Psychology of Tec Training

[Kay Dee]

...........my question is how much of your technical training has been driven by a legitimate curiosity for new dive adventures...........?

All of it was.

With all due respect - and this is not aimed at the OP - anyone who took / takes a tech course just to massage their ego / add another card to their stack shouln't be tech diving. A red flag from the get go IMO.

 

[NothingClever]

All of it was.

With all due respect - and this is not aimed at the OP - anyone who took / takes a tech course just to massage their ego / add another card to their stack shouln't be tech diving. A red flag from the get go IMO.

I think it’s pretty easy to spot people like that (and avoid them) even when they’re relatively subdued.

I think there are always going to be individuals signing up for training that probably shouldn’t. Even with stringent candidate selection criteria, some people are going to meet the certification standards even though their motivations aren’t durable and their judgment isn’t mature.

I think the rest of us who pursue an introspective review of our motivations and undergo a peer/mentor review of our conduct for self-improvement have to identify those divers and avoid them.

 

[Caveeagle]

Combination of several factors for me. I started diving in ‘91 living in Gainesville, FL. My initial passion was to experience wreck diving. It just so happened that spring/cavern diving was at my doorstep, and nearly all my diving friends wanted to cave dive. At first. It was skills and just the desire to be in the water and the continued challenge. That has evolved into sort of a slow burn love for Springs and caves.

I have approached new skills and training with a goal of making the dives I want to do safer. I didn’t like hitting 1/3rds at the maple leaf, dog leg, and not having any time to look around and gain familiarity with that section of the cave. So I learned to use CCR, and now a dpv. Unlike some folks I encounter, I am not driven to push the envelope of every “stage” of my diving. I will gain comfort and confidence with every new skill, before I venture into a place where it’s really “needed”.

I’m interested to find out where I fit in once I move back to Florida. I do believe that paying more for an instructor is worth it when that instructor represents a gateway to a network of seasoned, reliable, proficient and emotionally mature divers who are motivated to explore.

Do you really think there is a parallel slope between an instructor’s cost and the quality of the “connections”?

 

[NothingClever]

Do you really think there is a parallel slope between an instructor’s cost and the quality of the “connections”?

While I don’t think it’s guaranteed, I do think being selective about one’s instructor greatly improves one’s chances of cutting through years of trial and error trying to find responsible teams to join.

For example, if I contact a respected leader in “x” type of diving about training, he/she determines I’m a suitable candidate and evaluates me over the course as being at least competent if not proficient in the essential domains (planning, skills and judgment), I absolutely think paying another $100 per training day is worth it. That leader represents to me a reliable weathervane and reference point I can turn to about local (even global) divers, the community and opportunities.

I can find plenty of people that are qualified to teach a skill but that doesn’t mean they are respected leaders in their community of diving. For that order of instructor, I am not going to pay a premium day fee.

My natural disposition is to train hard before, during and after a course so I think I’m doing my part. I am willing to pay more for an instructor who is effectively doing his part to lead beyond his individual water column.

 

[helodriver87]

While I don’t think it’s guaranteed, I do think being selective about one’s instructor greatly improves one’s chances of cutting through years of trial and error trying to find responsible teams to join.

For example, if I contact a respected leader in “x” type of diving about training, he/she determines I’m a suitable candidate and evaluates me over the course as being at least competent if not proficient in the essential domains (planning, skills and judgment), I absolutely think paying another $100 per training day is worth it. That leader represents to me a reliable weathervane and reference point I can turn to about local (even global) divers, the community and opportunities.

I can find plenty of people that are qualified to teach a skill but that doesn’t mean they are respected leaders in their community of diving. For that order of instructor, I am not going to pay a premium day fee.

My natural disposition is to train hard before, during and after a course so I think I’m doing my part. I am willing to pay more for an instructor who is effectively doing his part to lead beyond his individual water column.

This aspect gets overlooked a lot. Plenty of instructors out there are capable of training tourist/vacation cave or technical divers. But if you want to be involved in projects, you need to be looking at a different tier of instructor and that's probably going to mean paying more. But it's worth it to not have to waste your time with an instructor who won't truly prepare you or whose name won't carry as much weight. Plus, if you want to do project diving, budget isn't really in your vocabulary.

 

[rjack321]

All of it was.

With all due respect - and this is not aimed at the OP - anyone who took / takes a tech course just to massage their ego / add another card to their stack shouln't be tech diving. A red flag from the get go IMO.

Eh I dont necessarily bemoan someone taking a course to dive 150ft for 20mins with one deco gas who is mostly in it to prove to themselves that they can do it (vs wanting to see something in particular)

 

[ccrprospect]

I agree rjack, and I believe the challenge is *part* of what makes it fun, aside from the desire to see new things. I don’t believe any technical diver here has seen all the shallow tropical reefs on the planet before deciding to move on to newer and better things (or similarly, that Everest climbers have exhausted the lower peaks beforehand). I wholeheartedly agree with the gist of John Adsit’s article - we tec divers have high achievement motivation and it spills into several life areas, not just diving.

It’s the desire to be where few have. We want to be special, and diving is our outlet. In psychology, they call it sublimation - where socially frowned upon impulses are appropriately channeled. Better go for a hard run than throw a temper tantrum.

 

[Caveeagle]

While I don’t think it’s guaranteed, I do think being selective about one’s instructor greatly improves one’s chances of cutting through years of trial and error trying to find responsible teams to join.

For example, if I contact a respected leader in “x” type of diving about training, he/she determines I’m a suitable candidate and evaluates me over the course as being at least competent if not proficient in the essential domains (planning, skills and judgment), I absolutely think paying another $100 per training day is worth it. That leader represents to me a reliable weathervane and reference point I can turn to about local (even global) divers, the community and opportunities.

I can find plenty of people that are qualified to teach a skill but that doesn’t mean they are respected leaders in their community of diving. For that order of instructor, I am not going to pay a premium day fee.

My natural disposition is to train hard before, during and after a course so I think I’m doing my part. I am willing to pay more for an instructor who is effectively doing his part to lead beyond his individual water column.

Being selective when picking your instructor has little to do with you comment that I quoted. Helodriver brings up another related topic, of research divers, that really a totally different topic. If you really want to be in the inner circle of a lot of the research diving, your path of instruction really needs to be focused to that group.

just from my casual observations, local instructor cost seems to be a function of a few things. Are instructors full time dive pros, or do they have day jobs, and do this on the side. A couple of the best instructors I know, have non diving jobs, and are not trying to fully support themselves through diving.

Supply vs demand.. it’s simple.. instructors have a threshold, of how busy to they want to be. There seems to be a standard “unofficial” daily rate for instruction. Some seem to flex that up or down depending on how busy they are, and how much more “work” they want.

Honestly, picking an instructor based on the “click” you suppose you will gain access to seems like an odd way to go about things. Just my opinion, but you are more likely to gain quality contacts and dive buddy’s just being social around the local dive sites, shops, and volunteer events.

 

[NothingClever]

Are instructors full time dive pros, or do they have day jobs, and do this on the side. A couple of the best instructors I know, have non diving jobs, and are not trying to fully support themselves through diving.

Excellent point and I concur. Two part time instructors fitting that profile immediately come to mind and they’re on my short list of four instructors I would pursue for cave training.

Honestly, picking an instructor based on the “click” you suppose you will gain access to seems like an odd way to go about things.

I went back and re-read my post. I recognize sometimes I’m not the most gifted when it comes to communication so let me set the record straight; petty cliques are precisely what I intend to avoid.

Just my opinion, but you are more likely to gain quality contacts and dive buddy’s just being social around the local dive sites, shops, and volunteer events.

I agree with this and think it’s an approach to be blended into the overall effort to start diving in a new area (which will be my case once I move to Florida full time).

 

[Kay Dee]

Eh I dont necessarily bemoan someone taking a course to dive 150ft for 20mins with one deco gas who is mostly in it to prove to themselves that they can do it (vs wanting to see something in particular)

No, but I didn't say, or mean to infer, your aove. That is a different scenario than someone taking a 'tech' course who is just after bragging rights / adding another card to the drop down menu they carry in their wallet.

Post post edit; addedvtext for clarification purposes.