Is "slave labor" a rite of passage for DM candidate?

[Jim Lapenta]

If they ask you to clean toilets, mop floors, and work on the sales floor with actual customers they need to be paying you for that. The idea that a DM candidate is an unpaid salesman is bull shiite. Whoever started this crap needs to be slapped. If you are working your butt off for a shop doing things that do not have to do with the actual duties of a DM then they either need to deduct a fair wage from your course fees or pay you a salary. I never could stomach the idea that a DM or DM candidate is free labor. It reeks of greed and disrespect. DM's are assistants, not salesmen, not friggin billboards for the shop, or sources of income on the high end gear some shops insist they have. DM candidates that allow themselves to be treated like this are sad. DM's that do this stuff for free devalue the entire profession as well as themsleves and just perpetuate the ABUSE that this stuff really is.

 

[scubamarketing]

At the LDS that trained me and I ran a program, it wasn't so much of slave labor, but "here's what needs to be done before we go home".

Sometimes senior staff would cherry pick and DMC's got stuck with the less fun tasks. But some of the cherry picking was signing PIC's (before ePIC's), repairing equipment and filling tanks. Smart DMC's would say "Hey, can you show me how to do that?" and they'd get pulled from rinsing boots to learn a valuable skill. Less ambitious DMC's would be happy to do the mind numbing work.

The LDS never required anyone come in during their free time, but if you did, the shop was physically small and standing around BSing wasn't an option, so you were put to work or told politely to scram. If you came in voluntarily and helped out - be it helping to sell, filling tanks or otherwise - you weren't compensated directly, but at least from my personal experience I received greater discounts on gear much earlier than people who did the bare minimum did.

 

[Wookie]

When I went through my DM course, there were 2 paths, the teaching path (assisting the instructor) and the Other path (leading certified divers). That seems to be gone, and I noticed that when I returned to the USA, students who take their DM through a shop are expected to help around the shop. You aren't looking to be a shop employee, you are looking to get a certification.

If I were looking for a DM class, first, I would not take it through a LDS if I didn't want to be treated as slave labor. I would go to one of the instructor mills in Utila, the Florida Keys, or Thailand, I'd ask them if there would be any reason I couldn't get my DM class done in a week, and I'd go there. You will have your skills evaluated (they'd better be good, demonstration quality good, a 3 on a scale of 5), you will have a chance to observe a class, and you will leave with the cert you want. Schlepping tanks to the quarry isn't a part of being a DM as far as I'm concerned, but schlepping tanks to the boat from the fill station is. It's all how you look at things.

 

[TMHeimer]

Our class wasn't like that. Do the classwork, tests, DMC an OW class--yes, haul tanks, but that's what you do. Supervise, help with skills, the usual stuff. DMC a Rescue Course and play "victim". Do a charter, lead a dive there & give dive briefing.

 

[DevonDiver]

It reeks of greed and disrespect. DM's are assistants, not salesmen, not friggin billboards for the shop, or sources of income on the high end gear some shops insist they have. ... DM's that do this stuff for free devalue the entire profession as well as themsleves and just perpetuate the ABUSE that this stuff really is.

Jim.... such working conditions are 'par-for-the-course' in many parts of the world. Take a trip to Thailand and you'll see bunches of dive centers that expect... no, demand.... that their staff work excessive hours (un-paid) in the evenings to conduct course and equipment sales etc. Like hookers, you see them hanging around on the streets outside the dive centers flashing passers-by with a forced, weary smile and offers of salubrious delights.

In most cases, those DMs/Instructors were only paid commission on the dives/courses they did - no base salary. So all the time spent working in the evenings and off-days (yes..I did see some that 'expected' people to work on their day-off) was un-paid. If the staff didn't play ball with this, they'd not be in the job for long.

I've also seen dive centers that have formal policies demanding a certain 'con-ed' rate amongst instructors. Fail to 'upgrade' X% of your OW to AOW and you can find yourself quickly replaced. Those places maintained 'league tables' of instructor con-ed rates... lots and lots of pressure to sell.

Again, like hookers... the dive pros forced to work under those conditions get very good at 'faking it'.... but in reality, any true depth of motivation and passion for diving, or educating, gets humped out of them...

 

[dumpsterDiver]

The fact that somebody even has to ask such a question is indicative of how screwed up the recreational dive certification program is. It is most certainly NOT professional in so many ways.

 

[oreocookie]

To some degree, I had wondered the same thing, but I had never even considered things like cleaning bathrooms mopping floors, etc. I had expected things like filling/hauling tanks, rinsing gear, helping in the shop with paperwork, maybe some sales, generally things that would be required of a DM specifically, not a dive shop employee in general (that would be the general cleaning, because somebody's gotta do it). I wouldn't mind helping out with those extras but I'd hope that I wouldn't get asked to clean the toilet if there are other things that are more relevant to my training that I could be doing instead.

Is the kind of attitude the OP is asking about more prevalent in some areas that in others? Andy's posts make me think it might be the norm where he is.

 

[DevonDiver]

Is the kind of attitude the OP is asking about more prevalent in some areas that in others? Andy's posts make me think it might be the norm where he is.

I expect that there's a lot of variation, based upon regional differences.

In Asia, nobody is going to get asked to 'clean a toilet', because there's ample cheap local labor available for menial tasks. In the Philippines, DMs aren't generally needed to pump tanks or load boats... because their are 'tank boys' and 'boat boys' to do that. DM trainees are exposed to such work purely as a learning experience. However, being a holiday market... DMs and instructors are highly valued for their inherent capacity for marketing, promotions and sales. In many ways, they are manipulated into providing such services for free.

I suspect that in the USA and Europe, the cost of employing 'menial labor' is sufficient to make it undesirable for a dive center to staff itself with non-diving cleaners etc. Thus, there is more emphasis on diving staff getting involved in menial work to support the center.

 

[k ellis]

Hello! I am preparing to do my DM cert later this year. I have spent 2 years now thinking about it and being picky about where to do it, so as you can see, it is so important to me that I choose the right place, both because the money I will be spending has taken a long time to save and also because I want the most valuable and professional experience possible.

I have one particular concern that keeps popping up for me, and it really is one that I hesitate to ask because so far, whenever I have asked this of a dive school, I often got negative reaction, which makes me even more curious and concerned about it. So here it is...

Is "slave labor" a rite of passage for a (paying) DM candidate intern? I am well aware that the DM course involves hard work, and I am more than ready to work my bum off to get as much experience as possible. Let me clarify. What I am talking about here is, I have seen and heard of a lot of DM candidates spending much of their days loading tanks, rinsing suits, and even doing menial tasks that have nothing to do with diving, such as mopping floors and cleaning toilets. The worst I saw at one dive shop that I spent some time at, the crew spoke disrespectfully to the DM candidate and made comments and jokes that implied that he was their "slave". He only got to go diving every other day, and on the opposite days he was cleaning rooms in the accommodation at the dive shop! And yes, he was a paying customer!

When I have asked some potential schools about work expectations they don't always get what I am asking, so as uncomfortable as it is for me I have to be blunt and ask if they sometimes regard their DM candidates as "slaves" and expect them to do the grunt work that no one else wants to do. Many times I have got a reaction like they can't believe that I had the cheek to ask this question. On one occasion, a young instructor told me that if I wanted to be a DM I needed to know first hand of what being a DM was all about, so they do expect you to do as your told even if that means menial tasks, because that is what is going to be expected of you as a DM. He also said, almost with a grudge, "well, I had to do it, and so did many others, so you will have to do it also".

So, it sounds to me like it is sort of considered a rite of passage for a DM candidate to be treated this way. I'm not sure that I am ok with this. Don't get wrong, I'm not afraid of hard work, I just feel like if I'm laying down $1000 or more of my hard earned money, I want my time to be spent learning and training to do things that I don't already know how to do, and I also want to be treated with respect, like any other paying customer.

So please dive professionals out there, I need your advice...are my expectations unreasonable? What really can I expect from a DM internship? And if this is not normal then what is the best way for me to discern which schools have this philosophy?

To answer your question the DMC course was not bad for me as I was able to use my own gear in the pool and was comfortable with it. I did not have to do much outside of diving so there was no "Slave labor" Now after I became a Dive Master I did take on some responsibility outside of diving. For one the students are there to have fun and learn. They pay money to do so and want to learn to love diving. The shop owner has a few request though and they are simply. I help match divers with their gear help organize them so they can prepare for the class and then I help pull the cover on the pool.

I use his gear in the pool to help promote the dive shop first and foremost and then to also help the students by using gear similar to theirs so they are familiar with it.

After the class is long done I Help sort out the gear that needs to be serviced (Put tanks that need to be filled in their prospective place) and help tidy the place up.

When class is all done well I put all the gear where it belongs and I pull the cover back in place.

Some call divemasters a diveshops slaves but not in my opinion. My shop has done more for me then one can ever imagine. The owner taught me how to swim and how to pass the standards. He pushed for me to aim high and go further but he never pushed me when I was not ready. He gave me my start to my diving career and because of him and his staff I have memories of diving now. I can look back and say I learned to swim and I conquered my fears thanks to this man and his crew. He never demanded anything from me but gave me my comfort in the water and the key to my hobby.

Why is it a bad thing to come in and volunteer my time to give back to him for giving to me so graciously? Its not at all as far as I am concerned!

And to do what I love while watching new divers go from scared of the water to happy as can be and confident divers in them self is worth more then I can ever explain!

 

[theduckguru]

If you have paid a customary fee for the DM instruction and are expected to do various tasks, politely ask for the phone number for the Wage and Hour Division of the Dept of Labor.