Master Diver or Divemaster?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Nicstr

New
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Location
Canada
# of dives
0 - 24
Hello!

I am currently an AOW diver who wants to gain confidence and experience diving so that when I start a masters in marine conservation next year I will be able to focus on my research and not on my diving technique.

I am leaving for an 8-12 month backpacking trip around Southeast Asia and originally decided to do a divemaster internship while there. I have looked at "eco" divemaster internship packages and thought I was settled on mabul, but am now considering a normal DMT on malascapua; but I am also considering going the other direction and just diving in lots of places and obtaining my master diver certification instead. My only concern is that some of the eco options out there may be geared towards people with a little less background and experience in conservation than I have.

I also do want to spend time in one place rather than traveling town to town frequently and I would like to be based at one dive center for a while to build relationships with fellow divers and to be apart of a community.

Ideally I would like to assist in marine conservation (and learn reef survey techniques etc.) but I cannot make up my mind as to where and what I should do! Any suggestions based on your experiences as to where in Southeast Asia I can maximize my diving to gain confidence and experience and also be involved in marine conservation projects/awareness (all while living on a moderate budget)? If anyone has done an eco divemaster internship your feedback would be greatly appreciated!!!

Cheers!
 
with 0-24 dives, i would just go diving. enjoy it, don't worry about courses. except maybe do rescue
 
Honestly I wouldn't suggest either in your quest to build diving confidence. Experience... perhaps.

Divemaster is a course designed to train you to control groups of divers.
Master Diver is simply a 'certificate of accomplishment' having completed 5 PADI Specialties.

However a couple of those 'Specialties' (not single-dive Adventure dives such as those during AOW training) may prove useful for you depending on what kind of diving you'll be doing as part of your Master's degree. Underwater Navigation, Self-Reliant Diver come to mind.

The 'eco' courses such as Underwater Nautralist or the AWARE course may prove too basic for your background.

The Malapascua community is pretty good and staying for a few months may well prove beneficial if you befriend the equipment service tech with a couple of San Migs or Red Horse.
 
Divemaster will not advance your skills as a DIVER. It will teach you to demonstrate skills, most likely not WHILE DIVING, and to supervise students and divers.

If you want classes that will really hone your skills, a good AOW or buoyancy class, or even a cavern or intro to tech class, will do far more.

I don't know where you are in Canada, but if you are interested in skills refinement, I can offer some ideas, depending on your location.
 
...
I don't know where you are in Canada, but if you are interested in skills refinement, I can offer some ideas, depending on your location.


Me too!
 
I have to disagree with TS and M. I believe divemaster training will do mroe to advance your diving skills, especially for competent diving while task loaded, than any combination leading to master scuba diver. In addition the dive theory that is learned in the DM programs is essential to anyone who will "living underwater" so to speak. I endorse DM training for niocstyr, but not immeditaely. Go pick up at least another 25 dives, plus a rescue class, and then you will be ready to start Dm training.
DivemasterDennis
 
Dennis, respectfully, I would ask where in your divemaster class you had your own diving skills refined AT ALL? I learned to do "demonstration quality" skills, which meant slowing them down enormously, exaggerating portions of them, and making everything clear to an observer. Although I DID all the skills while neutral and horizontal, it was not required, and no other DM class I have watched at our shop has EVER had their students do this.

I would agree that situational awareness is honed by working with students -- if you can't grow an eye in the back of your head, you're going to go crazy as a DM in Puget Sound, for sure. But when a local instructor here tells one of his students that he is not competent to do a simple boat dive into a quiet, easy site in 40 feet of water -- and then next week has the SAME student in the pool doing his DM training -- I would say that is very telling that DM has minimal prerequisites and is not a personal skills class.
 
I agree pretty much with Lynne. I would not pursue DM at all, given your plans. Do a lot of diving, and pick out courses that will teach you the things you really need to know and be able to do. If you happen to complete 5 really good and worthwhile PADI specialties as you do, then go ahead and send in your paperwork for master scuba diver. No harm in getting the certification, but not a lot of value in the certification itself in most (not all) cases.

I will soon be dealing with several days of diving in which divemaster candidates that I have been working with (along with other instructors) will be working with continuing education students that I have been working with. The continuing education students have been working on some very worthwhile specialties, and I have seen them diving. I have so far seen only one of the DM candidates dive--I did not do any of their pool sessions. I suspect it is possible that at least two of the continuing education students will look better as divers than the DM candidates, and one of them has only 12 total OW dives.
 
I have done both Divemaster and Master Scuba Diver. Out of those two, Master Scuba Diver did more to make me a better diver, but I think mostly because the 5 specialties involved more time in the water diving.

however, neither of these come close to what I got out of GUE Fundamentals.
 

Back
Top Bottom