The going rate for DM

[bane51031]

AS a DM at the shop I work for covers my insurance in exchange for 20 hrs. of work for the shop.Then they compensate me with ,$17.50 an hour,use of equipment,discounts on future training,free air fills,25% discount on store purchases and if my gear is bought through them after 2 years I can upgrade to new gear for the cost of the tax on the new gear and trading in my old gear.
That being said I am doing the OWSI course this spring so my stint as a DM will be shortlived but, for $650.00 which covered everything I feel the dive shop I work for gave me plenty of good instruction and the opportunity to log alot of dives and assist with many classes and expand my knowledge in becoming a DM.

 

[divestoclimb]

So let me see I can summarize the above posts correctly. You want to pay $800 up front, and on an ongoing basis pay $400 per year for a class where you will get no meaningful training.

Strongly disagree, at least with my class (but I'm in a unique situation--see above)

To name just one thing, I learned a lot of public speaking skills like organizing a talk, which you need in order to give a briefing. These skills apply to a lot of other parts of life, like running a meeting at work.

And after the class you will be qualified to be an un-paid assistant who hustles tanks around and cleans toilets.

There are benefits to being a DM other than what's already been mentioned:
- You can lead a dive trip or just act as a guide for a weekend and get the other divers to pay your way via the trip fees: you dive for free! It doesn't have to be through a shop, it can be independent; all you have to do is network with other divers you know or students you've helped in the past and convince them to go on a trip with you.
- You're in a position of authority, which appeals to the ladies

 

[emttim]

I paid $450 for mine which included the crewpak from an independent instructor. I felt like I got a significant amount out of it, but as others have said, it depends on where you go. If $600-800 plus books is the going rate, I guess I got lucky, because I sure as hell can't afford upwards of a grand.

 

[ReefHound]

There are benefits to being a DM other than what's already been mentioned:
- You can lead a dive trip or just act as a guide for a weekend and get the other divers to pay your way via the trip fees: you dive for free! It doesn't have to be through a shop, it can be independent; all you have to do is network with other divers you know or students you've helped in the past and convince them to go on a trip with you.
- You're in a position of authority, which appeals to the ladies

I would just caution that if you are going to act as a DM outside the shop you need to have your own independent insurance policy, since the shop's group policy will only cover you when working for the shop.

One other bennie is you are constantly reinforcing the fundamentals and getting lots of practice in problem solving. It may help you one day when you or your buddy has a problem. Again, nothing you couldn't do on your own without being a DM but something few recreational divers do.

 

[offthewall1]

Why your LDS?
This is your opportunity to sell. So, go for it ....

jcf

Thanks for asking...

Why my dive shop over others was the question. I don't really want to sell it that way. While we run a great program and have great Instructors... there are certainly other great shops with great Instructors as well.

The challenge for someone "shopping" for DM training is knowing the difference between a good shop/Instructor and a bad shop/Instructor. More challenging is knowing what exactly you're getting for your money.

Free DM courses come with strings attached... $300 or $400 DM courses likely do not provide a quality level of training and $1000 is probably overpaying no matter what you get.

We choose $650 as a basic math... To properly teach a DM takes about 60 hours of time. The shop generally gets $200 (out of which the materials are bought) and the Instructor teaching the 60 hours gets $450 or about $7.50 per hour.

Of course DM courses are often provided free if the candidate signs a committment to work for the shop for a specified period of time...and the $200 - $400 courses usually cut corners and provide less then 30 hours of training... producing an inferior DM who lacks experience.

I don't know of any Instructors that would teach 60 hours for what would have to be about $200 or $3.33 an hour for a $300 - $400 course fee. Of course if they're charging for materials seperately on top of the course fee... you get much closer to the $600 range that we charge and include the books.

My only word is be careful if someone is offering a DM course for less then $600 - $700... because you're probably paying for and getting a Kia... instead of a Lexus.

I would like to think that if you want to be a serious and solid DM... you'd want the Lexus training... no matter which dealer you get it from.

 

[opie]

Well the $795 price i was quoted does include the books thats far from your $650 range.

 

[scubajcf]

It's got to be more than simple Math, cheapest price, or blanket statements like "we're the best". Not saying any of you are doing that ... just "stepping up on my soapbox".

In this economy, the dive consumer wants to feel confident he/she got the best bang for their buck. That starts with a marketing message that spins them around and forces them to pay attention. It continues with setting an expectation (that's exceeds their initial expectation) and then overdelivering. It is followed up with customer service that ensures they are a "more than" satisfied customer.

When someone asks me about my Divemaster class, they usually get one or several of the following responses (not necessarily in order):

1. When a candidate has completed our divemaster training, I would let them teach my children to dive. (implied safety)

2. We invite you to compare our program to any of the competition, if you do not find it to be the best value, most complete, most diverse, and most comprehensive divemaster course offered, we will pay a $25 scholarship to the Divemaster program of your choice. (implied quality and value)

3. Throughout our program, we have scheduled candidate conferences. These are review processes that show you exactly where you are in the process and allow us to make sure we are meeting your needs. It is in these conferences that we will guarantee you are meeting your potential and we are training you in the best way for you to succeed. (implied customer satisfaction)

I have others, but I like doing things in threes, so I will leave it at that. Just a little OCD.

Be careful if you ever ask me how my training programs are different, compare to the competition or are "best of breed", because I will tell you!



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