Dm/Instructor Internships Not zero to hero

[neptunesdiving]

Keep seeing a lot of divers in particular instuctors who seem to knock the Instructor Internships in places like Mexico, Thailand etc. Given that these are places which adhere to the standards which are required by PADI, NAUI etc. I begin to wonder why all the negative hub-bub. Six months of constant diving each and every day, working with new, old, experianced and Unexperianced divers gives the Interns a vast wealth of experiance that your not going to get by attending your traditional friday Dm/Instructor night classes and 2 dives on saturday and 2 on sunday.

Did you learn to ride a bike by attempting it only on the weekends or did your mom/dad try with you each day until you got it right. The quality of the programs are great the only differance is the quality of the interns...and those that dont cut it, return home sans instructor or Dm certification in hand.

 

[wreckchick]

My biggest problem with the zero to hero programs is that the students aren't just out diving for experience. Not every dive can be a training dive and have people know what it's like just to go diving! There are a couple people I know of that didn't do a non-training dive until AFTER the IE. That ain't right!

Rachel

 

[Scubakevdm]

Keep seeing a lot of divers in particular instructors who seem to knock the Instructor Internships in places like Mexico, Thailand etc. Given that these are places which adhere to the standards which are required by PADI, NAUI etc. I begin to wonder why all the negative hub-bub. Six months of constant diving each and every day, working with new, old, experianced and Unexperianced divers gives the Interns a vast wealth of experiance that your not going to get by attending your traditional friday Dm/Instructor night classes and 2 dives on saturday and 2 on sunday.

Did you learn to ride a bike by attempting it only on the weekends or did your mom/dad try with you each day until you got it right. The quality of the programs are great the only difference is the quality of the interns...and those that don't cut it, return home sans instructor or Dm certification in hand.

I'm sure this will turn out to be a lively thread, and wonder if perhaps it was designed to be. At any rate, just of the top of my head... personally I don't think that diving each and every day for six months amounts to much experience. I teach DM's and utilize the internship to do so, and agree that it is a better route than the couple of weekends model. I do not feel though, that 60 dives or 100 dives provide a very good foundation for a DM or instructor.
Here's how I see it... if you dive enough, you're gonna see crap go wrong. Some of it's even gonna go wrong to you. If your job is to be there for divers when crap goes wrong, I think that its pretty darn beneficial to have lots of experience with actual stuff going wrong, not just fake stuff or the pondering of situations where stuff goes wrong. When its really happening its different.
I realize that there has to be a starting point somewhere, but I don't consider the types of programs that you are posting about to be the end all. They're certainly not the worst, but like I said I feel that they come up a bit short on the experience end of it.

 

[neptunesdiving]

I dont think the Internship Programs are the end all of dive training. And certainly there are weekend programs out there that teach scuba with a high level of quality. Scuba is after all a recreational sport, however, that term does not apply to DM´s or Instructors, who get paid to ensure the "recreational diver" enters and leaves the water safely and fit to dive another day. I kind of think of it like this, would I want the pilot in the airplane Im flying in, to have received his license by flying only on weekends, or would I like him trained and flying for experiance each and every day. This can be applied to every profession. Most I would say the vast majority of graduates from the Internship schools go on to work immediately. I personally can´t see someone who makes 100 dives over 50 weeks, having the same level of confidence, experiance and ability as someone who completes the same level of diving over a 6 month period.

 

[in_cavediver]

I dont think the Internship Programs are the end all of dive training. And certainly there are weekend programs out there that teach scuba with a high level of quality. Scuba is after all a recreational sport, however, that term does not apply to DM´s or Instructors, who get paid to ensure the "recreational diver" enters and leaves the water safely and fit to dive another day. I kind of think of it like this, would I want the pilot in the airplane Im flying in, to have received his license by flying only on weekends, or would I like him trained and flying for experiance each and every day. This can be applied to every profession. Most I would say the vast majority of graduates from the Internship schools go on to work immediately. I personally can´t see someone who makes 100 dives over 50 weeks, having the same level of confidence, experiance and ability as someone who completes the same level of diving over a 6 month period.

I see this as two seperate areas. The first is the non-training dive vs non-training dive expierence. To be a good instructor, you must have both. One of the major issues with the 'zero-hero' approach is that the non-training dive expierence will be sorely lacking. I mean, simply put, an instructor needs to have 'been there and seen that' in as many different envirorments as practical. It may not be required for the bare minimun of the class standards but it is required to get a good, well rounded class.

The second aspect is whether an internship or weekend program is better. To be honest, I dont think it really matters. Take me, I DM'd for over a year. If/when I get around to doing an instructor program, I will bring with me a lot of expierence working with new divers, independent of the specific program I would do. I'd also like to think I'd be a better instructor than the 100 dive wonders I've seen around the local training sites.

 

[Scotty g]

I dont think the Internship Programs are the end all of dive training. And certainly there are weekend programs out there that teach scuba with a high level of quality. Scuba is after all a recreational sport, however, that term does not apply to DM´s or Instructors, who get paid to ensure the "recreational diver" enters and leaves the water safely and fit to dive another day. I kind of think of it like this, would I want the pilot in the airplane Im flying in, to have received his license by flying only on weekends, or would I like him trained and flying for experiance each and every day. This can be applied to every profession. Most I would say the vast majority of graduates from the Internship schools go on to work immediately. I personally can´t see someone who makes 100 dives over 50 weeks, having the same level of confidence, experiance and ability as someone who completes the same level of diving over a 6 month period.

This is one fine post by 'neptunesdiving'

I can see this is going to be a very interesting yet exhausted thread.

Sadly many people on here will frown, many people will hold their drinks up high. Internships are all about training and not experience. It's as simple as. Period. For the record, i am doing just this in Thailand next year. When i revealed my plans to friends/associates, my intentions have met frowns but also optimistic encourangement. The frowns seem to come from either people who wish they are in my position (young, no kids/mortgage) to pursue their dreams and also from veteran divers who think internships are a fast tracking way to the top.

Yes, it is a fast tracking way to the top and i make no excuses. Experience comes from just that...EXPERIENCE. Most interns (who are serious about the sport) will know this and those who dont know this - then may you all learn the hard way. CDC's in my opinion are about learning what you need to know but creating the opportunity to learn from what you dont. This method comes from experience.

I am approaching my internship the hard way. I know my experience will be minimal and i know that although i hope to be instructor in 6 months, my diving beyond that realm will count more than any training i have done. My qualifications will come from what i've paid for. My experience will come from my general interest in the sport and a need to extend my physical labour to experiencing the day to day diving that most folks enjoy.

Lets make note that there are two kinds of people who do these CDC 'Zero to Hero' internships. People who do it for the fun and the lifestyle of having their 'Instructor' Card. Then there are the people who do it who are constantly prepared to learn and are still frequenting these sites like SB to learn from the people who are doing it daily.

Please lets not make this a typical 'bashing CDC thread'. It's counter productive to the new dive community.

Scotty