Should I get PADI Dive Master?

[Addicted2H2O]

I do really like teaching something that I enjoy to other people, so even the idea of assisting with Open Water courses is appealing to me. I do find that I learn a lot by teaching.

If you enjoy teaching and being a role model doing something you love then being a DM might actually be a great idea for you. But if you're looking for it to help you hone your skills better and make you a better diver for your daughter, like I said there are other avenues for that. Not trying to discourage you from becoming a DM by any means. I love doing it myself and much for the same reason you mentioned. Not so much teaching, but rather mentoring and setting an example. Its kinda of a nice feeling when students will come to me to ask questions before they will the instructor because I'm not the big bad, mean, scary instructor. And of course it's nice, too, when you walk away from an OW weekend at the lake with a little bit of money in your pocket from tips. When you factor in fuel costs, food, etc. for two weekends in a row (that's what is it for me...1st weekend in the pool 2nd at the lake), plus I usually buy donuts for the class both weekends, I rarely really make any profit from it. But if I can do it and break even, hey, it's a couple of weekends of free diving and enjoying the comradery that comes along with it. And once you hone your basic skills to acceptable demonstration levels, you'll start finding easier ways to do things and start becoming more comfortable and confident in your abilities.

 

[mcohen1021]

Anyone know when Master Scuba Diver was created? I wonder if it was available when I certified in 1989.

 

[Addicted2H2O]

Anyone know when Master Scuba Diver was created? I wonder if it was available when I certified in 1989.

No idea, but I has the MSD c-card.

 

[michael-fisch]

Yes, it was available back in 1989 but as soon as rescue became a certification lever instead of a speciality it was no longer acceped as one of the 5 specialitys.

Michael

 

[yle]

I do really like teaching something that I enjoy to other people, so even the idea of assisting with Open Water courses is appealing to me. I do find that I learn a lot by teaching.

Couldn't agree more. I teach for a real job and I also teach scuba. What you learn from working with others, watching how they learn and develop their skills, is really a unique experience with no substitute. Assisting with classes will really help sharpen your situational awareness (ok... hold on... it should help sharpen...) in the water.

I agree with the general consensus here that the DM course isn't really about developing your diving skills, but it does allow you to assist with classes. If that is what you will do with your DM training, then it's worth doing. Annual PADI dues run about $200 (rough guess... I've only paid instructor dues for years, so I'm ballparking what the DM dues are) and liability insurance (if you buy your own... some shops can cover you under their "umbrella policy", but that has it's own pros and cons) is about $350 a year.

 

[TMHeimer]

I may have mentioned that I believe the insurance cost is quite a bit lower if you only assist with courses. Worth asking about if that's all you do (no charters, DSD, Re-Activate, whatever, that a DM can teach).

 

[Addicted2H2O]

Annual PADI dues run about $200 (rough guess... I've only paid instructor dues for years, so I'm ballparking what the DM dues are) and liability insurance (if you buy your own... some shops can cover you under their "umbrella policy", but that has it's own pros and cons) is about $350 a year.

Yeah my shop covers my insurance while I'm assisting with classes, working club events, anything to do with the shop.

 

[NothingClever]

Anyone know when Master Scuba Diver was created? I wonder if it was available when I certified in 1989.

Not to swim out into the current and drift too far from Kirk’s boat but I’ll register here that I think the Master SCUBA Diver certification from PADI is hardly worthwhile.

NOTE: I understand the difference between MSD and DM.

The people who hold the MSD certification aren’t worthless and I don’t condemn their desire to become a highly proficient diver but after seeing what passes for PADI training, I would discourage folks from pursuing an MSD certification. Rather, I would encourage them after getting their AOW certification to simply get more reps in diving with experienced divers and then choose from a much wider palette of training options from a variety of licensing agencies.

If you can get a reliable recommendation for a PADI instructor who will truly train and drill with a student diver, then great. But what I keep seeing from PADI instructors is superficial familiarization.

Sorry, I don’t mean to be an anti-PADI ranter....it’s just that I’m frustrated with the lack of balanced correlation between PADI’s marketing-instruction-learned skills ratio.

What I keep seeing where I dive is complacent acceptance of sloppy standards. It seems that only a death will be impetus enough for us to finally wake up and tighten our standards in the dive community.

 

[Zef]

... It seems that only a death will be impetus enough for us to finally wake up and tighten our standards in the dive community.

That (death) has already happened, and the result has been the various agencies doubling down on reducing their liability by restricting what instructors can teach.

Other than that, I agree the PADI MSD is BS, as are most specialty courses under most of the agencies.

I think there is too much emphasis on "instructor based training" and there is too high a regard that a certification card has any real meaning. But as long as there are people who believe that everyone around them shares in the accountability and liability for their choices and the results of those choices, then there must be a way for organizations and individuals to protect themselves...the impact of this is what we see in the industry today.

-Z

 

[Diving Dubai]

The people who hold the MSD certification aren’t worthless and I don’t condemn their desire to become a highly proficient diver but after seeing what passes for PADI training, I would discourage folks from pursuing an MSD certification. Rather, I would encourage them after getting their AOW certification to simply get more reps in diving with experienced diver

Two points.

Often people chose to take speciality certs as a reason to go diving. Some people just aren't comfortable with turning up solo and getting paired with an insta buddy. Getting more instructor time gives them more confidence.

On dive 1 of any course I'm alwasy evaluating the student and during that course I'll make whatever corrections they need to their diving in addition to the requirements of the course.

However I can't control nor force the diver to continue to use the lessons learnt post course. I've teach wreck, the final dive being a penetration. Our site is a challenging little barge, where you go through the keel. The bulkheads make it feel (to a new diver whose concentration on buoyancy and lining) like you're continuously going down a passageway (but you're not and theres plenty of room to turn)

This dive requires a buoyancy deviation no more than +/- 600mm otherwise you'll hit the roof or hull

I've had students who make this dive (and before now I've stopped their course and insisted they work on buoyancy and trim before we get to dives 3&4) and perform excellently with ideal trim, buoyancy and kicks. A couple of weeks later you see them on a boat fun diving and they've reverted back to old habits and look like a sack of snakes underwater.

I'm not the scuba police I can't force people to apply what they've been taught.