Newbie going all the way to DM!!! :0)
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371473
I wish you the best as you "live the dream".
There's not much in your profile but from your post am I to infer that you have not started OW yet? I sure hope you like diving!
I like your statement that you plan to do lots of sun dives between the classes. IMO that's very important. It's one thing to meet the standards and have a DM card. Being capable and worthy of respect requires skill and experience.
Are you spending the year in the same climate / dive conditions where you plan to dive and assist divers long term?
Good luck and have fun.
Pete
I wish you the best as you "live the dream".
There's not much in your profile but from your post am I to infer that you have not started OW yet? I sure hope you like diving!
I like your statement that you plan to do lots of sun dives between the classes. IMO that's very important. It's one thing to meet the standards and have a DM card. Being capable and worthy of respect requires skill and experience.
Are you spending the year in the same climate / dive conditions where you plan to dive and assist divers long term?
Good luck and have fun.
Pete
371473
I qouted this from you, from the duplicate thread.
371473 said, "I hope that my enthusiasm does rub off on my students (when I actually get to that point!)....I'm planning on doing the courses over a period of about 2 1/2 months - thus allowing time for lots of fun dives too! :0)"
Now your original statement was that your were taking the year off to do this, here you outline a different time frame. Could you please clarify, as this makes a world of difference. I dont want to unnecessarily come off harsh. Are you going thru a professional "chop shop"? At 2 1/2 months with no prior diving, you would be essentially buying your credentials... I will save the rest if needed,until after you respond.
I qouted this from you, from the duplicate thread.
371473 said, "I hope that my enthusiasm does rub off on my students (when I actually get to that point!)....I'm planning on doing the courses over a period of about 2 1/2 months - thus allowing time for lots of fun dives too! :0)"
Now your original statement was that your were taking the year off to do this, here you outline a different time frame. Could you please clarify, as this makes a world of difference. I dont want to unnecessarily come off harsh. Are you going thru a professional "chop shop"? At 2 1/2 months with no prior diving, you would be essentially buying your credentials... I will save the rest if needed,until after you respond.
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371473, I went back and read all your posts again including the duplicate thread... I believe what I posted last to be the case... Hopefully you will read and think about what I say below, before you decide to go the route that you have stated. Please know, I do not intend by any means to shoot down what its seems you are very enthusiastic about doing. We need enthusiasm in this industry. However that cannot replace good quality training and experience. It is a great place to start from and I wish it with you through out your training.
Here goes...
Your entitled to use any agency you see fit. With that you are also able to slide by on the agencies minimum requirements to gain whatever certifications you wish. However I would be so bold as to say that the diving community does not agree with the agencies minimum requirements to achieve these certifications nor its minimum time in between courses which there are none..For example there are a few shops that advertise newbie to instructor in as little as 3 weeks. 3 weeks or 3 months there is really no difference in my opinion. You can not gain what is required to be a good diving professional in that time. I equate that to learning to be a professional diver (DM/OWI) before really learning to dive. Which is like putting the cart in front of the horse. I will leave it at that...
Here goes...
Your entitled to use any agency you see fit. With that you are also able to slide by on the agencies minimum requirements to gain whatever certifications you wish. However I would be so bold as to say that the diving community does not agree with the agencies minimum requirements to achieve these certifications nor its minimum time in between courses which there are none..For example there are a few shops that advertise newbie to instructor in as little as 3 weeks. 3 weeks or 3 months there is really no difference in my opinion. You can not gain what is required to be a good diving professional in that time. I equate that to learning to be a professional diver (DM/OWI) before really learning to dive. Which is like putting the cart in front of the horse. I will leave it at that...
I'll shadow what Brendon said. Enthusiasm is both a gift and a curse in this industry. It allows the sport to have new divers despite the intense physical and mental demands it takes. It's a curse in that reckless enthusiasm can also kill you in this sport by diving beyond your limits.
I have no way to prove what I am about to say but I do know that it use to take around a year to get dive certified. Way back when diving first started, before all the science behind ascent rates and DCS came about. Now we have the science, high quality and advanced equipment, computers etc. Yet I think we still have just as much if not more diving accidents today.
What's changed? The amount of time it takes to get certified, keep that in mind. Passing a class doesn't mean you're a better diver or a more experienced diver. Just like passing a geometry class doesn't mean you'll remember all that geometry you learned, let alone applying it.
*sigh*
I have no way to prove what I am about to say but I do know that it use to take around a year to get dive certified. Way back when diving first started, before all the science behind ascent rates and DCS came about. Now we have the science, high quality and advanced equipment, computers etc. Yet I think we still have just as much if not more diving accidents today.
What's changed? The amount of time it takes to get certified, keep that in mind. Passing a class doesn't mean you're a better diver or a more experienced diver. Just like passing a geometry class doesn't mean you'll remember all that geometry you learned, let alone applying it.
*sigh*
Another thing to keep in mind is that a DM course can take well over a year to complete. Your instructor may want you to help with several OW classes first, and not all instructors have busy schedules. I had a few hundred dives under my belt before I got my DM card.
DevonDiver
N/A
If your year of diving sees you complete DM training with upwards of 500 dives, then fair enough. You won't have much breadth of experience in different locations and conditions, but you should have logged enough hours underwater to achieve some degree of competance.
If you're predicting to complete <250 dives, then you really should be aware that your credibility as a 'leader' will often be questioned. Less than 100 dives... and all you've got is a plastic card.
As for insurance... DAN Professional Basic is excellent, especially if you will be diving overseas. You wont be able to apply for this until you've finished your DM certification though.
If you're predicting to complete <250 dives, then you really should be aware that your credibility as a 'leader' will often be questioned. Less than 100 dives... and all you've got is a plastic card.
As for insurance... DAN Professional Basic is excellent, especially if you will be diving overseas. You wont be able to apply for this until you've finished your DM certification though.
texan81
Guest
Good Luck! Sounds like a lot of fun! Im kinda doing the same thing but not in that short amount of time. Looking foward to hearing about your adventures
DevonDiver
N/A
A ScubaBoard Staff Message...
I read your other thread earlier today, and I didn't comment, because I was terribly torn.
On the one hand, the last thing I ever want to do is rain on someone's parade. Diving is an incredible activity -- being weightless is magical, and our entree into a world few other people will ever see at all is a great gift. It did not take me long, after I learned to dive, to decide to become the best recreational diver I could possibly be, and because I love to teach, and have taught everything I've ever enjoyed learning, heading for teaching credentials for diving was a foregone conclusion.
Until I took a class with someone who could really DIVE. When I saw the quality of skill and awareness that this instructor had, I realized I had no business teaching anyone anything for a long time . . . there was SO much more that I had to learn. And unfortunately, I will tell you that the instructor who opened my eyes was not a PADI instructor, nor was that a PADI class.
I went a different way, and it was four more years, and about 500 dives, before I decided I now had the skills, the background, the experience, and the knowledge to begin to teach. So last year, I got my DM. I find it intensely discouraging that the other DMs and DMCs I've dived with, while assisting with classes, have been effusively complimentary about my skills, to the point of being blown away. EVERYONE who is teaching should be able to do anything I can do -- but many can't. And you really don't know what the standard can be, if the people who teach you have never seen what is possible.
I think it's utterly wonderful that you are taking a year off to pursue a dream. I think spending an entire year diving, and taking classes, and learning, is a wonderful thought. My only reservation is that the people who are taking you and teaching you are not helping you realize that a professional position in less than a year is unfair, both to you (as you will not realize the skill level you SHOULD have for this) and for the students and clients who you might teach or guide.
On the one hand, the last thing I ever want to do is rain on someone's parade. Diving is an incredible activity -- being weightless is magical, and our entree into a world few other people will ever see at all is a great gift. It did not take me long, after I learned to dive, to decide to become the best recreational diver I could possibly be, and because I love to teach, and have taught everything I've ever enjoyed learning, heading for teaching credentials for diving was a foregone conclusion.
Until I took a class with someone who could really DIVE. When I saw the quality of skill and awareness that this instructor had, I realized I had no business teaching anyone anything for a long time . . . there was SO much more that I had to learn. And unfortunately, I will tell you that the instructor who opened my eyes was not a PADI instructor, nor was that a PADI class.
I went a different way, and it was four more years, and about 500 dives, before I decided I now had the skills, the background, the experience, and the knowledge to begin to teach. So last year, I got my DM. I find it intensely discouraging that the other DMs and DMCs I've dived with, while assisting with classes, have been effusively complimentary about my skills, to the point of being blown away. EVERYONE who is teaching should be able to do anything I can do -- but many can't. And you really don't know what the standard can be, if the people who teach you have never seen what is possible.
I think it's utterly wonderful that you are taking a year off to pursue a dream. I think spending an entire year diving, and taking classes, and learning, is a wonderful thought. My only reservation is that the people who are taking you and teaching you are not helping you realize that a professional position in less than a year is unfair, both to you (as you will not realize the skill level you SHOULD have for this) and for the students and clients who you might teach or guide.
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