Questions about DM training

[Colorado Mermaid]

Hi! I am totally, completely addicted to diving and am considering getting certified to become a dive master this fall. I might have a chance to go do a one-on-one internship at a small shop in Costa Rica, or do the typical mass training in Roatan.

Does getting certified in Roatan help or hinder your chances - I could see that it would be seen as a good thing, since that seems to be "the" place to go and so the operators there know how to train; then again I could see how it would be viewed as a factory where they just push out anyone who pays to become a DM. No one will know the small shop in CR, so they won't know what kind of training I received, but it would be more concentrated attention (and more challenging diving - good and bad, for me). I guess, in short, what do the people who hire you look for in a resume?

Also, do you find that women have an easier or more difficult time getting hired? I have been to a few dive job sites, and "women preferred" seems to be a common thing, but I am wondering why? And is it true in practice?

I have to make my decision very soon; any advise you can offer is greatly appreciated! Happy diving!

 

[markfm]

Dive experience, and training, where you plan on working as a DM is probably "best". If you plan on staying in high, cold, fresh, Colorado, training in low, warm, salt Roatan or CR might not make sense.

Good luck whatever you choose -- dive safe!

 

[philmayer]

Female DMs and Instructors are always in demand because there are so few of them and most people are very comfortable learning from a woman.

As far as where you get your certification, I don't think it matters that much. Are you going to stop at DM, or are you going to move on to instructor? How you interact with students is something that comes from inside, it's not something that can be taught. A potential employer is going to want to see that you have the skills -- pretty easy to test -- but will also want to see that you care about the divers and make them comfortable -- more difficult to measure.

 

[Web Monkey]

Hi! I am totally, completely addicted to diving and am considering getting certified to become a dive master this fall. I might have a chance to go do a one-on-one internship at a small shop in Costa Rica, or do the typical mass training in Roatan.

A lot of SSI shops like to "grow their own" DiveCons. I'm not sure about PADI DMs, but suspect it might be the same, and would take the class where you plan on working (or diving).

A Caribbean class isn't going to help a lot if you spend much of your time helping students get into drysuits, and thawing freeflowing regulators. Likewise, a Northeast DM class isn't going to help you a lot if you plan on leading tours in the Caribbean, trying to keep vacation divers from killing themselves, and showing local critters.

While a lot of the class is useful in either place (detecting and handling stressed divers, leading groups, advanced rescues, etc.), quite a bit is specific to your location, and you would be better served taking the class in conditions that are similar to where you plan on diving.

Terry

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

I wish more fresh water pro's had professional training in the Ocean. Pacific Costa Rica, and similar low warm-ish salty locations, have plenty of challenges that are often ignored by the land-locked instructors. Denver has a reputation for being home to lots of newly certified divers every year, but the majority of those divers are just getting certified in Colorado, they are diving on vacation in the Ocean.

I remember reading a post about a Colorado AOW class in a pond with no discernable bottom. The instructor seemed proud that his navigators completed the square or triangle while nuetrally buoyant without seeing the bottom. In the Ocean, with current and surge, navagating without seeing/using the bottom is not navigating. (just one example)

 

[Colorado Mermaid]

Thanks so much for everyone's input so far! Just to clarify, I do NOT plan on diving in Colorado, ever....I have a very flexible lifestyle (single, no bills, footloose and fancy free) and will go where ever I need to go to keep diving. I completed my AOW in Costa Rica, and the majority of my dives have been in CR and Cabo, with low viz and currents. It makes sense, getting trained in more difficult conditions, then anything else is easy.....
If anyone else has advise, please keep it comin' ....I love scubaboarders! Thanks for your help!

 

[Spratman]

wwwwoooowwww....

 

[rawls]

I vote for the concentrated route. I did my DM and was the only one in the class. Was I pampered...Ha, Ha...I was taken through the ringer as well as serving as the dive grunt My instructor worked my butt off in learning skills as well as all the didactics that go along with DM training. I also didn't have the ability to get by with short cuts of any kind. When you have alot of people training for DM you are not going to get as good an education as you would when you are in a small group. My instructor was hard on me, but she was and still is my mentor. Wouldn't have traded what she put me through for anything. After I completed my cert. the IDC and IE were cake
It takes dedication...alot of dedication...if you are going to do it right, and if you do it right it is going to be a load of work. Just make sure you are ready for that kind of dedication.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Just another opinion about private training. If you are one to one, the only other person you see diving and doing the skills is an instructor. Many people benifit by seeing other students struggle with or breeze through different skills. Working together with fellow students gives some people much more than they would have had just interacting with an instructor.

 

[Doc]

Real good advice so far, but let me reflect on your exact questions. I hope I am not misinterpreting...

I might have a chance to go do a one-on-one internship at a small shop in Costa Rica, or do the typical mass training in Roatan.

I think you can get one-on-one or "mass training" in either location. In the US, you will find the major IDC's have "start dates" so you will be in the mass training, beginning with others all at the same time. In the situations you refer to, you would likely see a rotating process where you show up to start while others are at various stages.

Do not go to DM school to learn about diving. You can do that, but I believe it to be a waste of time. To learn about diving, you have to dive. True enough, if you act as slave labor for a dive operation, it will not only give you BT, but it will help attune your focus to the minor details of each dive and various divers. That is one great selling point of the protracted version of the process.

On the other hand, if you go to any one of the US based larger IDC's, if you are an experienced diver, you can walk through the DM course in just short of two weeks. To help you understand the process, know that you would be smart to immediately go after the AI and OWSI course as the book learning is exactly the same. Why memorize all that stuff twice? The only difference is that your demonstration and presentation skills are held to a higher standard.

Does getting certified in Roatan help or hinder your chances ....see how it would be viewed as a factory where they just push out anyone ....No one will know the small shop in CR, so they won't know what kind of training I received, but it would be more concentrated attention

It is roughly equivelant to having a college degree (in 2007). It's a check-off box on the application for employment form.

(and more challenging diving - good and bad, for me).

The challenge of the diving is irrelevant. As you become a DM, there should be no big hurdle for you to overcome. True- you may not have seen this or that situation, but if you are ready for DM, you have developed the ability to carefuly listen to a dive breifing and understand how the particular boat will be rigged, the entry, the plan, the conditions, the exit. Unlike most divers who just hear "Backroll blahblah Seahorse blahblah 1200 psi blahblah". You will already have the ability to listen, decode and understand. There should be nothing you can't deal with after breifing.

I guess, in short, what do the people who hire you look for in a resume?

To hire you as a DM? Largely they look for a detactable pulse and the body strength that will allow you to carry tanks as necessary. They look for a good presentation- how you speak and your contact skills. They look at your boat handling skills, also your marine awareness- you are working in an industrial environment- they don't want you bleeding on any customers.

Also, do you find that women have an easier or more difficult time getting hired? I have been to a few dive job sites, and "women preferred" seems to be a common thing, but I am wondering why? And is it true in practice?

Welcome to the real world. Look at the statistics. Tall, good looking people make more money in the business world. Females in bathing suits are attractive to business.

Women sometimes often do not last long in dive-ops for any one of several reasons. If they can't carry the physical load...all their boat's tanks; if they hook-up with any other employee, any island DM, Instructor, or tourist; start sloughing off on the physical aspects of the job allowing "helpful" panting associates to do the heavy lifting; teasing; not teasing; drinking more than one; and the list goes on and on. It's still a man's world in vacation diving, and sorry to say, this is amplified by the fact that you have crossed into a country with a macho based national mentality more often than not. Male DM's wives and girlfriends will hate you, the male DM's will use that to their advantage. Female DM's will not be overly helpful. It's just the real world in bathing suits. You are likely to get tipped less. Female guests will likely not want you too close to their man, either.

Not an easy road.

But I highly recommend that you give it a shot. If not now, when?