How many dives before you cease to be a beginner ? [Poll]

[Chavodel8en]

I think it varies with folks, and also the definition of "beginner" varies with folks. Well within 50 dives, I felt that I had gotten much more comfortable underwater. I would describe myself then as no longer a beginner. Not yet "experienced" but not a beginner.

 

[TMHeimer]

I think it varies with folks, and also the definition of "beginner" varies with folks. Well within 50 dives, I felt that I had gotten much more comfortable underwater. I would describe myself then as no longer a beginner. Not yet "experienced" but not a beginner.

Right. All depends on how you define beginner. A general definition is probably someone who's just starting out. If you start out in Band in 6th grade, practice a little for a month and then never again--but somehow are still playing in 12th grade, you are no longer a beginner. You just stink.

 

[divad]

That's pretty good.

I stunk for a while....but became better at hiding it.

 

[Bob DBF]

I find I do not stop looking down my nose at other divers until they have as many dives as I have.

I did that for a while, but I started running into divers into lower dive counts that were better divers than I am ever going to be.

My choice is 101-200, I figure by then one should have it sorted out.

Bob

 

[EastEndDiver]

I don't look down my nose at any diver no matter how many dives they have or don't have I have seen many "bonehead" things and have done many "bonehead" things and will probably continue to do "bonehead' things .

Before someone says "You're going to die" I was a Tech diver before the word was invented it was "Wreck" back in the day have penetrated/dive doubles/dry suit/NY-NJ deep wrecks/Deco before computers etc.etc………;.and I still manage to do "bonehead" things...….Oh I also dive with a Snorkel.

 

[NAM001]

I had someone ask me that a few times. as most will say there is no answer for how many dives. I am experienced ow and aow poor rescue functional trimix deep diver ok dry suit. get the drift. one can only look at the end of hte day and evaluate how the dives went. make a list of beginners mistakes and when you dont do them or get n a situatoin where you do not rely on them then you are non longer a beginner. be critical of your self but now over expecting. If you see shooting MSB's as a avdd ow then use MSB shooting as a measure of being an beginner aow or not. all sounds prety easy but , and this is at risk, you now can not decide what is a beginners set of skills and what is not, which instructor thinks deco is a needed ow skill or not etc. Three are not a lot of skills in ow to master. that said there are 2 parts to that the number of skills and the mastering of them. for ow becasue of few skills ,,,, however, those few skills are vital to master. they are the most necessary life support skills there are. some of the most vital is being aware of gas supplies and depth . then there are those things that are casually mentioned that always bite you like you tank band being loose when wet and your tank sliding out. You will know in your gut when you are no longer a beginner. sont forget that just because your tank does not fall off youare OK . same gors for your buddy. If his falls off,,,, you failed as a buddy.

You can say that perhaps after 25 50 100 dives you have been in every situation you can think of. perhaps true if yo have dove in 10 25 different locations. then you fall apart in the open ocean. fair critical self evaluation of your self and the input of your buddies and others will provide you your answer.
Dont forget that once you moved out of the beginner status that you can easily go right back there from lack of skill use.

 

[CT-Rich]

I think most divers lose their novice tag around dive 25. Once you can set up your rig and get in the water without embarrassing yourself, you leave “beginner” behind. If no one is looking at you and thinking “trainwreck” you have moved on.

When I was a kid, I thought ‘wow, high school’. When I got to high school, I found out I was just a lowly freshman. This pretty much true for every job I ever had. You start out as the new guy, graduate to one of the guys, eventually you become one of the veterans that give council and finally reach OG status, where you can say whatever you think, because everyone respects your opinion (even if they think you are wrong).

You are a beginner only as long as other people (and you) look at you that way.

 

[Storker]

Once you can set up your rig and get in the water without embarrassing yourself, you leave “beginner” behind.

Given my type of diving, that looks like a pretty low bar to me. Since there was nobody around but me who would set up my rig, I either had to be able to do it fairly decently myself, or I'd either not get in the water or get in some trouble. So I reached that point somewhere between my 2nd and 4th post-cert dive. I definitely still was a beginner, though.

 

[CT-Rich]

Given my type of diving, that looks like a pretty low bar to me. Since there was nobody around but me who would set up my rig, I either had to be able to do it fairly decently myself, or I'd either not get in the water or get in some trouble. So I reached that point somewhere between my 2nd and 4th post-cert dive. I definitely still was a beginner, though.

I meant in a holistic sense, when you are comfortable with what you are doing, weighting, gear, buoyancy, gas management, entry/ exit... Everyone should watch out for their buddy, a beginner is someone that needs to be babysat. That process will be much longer in fjords of Norway than shallow reef diving in the Florida keys.

I tend to think of people as “new divers” and “old divers”. This seperates beginner and experienced from a timeline or training. The freak out factor of divining 10’ visibility in a Drysuit is different for someone that always dove that way for a hundred dives versus someone that has 100 dives with visibility of 60’ of tropical water. The label is moot.

Are you comfortable and competent in the conditions you are currently facing?

 

[Storker]

That process will be much longer in fjords of Norway than shallow reef diving in the Florida keys.

I'm not quite sure I agree with you. In all my domestic diving, I've never had any valet or babysitter. It's DIY all the way, and your only support is your buddy. Either you get your crap together, or you don't dive. Or you die.

It may be a steeper learning curve (OTOH, it's expected over here that a freshly minted PADI OW or CMAS 1* can kit up without making serious mistakes), but if you can't fulfill ISO 24801-2:2014 Autonomous diver you don't get to dive. No-one is paid to babysit you, so no-one will babysit you. And if you can't put your kit together properly, you don't fulfill ISO 24801-2:2014 Autonomous diver.

Being able to kit up properly doesn't mean you aren't a n00b. It's just one of the requirements of ISO 24801-2:2014