin
wife of an instructor

 

[Splash-X]

DM is the hardest course to pass and takes months. After that you can move up to Instructor after 100 dives, per PADI minimum requirements.

I'm not a PADI student so I didn't know the requirements of PAID instructor but based on robint (and I double cheked the PADI website just to make sure) you do have to work up the ranks. You can't reach Instructor without first having taken Dive Master.

Each agency is different. Some agencies don't require you to first become a DM or equilivant before going for Instructor.

I know some new instructors that went from not being certified to OW Instructor and some specalties by going through Halls down in the Keys. Given the place they trained at, they can simply call Halls up and switch agencies to a point if needed as their education and training is recognized by more than one agency.

If I could get the time off I would prefer to go to a place like Halls. They have outstanding instructors and put you through for vigirous training.


kooysty, what agency are you looking to train under/through?

 

[SubMariner]

back on track...
First you need to do your AOW course, then you must do Rescue and CPR cert. Then you can begin DM after 20 dives but must have 50 dives before completion, along with a large battery of written tests, skill performances, timed swims, and internships working with classes, etc. DM is the hardest course to pass and takes months. After that you can move up to Instructor after 100 dives, per PADI minimum requirements. Also, you must buy all the instructor manuals, in addition to the course fees along the way. IT IS NOT CHEAP. Then you must pay PADI annual membership and must have Liability Insurance (this you must get as a DM in order to work with students). If you think this might be something fun, yes, but something to make some money, think again.

Just a reality check for you. Go diving, have fun, and take a few more courses and build up your skills. If you are meant to become an instructor, then go for it, but don't think it will be something you can do in a couple of months. Get some dives under your belt. Nobody wants a scuba instructor who is new to diving, IMHO.

robin
wife of an instructor

Actually, PADI DMs must have 60 logged dives, plus the other things you mentioned, before they can be certified.

Rest of your post was spot on!

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

DM is the hardest course to pass and takes months.

...

Nobody wants a scuba instructor who is new to diving, IMHO.

First, just to fully disclose; PADI DM is not necessarily the hardest course to pass for everyone and it does not necessarily take "months."

The links below are to the course schedule pages from two of the most popular Florida Instructor factories;

DM with Ocean Divers takes 7 days.

With ProDive it takes 10 days.

Second, the dive shops all over the world that can't afford an experienced Instructor seem to want instructors who are new to diving, over and over and over.

 

[Stu S.]

First, just to fully disclose; PADI DM is not necessarily the hardest course to pass for everyone and it does not necessarily take "months."

The links below are to the course schedule pages from two of the most popular Florida Instructor factories;

DM with Ocean Divers takes 7 days.

With ProDive it takes 10 days.

Second, the dive shops all over the world that can't afford an experienced Instructor seem to want instructors who are new to diving, over and over and over.

Looks like a great deal. To become a hairdresser in Florida takes 50 weeks training and costs $6,000. Diving is obviously more fun, and you probably get better tips.

 

[SubMariner]

First, just to fully disclose; PADI DM is not necessarily the hardest course to pass for everyone and it does not necessarily take "months."

The links below are to the course schedule pages from two of the most popular Florida Instructor factories;

DM with Ocean Divers takes 7 days.

With ProDive it takes 10 days.

Second, the dive shops all over the world that can't afford an experienced Instructor seem to want instructors who are new to diving, over and over and over.

No one is disputing that there are "factories" out there for everything from autos to Instructors. However, how long it took them to build my car is less important to me as a Dive Pro than how long it took that person to become a DM or Instructor.

While everyone learns and progresses at their own pace, it takes time for someone to gain the necessary experience and skills to be a good dive Pro.

In the end it's what's best for both you AND your charges.

 

[Dustinh]

Hi,
Thanks for all your replies, its very useful to hear everyones opinions and experiences.
We mainly want to do our courses just because we loved diving, and as we do lots of travelling, it would be nice to have the oppurtunity to maybe work abroad at some point in the future and just generally be more experienced divers . At the moment we are only qualified to Open water, mainly because we only had a limited amount of time travelling in Thailand last year, but we did spend most of our other time snorkelling or bobbing about in the sea...just need to go deeper!
We're planning to end up in Australia for at least a year, but definately thinking of taking our advanced and divemasters in Thailand or somewhere else in the asia region. So if anyone has had experience of learning in any of these countries (i.e phillipines, indonesia, bali etc) and how economic it is to do this, and how the diving is in these areas then please let me know.

Thanks!

No matter where your diving takes you, I wish you lots of safe bottom time.

I feel training and experience go together in diving. Neither is a substitute for the other.