jaybombs25
Contributor
How did you gain experience as a new diver. I'm looking at an internship at a dive op and gradually work my way up the ladder
gaining experience
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Best way to gain experience Dive, Dive, Dive. If you can dive with friends or go on dive trips say through your LDS the more you dive the more you learn. While I'm no expert, I only have 65 dives, I'm still learning from every dive. I expect to still be learning hundreds of dives from now. So jump in get wet have fun and be safe.
Dive every chance you get. There's no substitute for BT.
I saw a tshirt once that sums it up pretty well.
It said something like ....
Dive,dive,dive,eat,dive,dive,eat,nap,dive,dive,eat,dance,sleep.
Day 2 .....
Dive,dive,eat,dive,dive,dive.......
I saw a tshirt once that sums it up pretty well.
It said something like ....
Dive,dive,dive,eat,dive,dive,eat,nap,dive,dive,eat,dance,sleep.
Day 2 .....
Dive,dive,eat,dive,dive,dive.......
Your off to a good start. Find a mentor. Someone with MORE experience than you and there skill set is rock solid. They can show you a few things. Plus Dive and dive more. Practice our skills with a mentor.
OP
jaybombs25
Contributor
that I want to do but what I want to find out is how did you do it... like where did you dive dive dive... did you go out on weekends, get a job, did you pay everytime, did you go with freinds casually.. I know I MUST dive but HOW do I do this
hook up with a dive club. if your in St Lucia...hello! if your willing to work in a dive shop...you will find buddies in no time. and yes i paid for most of my dives. but i found a few good shore dives that i can go out almost everyday...and i save the weekends for the good stuff. plus i assit in courses, where i dive for free. I get to practice with students, I also get to make new freinds and dive buddies.
OP
jaybombs25
Contributor
thats exactly what I plan to do I'm going this afternoon to talk to the owner of a dive op for a job there for a week or so because I go to school in New Hampshire. but over summer I plan to work for them and dive everyday
I did something similar at the university. My instructor said if anyone wanted to come back and help out they were welcome and I took her up on the offer to allow me to keep my skills fresh more than anything. I learned more watching her teach others than I did in my own class because the pressure to perform was off.
Now that I'm an instructor at the university I offer the same opportunity to my students. You would be surprised at how few take me up on the offer, about a handful after 5 years. The ones that do get to hone their skills as well as learn to do some of the "backroom" stuff that makes a class run smoothly. I positively LOVED the little crew I had this quarter. They filled the tanks and set them out so the students didn't have to go into our cramped tank room; they handed out gear and checked it back in after class; they made sure all the rinse buckets were filled; they double checked the deck after class for stray gear; they served as buddies when I had odd numbers of students and they were just generally helpful. I would love to see them continue up the training ladder and stay with me as Training Assistants, DM's, AI's or Instructors.
If you go for the internship learn as much as you can about setting up for classes. It's that behind the scenes work that makes you valuable to an instructor. It's really cool when you work with someone long enough to be able to anticipate their needs and take care of them early.
Ber :lilbunny:
Now that I'm an instructor at the university I offer the same opportunity to my students. You would be surprised at how few take me up on the offer, about a handful after 5 years. The ones that do get to hone their skills as well as learn to do some of the "backroom" stuff that makes a class run smoothly. I positively LOVED the little crew I had this quarter. They filled the tanks and set them out so the students didn't have to go into our cramped tank room; they handed out gear and checked it back in after class; they made sure all the rinse buckets were filled; they double checked the deck after class for stray gear; they served as buddies when I had odd numbers of students and they were just generally helpful. I would love to see them continue up the training ladder and stay with me as Training Assistants, DM's, AI's or Instructors.
If you go for the internship learn as much as you can about setting up for classes. It's that behind the scenes work that makes you valuable to an instructor. It's really cool when you work with someone long enough to be able to anticipate their needs and take care of them early.
Ber :lilbunny:
I bought my first complete set of gear the day after I got home from my OW checkout dives (as my local dive shop is closed on Sundays). As the nearest dive sites are around 5-6 hours away, I decided to settle for going over to my parents' house to dive their pool. After many fills spent, their pool was cleaner than it'd ever been, and I had nailed the fundamentals of proper weighting, neutral buoyancy, and horizontal trim. I also spent as many weekends as possible out diving in water deeper than eight feet and wider than 15. 
The weekend dives were at "local" (half a day's drive, sometimes more) shore dive sites. Springs, quarries, and the occasional jetties. They had the advantage of being inexpensive (1/3 to 1/4 of the price of a boat dive) and well populated with a diverse community of divers. Of course, I also took boat dives when the opportunity arose, but shore diving suits me well and was a great way to get in a lot of dives on a "still buying gear" budget.
The weekend dives were at "local" (half a day's drive, sometimes more) shore dive sites. Springs, quarries, and the occasional jetties. They had the advantage of being inexpensive (1/3 to 1/4 of the price of a boat dive) and well populated with a diverse community of divers. Of course, I also took boat dives when the opportunity arose, but shore diving suits me well and was a great way to get in a lot of dives on a "still buying gear" budget.
I'm actually doing this sort of for a shop here local.. great way to learn about a wide variety of things and as Ber mentioned above, the opportunity to keep skills fresh is invaluable. 
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