Does my own diving pleasure/enjoyment stop when becoming a DM

[Marcus5015]

My bigest problem was the issue of the hand signals, thing is , i know my normal hand signals to a tee, however the "instructor" hand signals is the issue, like to over exagurateing skills to demonstrate...i was expected to do demonstration qaulity hand signals without being checked before hand if i am up to it, also i was expected to do a discover scuba briefing without having being briefed on it myself,

---------- Post added September 13th, 2015 at 07:27 PM ----------

I know i am becoming a "professional" , and i love teaching, though i still don't think the responsibilityof other divers on me makes it necessary for my own diving to become that of doom and gloom just because i have other divers to look after. My biggest gripe with this whole thing is, i was an ambulance attendant/paramedic and i literally had someones life in my hands, but yet , i still enjoyed my work, unfortunately i can not say the same for my diving...

---------- Post added September 13th, 2015 at 07:47 PM ----------

I still beg the question, if dive instructors are to make diving fun for upcoming divers, and DM's are the link etc. and also as an instructor you should lead by example, then why did this person react like that...1. Im sure the OW students also felt very awkward with the situation.2. No matter what the level of training, it still in my book was unprofessional to do such in front of others.3. No matter how basic or complicated a skill is, just because a person should know something already, does not for one second mean it must not be reviewed. (Assume = makes an ass out of u and me)4. I do in fact know my hand signals quite well, however they made their own "non standard" hand signals and expected me to know that.5. At the end of it all, i am the customer/ student DM, they must still render a service to me, what am i paying for, otherwise , ( i feel like going legal) i can just as well self study every thing as was the case, and just go for the exam, as all i learnt was self study, the dvd they pop in from padi doesn't for one second substitute facilitation...

---------- Post added September 13th, 2015 at 07:58 PM ----------

Just one other Q, how must i make it fun for others if i am not having a good time, just because others will come to rely on me doesn't mean i must become a sour grumpy....Very negative question... If a DM is seen in so many places as a glorified bring and carry, why must i spend ZAR8000 ? I seriously get the impression that instructors just see a DM as a cylinder monkey, or a go for... And use the internship for labour that pays to be there, why take the trouble...A DM is to be part of the so called team, but yet so many instructors just step on DM's , also all the training and and and for what... In my negativity, i now fail to see the true reward if any in doing DM if nothing but a step to instructor, which i also now Q if i even still want to do that...

---------- Post added September 13th, 2015 at 08:10 PM ----------

This wants me to start another discussion, why become a DM in the first place?

 

[kmurray719]

My bigest problem was the issue of the hand signals, thing is , i know my normal hand signals to a tee, however the "instructor" hand signals is the issue, like to over exagurateing skills to demonstrate...i was expected to do demonstration qaulity hand signals without being checked before hand if i am up to it, also i was expected to do a discover scuba briefing without having being briefed on it myself,

---------- Post added September 13th, 2015 at 07:27 PM ----------

I know i am becoming a "professional" , and i love teaching, though i still don't think the responsibilityof other divers on me makes it necessary for my own diving to become that of doom and gloom just because i have other divers to look after. My biggest gripe with this whole thing is, i was an ambulance attendant/paramedic and i literally had someones life in my hands, but yet , i still enjoyed my work, unfortunately i can not say the same for my diving...

---------- Post added September 13th, 2015 at 07:47 PM ----------

I still beg the question, if dive instructors are to make diving fun for upcoming divers, and DM's are the link etc. and also as an instructor you should lead by example, then why did this person react like that...1. Im sure the OW students also felt very awkward with the situation.2. No matter what the level of training, it still in my book was unprofessional to do such in front of others.3. No matter how basic or complicated a skill is, just because a person should know something already, does not for one second mean it must not be reviewed. (Assume = makes an ass out of u and me)4. I do in fact know my hand signals quite well, however they made their own "non standard" hand signals and expected me to know that.5. At the end of it all, i am the customer/ student DM, they must still render a service to me, what am i paying for, otherwise , ( i feel like going legal) i can just as well self study every thing as was the case, and just go for the exam, as all i learnt was self study, the dvd they pop in from padi doesn't for one second substitute facilitation...

I'm going to say a few things you might not like, please know that it isn't intended as criticism of you, but as things to consider that will help you as a professional.

While you shouldn't be expected to know things that you haven't been given information on, all of the methods for exaggerating skill demos for students, and the hand signals for instructors are available in your course manual or on the internet. While you can certainly become a DM by just using the materials that are part of the course, there is SO much supplementary information available to help you be the best DM you can be, investing time in "extra" studying, watching skills demo videos, and taking practice exams can only benefit you and make things easier. One mark of a professional is that they are invested in developing their own skills and want to be the best at what they're doing. They seek out information independently, and don't expect that anyone will hand it to them.

Your own diving as a DM/instructor doesn't need to be "doom and gloom" but once you take on those roles, when you're working your dives are no longer about you, they're all about the customers/students. It doesn't matter if you're cold if the customer isn't ready to end their dives. If a customer forgets a hood, you'll give them yours and go without. You'll use the crappy fins they brought and give them yours because you know you can handle diving with them better than your customer. You might want to look for X kind of marine life, but if your customer wants Z type, you'll look for that instead. Essentially you will be all about the comfort and enjoyment for your customers and students, and if you also have a great time, that's wonderful. But if you don't it won't matter. But if it's the right job for you, none of that will matter to you because hearing a customer say they had the best dive of their life, or showing them marine life they've never seen, or just helping someone become a better dive will be reward enough for your suffering.

As to your last point, no, you should not have been spoken to in front of customers. The instructor should have taken over the session if he/she felt you weren't conducting it appropriately and discussed it with you in private later. However, constructive criticism and taking responsibility for our faults and figuring out how to fix them is a huge part of being a dive professional, and from your posts it sounds like you are trying to blame the shop and instructor for everything that happened. I don't see anywhere that you've taken responsibility for not being as prepared as you could have, or allowing the student to get ahead of you in the pool, or any of the other issues that came up in that pool session, or any indication that you've done any reflecting on how you can avoid the same issues in the future. I only see blaming others and a desire to be "right" and get "justice" from the shop. You will have customers and students that are very challenging, either in attitude, ability, or just general personality, and to be a successful DM you will need to deal with them all without being defensive, and find ways to change what you do to accommodate all kinds of people. That can only be accomplished by objectively assessing your actions and being willing to change them.

Maybe this shop or this particular instructor isn't a good match for you, sometimes that happens. But unless you are able to look at your own contributions to the issues you're having, I think you're going to run into the same issues at any shop. It's also true that not everyone is cut out to be a DM or instructor,and there's no shame in "just' being a recreational diver who looks to develop themselves in a way other than becoming a dive pro. I don't know you at all, so none of this is to condemn you personally, just some food for thought based on your posts here.

 

[Marcus5015]

I apreciate your reply, however, as a facilitator of health and safety related subjects, i would like to ask you the following... If i were to be your instructor for say a level 3 first aid course, and i just smack a text book in your hand and say come back such day and you must know abc and be able to do xyz... what are you going to tell me, you are going to tell me to go fly, what are you paying me for... You paid me to teach and coach you, doesnt mean i must do the studying for you ,or the research for an assignment, but you do expect me to go trough the material with you etc.Also, all the dive schools i encountered thus far are snakes, before you hand over the cash, they make every and all promises of this and that, and say " we will guide you every step" & "you will enjoy" etc. then when your hard earned money is handed over, they sing a different tune.You are very right, i do want justice, and am extremely irrate with the dive school, cause now, still remaining a consumer, i have to pay again at another dive school to complete the course, as i do not want to continue with the current. And i am still left with the big Q , i am minus ZAR8000 and what do i have to show for it???As for me being prepared, how in the world, on my first ever "leadership" role, first time with students as a student DM in the pool do you want me to be prepared? I can just as well tell you to pack for for a camping trip without telling you anything of what is needed or what lies ahead, (weather, etc) , how can you prepare if you do not know what to prepare for... And being a ow student receiving a demonstration and a dm giving a demonstration is two completlely different situations.And i certainly do alot of my own reading up, however, i still ask what am i paying the instructor for, are you going to pay a personal trainer at a gym if he never shows TO train with you, even if it is you yourself that does the work on the treadmill etc. so if i pay him i expect good training, likewise, i know i must seek my own knowledge, but same in gym, you can do lunges the right way or the incorrect way and injure yourself, the trainer must help and correct if needed, not just blow you out the water if you make a mistake. On the relevant pool session, how am i suppose to learn, if the instructor is more concerned about giving me a hard time, than to chat and say, right you did this wrong how can you improve, NO, instead , he rather sh@t me out than to have a sit down with me, and discuss everything.I also dont mind comprimising for the sake of others, like to rather look species b rather than a etc. i realy have no problem with it, i love to see others grow and have a good time as well, however when it becomes personaly demoralising, that i felt like just selling all my gear because of some instructors power trip i draw the line.I do take responsibility in the fact that i am still as yet a STUDENT DM, if i knew everything why would i be a student and not a qualified dm, are you allowed to drive a vehicle on your own if you only posses a learner license...NO!!! So why was i allowed to fly solo if i myself ,was still a student, i dont say for one second i did not fluf up, what i am saying, the instructor had me do something i was not ready for, i still need to learn more, gain more skills etc to be able to do the task, and that is why i am angry, surely an instructor must know how ready or ,not ready a student is, otherwise he is a useless instructor, he should have known to rather let me observe rather than do, i feel he set me up to fail. Also a dm does not become a dm over night, it is a process, you grow into it, i just finished my theory, still a "greeny" yet i was expected to know it all, if it was that easy all would be a dm, but no, you learn step by step, i still was a crawling baby dm, yet i was expected to run, and when i fell , i was the problem, not the instructor for giving me too much too soon.I want to be the best dm i can be, but no tree just grows, it needs water , sun, care etc.

 

[kmurray719]

As for me being prepared, how in the world, on my first ever "leadership" role, first time with students as a student DM in the pool do you want me to be prepared? I can just as well tell you to pack for for a camping trip without telling you anything of what is needed or what lies ahead, (weather, etc) , how can you prepare if you do not know what to prepare for


In my negativity, i now fail to see the true reward if any in doing DM if nothing but a step to instructor, which i also now Q if i even still want to do that...

---------- Post added September 13th, 2015 at 08:10 PM ----------

This wants me to start another discussion, why become a DM in the first place?

If I were going on a camping trip, I would go to the library and check out books on camping. I would search the internet for advice and knowledge about camping. I would research the typical weather in the area I was camping and prepare accordingly. If it were something important to me, I would not sit back and wait for someone else to do the work of preparing me, I would prepare myself. Yes, I would still expect that whomever invited me camping would offer some advice along the way, and that they'd know I might have over or under packed since it was my first time, but i wouldn't expect anyone else to tell me everything I'll need and pack it for me.

If this one bad experience has made you think about giving up on being a DM and instructor (and I think you said somewhere sell your gear and give up diving) and you're questioning why anyone would want to be a DM at all, you either are prone to a lot of drama, or were doing the DM course for the wrong reasons to begin with.

No, the instructor should not have spoken to you about your performance in front of students, and if everything is as presented by you (and there's always another side to the story), you shouldn't have been demoing skills to start with.But all this threatening legal action and ranting about how all dive shops are awful and talk of leaving diving is really far more drama than this incident warrants. Yes, it was wrong. Yes, it should have been different. But it wasn't and you can either keep ranting about it in an effort to get people to tell you that you were right and the instructor was wrong to justify your outrage, or you can learn something from it, make a decision about your training, and move on.

Have you even talked to the shop about quitting the course and getting a partial refund? At this point they may be willing to do it just to be done with you.

 

[TMHeimer]

Too many good replies for me to add much. I did have some issues with the DM course I took which I won't get into here. As a working DM I have had no problems that I can recall with any of the instructors. When assisting with a course, I agree with all who have said that it's all about the students. I liken it to my career teaching Band-- The end product is how well do the students play? The fun in that is seeing such progress. Same with DMing. When on a course I don't look at it as my own diving at all. It's work and responsibility, and a feeling that you helped when success occurs. When diving on my own it's all about me--that's when I really see the difference about being a DM. I think "Whoa, this is easy". Kind of like playing your clarinet in a band as opposed to being the Conductor (or in this case Asst. Cond....) and being in charge.

 

[hroark2112]

I know you're out some amount of money. I just want to say one thing here...it's something that was on page 1 of a course I took...

"Training is bought. Certification is EARNED!!"

 

[Wookie]

This wants me to start another discussion, why become a DM in the first place?

See, now, that was going to be my question to you. Why do you want to be a Divemaster? Is it because it's next in progression? I see this too often, that as well as wanting to be one of the "in-crowd" at the lake or the ocean or in the back of the dive shop after hours. That's no reason to become a divemaster. You become a divemaster because you have a burning desire to teach scuba. And to lead divers on dives. No other reason. It doesn't sound to me like you have that burning desire. It sounds to me like you are a new rescue diver and DM is next on the list. Don't feel alone, that's how it is for 90% of divemasters in the world, that's how it was for me too. Now, as an active instructor for the past 20 years, with thousands of dollars of dues paid, and tens of thousands of dollars in liability insurance paid, and a net income of almost nothing to show for it (I do work in the Scuba business, but being a DM had nothing to do with it) I would certainly have made a different choice.

It also sounds like you aren't remotely ready for the divemaster course. Neither was I. You were unprepared for your hand signals (there are only 20 or so to memorize, and as a DM you will use them all the time), yet you are assisting a class.How is your dive table knowledge? Can you work them front and back? Do you know who Haldane, Buhlman, and Workman are and what they said? Do you get physics? Do you know what a DCS incident looks like, and all of the options available for where you might be a dive leader?

If you want to be one of the crowd, that's cool. I do that by going to the quarry, making lunch, helping schlep tanks, generally making the instructors life easier and not getting in the way or being a pest. I ask the shop owner if he will train me to fill tanks, then do it on a bust Saturday or Friday to help out. You will be appreciated, and you will learn the DM job just by being around what DMs do. You will watch classes, and learn the routine of the job. You will learn the hand signals, you will become a valued member of the team.

Think about it. Be sure you want to be a divemaster more than you want to eat, because being a DM is a thankless job, and, you get yelled at to get with the program. If you are a volunteer, you get appreciated for what you do, you get to dive for free or on the cheap, and folks say thank you. If it were me, I would ask the shop owner to put your class on hold (it seems like you have a personality conflict with the instructor anyway) and watch for a while. You'll know when you are ready for the class.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

The previous replies to this thread have covered just about it all so I'll throw in my personal lesson. When you're a dive pro you absolutely cannot forget to do regular "fun" dives. No work, no mission, just blowing bubbles and seeing cool stuff. I've found that my love for diving is in direct proportion to the number of fun dives I do outside of "working" as a dive pro.

 

[Marcus5015]

Thanx for all the advice, i apreciate the instructors opinions.One thing i now realize, even in diving, it does not help to cry over spilt milk.I can not change the past, but i can and will change the future...As for my passion for teaching, i teach profesionaly, i am a facilitator for health and safety subjects, here in south afirca, i teach adults that struggle to wright their own name...I teach all of them with compasion and great care, and my quality evaluation forms they complete after the training testifies of this... I still do and always will love diving, and i also love to share all that goes with it, long before i was even a rescue diver i would sit with a fish id book with a stranger, just to share the wow feeling of identifying fish etc.The greatest lesson i learnt from all of you is this: no one can ruin your diving, no instructor can disgruntle you, even if they go completely of the rail, as long as you dont allow them to.I was bitter and hurt and a whole lot of other emotions, thing is the guy who caused this doesnt care, he most probably forgot about it already, it was me that didnt want to let go...And in that i made myself "sick" , i gave it way too much of my time and effort, i should have let it go, there and then, and gave it credit for what it realy was, hot air... Nothing more... For me , i made peace with it now, and i am not going to let anyone ever get in my way of being the best dm i can be... As for the rewards, the fact that i will be able to say i did my best at the end of a dive will be all i need

 

[RJP]

...and i am not going to let anyone ever get in my way of being the best dm i can be...

Make sure that you have yourself on that list as well. I'm just saying...

---------- Post added September 15th, 2015 at 08:31 AM ----------

When you're a dive pro you absolutely cannot forget to do regular "fun" dives. No work, no mission, just blowing bubbles and seeing cool stuff. I've found that my love for diving is in direct proportion to the number of fun dives I do outside of "working" as a dive pro.

I'll take it one step further... if dives where you are teaching/guiding/supervising are not "fun dives" then being a dive pro might not be for you.

Certainly don't mean that in an "all work and no play" sense, but if pro dives are "non-fun" dives for someone, they may have gone down the wrong path.

It's a different kind of fun, to be sure. For me, I became a DM and ultimately an instructor because I genuinely have a blast being part of someone's first experiences underwater... or as they advance their skills and abilities. To me, seeing that "holy **** I'm actually breathing underwater" look of excitement in someone's eyes is just as cool as seeing a juvenile spotted drum or what have you.