DM'ing my first OW Checkout Dives...

[neve]

ask your divers what they prefer to do. I was once stuck with a DM who just kept swimming and swimming away, never spending much time trying to find things for us to see. If we did find something to look at, she'd signal us to follow her (swimming around) again. :upset: we were diving, not swimming at the olympics!!

I realise I should have told her that my buddy and I prefer to stop and hover most of the time. If there weren't just the three of us, we would have just left her behind and go wandering off on our own!

good luck O-ring and remember to have a good time!

 

[chiara]

Dee wrote:

Praise the students at every opportunity. If you need to correct a student, take them aside and do it privately. Unless it's something you see them all doing and then you can address the entire class.

This is very important.

Never make a personal remark in front of everyone, the remark being to the student or even the instructor.

Being a relatively fresh DM myself, I find my Instructor's advice "if you have to say something, do it in a general way, such as, during the debriefing, saying 'I see someone has still slight problems with their buoyancy', the person who has the problem will know we are addressing him/her without being humiliated in front of their fellow students and it might even be a good reminder to the others" very useful indeed.

 

[Wendy]

O-ring once bubbled...


After talking with the instructor, I did have to modify my gear for the class since I dive bp/wings/long hose. I just switched out my normal long hose and regulator with one on a shorter hose that is a different color (blue) and rigged a bungee octo holder onto one of my d-rings. I attached a picture...any better ways to do it?

Thanks

The problem I have with a lot of ow classes is that the students only learn about one gear configuration and its not even a set one, who knows where someone is going to store their octo. Personally I wouldn't change anything with my gear configuration. Do you think that these students, after cert, will never run into a diver with a long hose? Do you think that they will never run into a diver that donates the primary rather than an octo or vis versa? I know it sounds like I'm focusing all these questions directly to you o-ring, but they are meant to be in general to all that are reading. And also I wouldn't compromise my safety by switching around my gear configuration and would work with an instructor that didn't request that I switch my gear around. I did my DM training with my gear DIR and it presented no problem with the student at all.

 

[O-ring]

I know it sounds like I'm focusing all these questions directly to you o-ring, but they are meant to be in general to all that are reading. And also I wouldn't compromise my safety by switching around my gear configuration and would work with an instructor that didn't request that I switch my gear around. I did my DM training with my gear DIR and it presented no problem with the student at all.

Wendy, that's ok..we are friends, I get it. I agree with you 100%, especially since that is the way I choose to dive in my own personal diving and what I have found to make the most sense. I am not sure what will happen in the case of an OOA...since I have been practicing proper s-drills, etc. I may try to go for my long hose that isn't there anymore instead of donating this octo thing that is tied off to my "golden triangle". I will talk all this over with the instructor before the class since he dives a bp/wings/long hose outside of class.

This brings me to another point that I maybe should have spelled out at the beginning. This is basically my first time DM'ing anything and is setup as a "free trial" type thing. I am considering DM and the instructor teaching the class is the one trying to get me sold on the idea. For the class, I am technically a DM candidate, but I am really there to observe and wanted to find out what you guys/gals recommended as far as what to watch for. I really hope I get to just be a safety diver and just observe the whole process, but I won't know until I meet with him before the class. I am there to learn what being a DM involves and how an OW class is run...that's it.

However, after reading these posts, I am not sure why the hell anyone would want to be a DM. Maybe someone can explain to me how it is rewarding and I will start to "get it"...not sure. Maybe I will understand it after this weekend.

<thinking out loud mode>
The Down Side
Basically, as I understand it, you cover your own expenses to dive with people that I would not normally consider diving with and at sites that I would never pay to dive at myself (quarries, shallow rock piles, etc.). You loan out your gear, sometimes have to purchase additional gear or modify gear to be in compliance with standards you personally do not believe in or practice yourself. On top of this, you don't get paid? Now I am out two quarry passes, two nitrox fills, two days of my weekend, and I didn't get to do any dives that were fun...I hear you can get free trips if you do all the legwork and get people signed up..I have also heard you can get gear discounts and possibly write off some gear on your taxes. Will the gear discounts outweigh the expensive insurance I would have to carry? Would any shops around here have any gear that I would want anyway?

The Up Side
Is this rewarding in the same sense that teaching is rewarding? That you generally get fleeced and underappreciated, but you draw your satisfaction from helping others and spreading your own love of the sport? Can you meet cute dive buddies this way (I am recently single)? Seems like a good excuse to go out diving and meet people...might be fun to have a midlife crisis, quit corporate America, and go DM on a liveaboard for 6 months...
</thinking out loud mode>

 

[TCDiver1]

Wendy once bubbled...


The problem I have with a lot of ow classes is that the students only learn about one gear configuration and its not even a set one, who knows where someone is going to store their octo. Personally I wouldn't change anything with my gear configuration. Do you think that these students, after cert, will never run into a diver with a long hose? Do you think that they will never run into a diver that donates the primary rather than an octo or vis versa? I know it sounds like I'm focusing all these questions directly to you o-ring, but they are meant to be in general to all that are reading. And also I wouldn't compromise my safety by switching around my gear configuration and would work with an instructor that didn't request that I switch my gear around. I did my DM training with my gear DIR and it presented no problem with the student at all.

Wendy, IMO, training OW water level divers in one gear configuration makes sense. Adding other possible arrangements at this level of training unneccesarily complicates things for a novice diver. We do expose students to other gear arrangements in academic training but explain for the purpose of OW training we try to use one uniform, yes Padi, gear configuration. We tell students we would be happy to discuss &/or dive with them in other configs. when they complete their OW training. Uniformity pays dividends in uncomplicating gear arrangement for OW training. If you train the student to study and understand their buddies config., no matter what it is, other configs. should not be a problem when they get out there on their own.

This is just my opinion from experience teaching students, not a shot at your prefered config. You should dive with what you feel most comfortable with. What works for one does not necessarily work for another. For my part, i praise O-ring for being flexible enough to change his config to meet his diving circumstances. I'm sure he would not have done it had he thought it significantly decreased his own level of safety.

 

[Wendy]

You can get paid for being a DM. Disney hires part-time DM's to work at EPCOT's The Living Seas. You can work for a charter as a DM, You get free fills, free trip, and the tips you get may cover the cost of your gas to get to the boat. So its kinda like diving for free. Also you could advertise and conduct refresher dives, discover local scuba dives, and guided dives. If you conduct the guided dives and arange a charter some boats give the guide a free ride. You can charge for these. But a liablity release would probably be a good idea. You can also brag to the girls that you are a DM. A friend of mine said it was a great pick up line for him!

 

[O-ring]

I forgot about the tips...we usually tip pretty well, so I could see that being an upside. I also hadn't thought of a lot of those things...that is the type of stuff I wanted to hear.

Thanks

 

[TCDiver1]

I did the DM thing for 5 years before taking the fatal plunge to instructor. All kidding aside you need to do it to understand if you enjoy it. Kinda like any other job. I have a friend who graduated first in his class in Chem. Eng. who is now traveling the country with an acting troupe. He is happier than he ever was as an Engineer, imagine that!

What i liked about being a DM is you get to in general be the "good cop". Depends on how the instructor your working with does it but we worked it like the instructor is the person putting the student through all this stuff (bad cop) & the DM is actively there to help the student through it (good cop). It can be very fufilling to help a troubled student get through the class & not quit. I know a lot of people would say that a student should not get certified if having that much trouble but a couple of the best divers i know today were at one time troubled students in one of our classes. I've long felt that the harder you have to work to get something, the better your gonna be at it, vs the person who does not have to work hard.

 

[rstone]

O-ring once bubbled...
The Down Side
Basically, as I understand it, you cover your own expenses to dive with people that I would not normally consider diving with and at sites that I would never pay to dive at myself (quarries, shallow rock piles, etc.). You loan out your gear, sometimes have to purchase additional gear or modify gear to be in compliance with standards you personally do not believe in or practice yourself. On top of this, you don't get paid? Now I am out two quarry passes, two nitrox fills, two days of my weekend, and I didn't get to do any dives that were fun...I hear you can get free trips if you do all the legwork and get people signed up..I have also heard you can get gear discounts and possibly write off some gear on your taxes. Will the gear discounts outweigh the expensive insurance I would have to carry? Would any shops around here have any gear that I would want anyway?

I cant speak for all Dive Shops, but back before I became a instructor and would DM, the shop would pick up all my expenses as far as diving, air fills, and hotel if needed which I believe is pretty standard in the dive industry. Although your less likely to find a shop that will pay you as they are covering your expenses so its a good trade-off.

If you want to get paid as a DM then you will more then likely need to find a shop with a boat. Also boat charters have either DMs or instructors and pay them for working on the boat which is standard. As someone else pointed out their are places that pay DMs such as disney, club med, marine land, etc. You just have to do your homework to find them.

As for loaning out gear, I would be very careful about this practice. Your insurance usally doesnt cover equipment liability and you could be held responsible if your equipment isnt covered. My advice would be to ALWAYS uses the stores gear as they are covered for ALL there gear and responsible for maintaining that gear in good condition.

Discounts for DMs depends on the store but alot of them DO give you a discount if your a DM, others only give it to you if your a instructor so shop around.

Ryan Stone
IDCS