I dont want to be a "Quarry Dive Master"

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CAPTAIN SINBAD

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Location
Woodbridge VA
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Hello folks:

I have to make a decision.

I am from a land-locked area (near DC) and most of the dive shops here do not have local diving except for Quarries that are mostly for certification purposes. I have the option of doing my Dive Master training locally where I will have the chance to work with student groups in pools and quarries, or going somewhere else where there is real open ocean diving. Normally it is suggested that divemaster program should be done locally because shops prefer to give work to people they have certified themselves. I am afraid that given my geographical location, this would restrict me severely because in all honesty, I can not convince myself that there is any such thing as a "Quarry Dive-Master." Part of me says I should get certified through my LDS as a "Quarry Dive Master" since this would result in developing good contacts with local dive community and dive shops etc. After becoming a DM I can then look for DM openings in dive-locations around the world that would give me experience on boats, in different diving conditions such as cold water environments, live-aboards etc. How eager would these places be to give work to someone who has only done DM work in a Quarry? I don't know. Thus, the other part of me says I should get certified in the most difficult locations to begin with. After completing my divemaster course and internship there I will always be able to find stuff to do locally.

Id love to hear peoples thoughts on this. Thanks in advance for your help.

Cheers -

Sinbad.
 
IMO you have a couple of misconceptions about being a DM. First off, most warm nice places will not hire you as a DM, they want instructors. Their "DM's" are usually not actually DMs but just dive guides. Next the cold quarry is the more difficult environment. Learning to dive in cold, deep dark conditions with lots of wet suit and the overall effect that a colder dark environment creates is much more difficult than learning to dive in warm clear water. Going from cold and dark to clear and warm is easy, the opposite is not the case. Same goes with working with students, if you can handle them in the cold and dark of a quarry, warm and clear is much easier. Plus you will (or at least should) get a much better DM education locally. My LDS requires you to work with several different classes, including 2 FULL OW, from orientation to wrap-up. You do this with real students and have the help of working DMs at the same time. No way doing a quickie, warm water class full of fake students is going to give you near the education that working with multiple classes of real students in less than ideal conditions will give you.
 
I think it really depends upon your ultimate goal. As herman said, pretty much all resort dive masters are actually instructors. In your local area, DMs pretty much hump tanks and assist instructors until they get tired of that and become instructors themselves. So it looks to me as if you need to become an instructor if you are looking for serious work in the scuba industry.

If that really is what you want to do, you have to decide where you want to do it. If you want to stay where you are ultimately, then that sounds like the place to do your work. If you want to work in a resort area somewhere, then it seems to me that is where you should put your training focus.

There are places all over the world that will take you as a nonprofessional and go all the way through instructor. You can do that at most major resort areas, or you can do that with your local shop. You can do both--start locally as a DM and then go for instructor somewhere else.

Right now you are like a person who has gotten in a car and started driving. You are asking which way you should turn. But you can't know the answer until you know where you want to go. Start your planning with the end in mind, and then plan the best route to get there.
 
Thanks a lot for the input guys. I already have a job that I love so I am not looking to make this into a profession. As a DM my goal would be to offer free slave labor to as many dive operations as possible. For a few years Id like to travel to places and be the mule that carries everyones tanks, the floor sweeper, the guy who wipes your puke, who runs the compressor, the coffee maker etc etc. Since the scuba industry likes to call this an "internship" I can very well imagine what it means. To be honest, I am really not looking to get paid here. My goal will be to gather experience in different aspects of dive business from operating compressors to leading dives and yes a chance to get wet in those waters would be greatly appreciated.

Am I still expecting too much as a DM?
 
Thanks a lot for the input guys. I already have a job that I love so I am not looking to make this into a profession. As a DM my goal would be to offer free slave labor to as many dive operations as possible. For a few years Id like to travel to places and be the mule that carries everyones tanks, the floor sweeper, the guy who wipes your puke, who runs the compressor, the coffee maker etc etc. Since the scuba industry likes to call this an "internship" I can very well imagine what it means. To be honest, I am really not looking to get paid here. My goal will be to gather experience in different aspects of dive business from operating compressors to leading dives and yes a chance to get wet in those waters would be greatly appreciated.

Am I still expecting too much as a DM?

In that case, I would stay local so you get a connection to a shop. If you become a trusted DM helping out with classes, after a while you may decide that you can do the instructing, too.
 
FWIW I did my DM through a local shop, middle of Colorado, so I made that connection with the shop and DM'd for them. Then I took my instructor stuff in Florida so got the ocean instruction stuff. Honestly it would be much easier to instruct in the ocean than in the lake we have with cold temps and almost no viz.

I'm older, 47, and have a great day (nights actually) job that I couldn't leave so I made my connection locally with completing DM and got my instructor in the ocean and now work for the shop that I did my DM stuff with. If that is an option for you.
 
Am I still expecting too much as a DM?

Maybe. Maybe not.
Definitely most of the "Divemasters" working abroad are really Instructors. So, as suggested getting your DM locally then travelling to get your Instructor's at a resort might be a fun idea.
And personally I'd hire a "Quarry" DM over s strictly tropical one any day.

I've been a Divemaster for about 10 years and enjoy helping out with classes as much as possible. Until a recent move inland most of that was in and around Vancouver. No interest in being an Instructor. I only had one instructor tell me I was just his slave labour and tank humper. I never DM'd for him again.

As mentioned, start down the road and see where it goes. Could be fun.
 
DM's that work for free as "slave labor" demean and devalue the rating. Professionals get paid. Period. One way or another. If one wants to work for free volunteer at the soup kitchen. Don't give the agencies that sell a DM class as just another way to get money more ammo to keep up the disgusting practice.
 
DM's that work for free as "slave labor" demean and devalue the rating. Professionals get paid. Period. One way or another. If one wants to work for free volunteer at the soup kitchen. Don't give the agencies that sell a DM class as just another way to get money more ammo to keep up the disgusting practice.

Brilliant! After getting my DM certification I will come and help you out and you can pay me. Deal? :cool2:
 
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