...THAT is the question.
I know for some it's a no-brainer... scuba is what they want to live, eat and breathe (har-har), so it's a natural progression. For me, while I may want that to some extent as well, I'm not willing to give up my well-paying day job to live on a DM's income... I could be mistaken, but it seems to me that the only way to really do well (financially) in this field is to own your own fleet of boats, stores, resorts, whatever. I don't wish to come off like a snob at all, but I worked hard to get to where I am today and am not ready to give up the perks. I'm certainly not rich, but I'm comfortable with where I am for now. But I digress.
Background: I was originally certified in '87, at 16 years old, on a family vacation in Hawaii (PADI Basic OW). We returned in '89, and I got my advanced certification... although, as a young, carless student with a $20/week allowance, I hardly did any diving in the intervening years, as much as I loved it. I dove a few times after that... some on a vacation in Cabo, some more with dad in Hawaii, a couple of times locally (although rented wetsuits and gear made it cold and less fun that I liked). I went far away from the ocean to college, and life intervened, and I gradually lost the intensity of love for the underwater world I had originally discovered, as I moved around the country, with both school and work.
That's the background. To make a long story short, recently I went on a trip to Jamaica, dove at a resort, and remembered what I loved about it. Took to it like a fish, remembered pretty much everything from my training, and got the bug back BIG TIME. And now I have the means to do something about it. I've purchased all my own gear except tanks (yay mastercard!), advanced my Cert level to PADI Rescue, have done a couple beach dives and a several local boat dives, and plan to add in a few specialty certs in the next couple of months. I would say I probably have in the neighborhood of 30-35 dives under my belt, but it's hard to say for sure as my old log book was lost in the "dry years", as it were, and I can only reconstruct some of them.
Naturally, one thing newly-minted Rescue Divers are asked about is if they wish to continue on to become Dive Masters. And therein lies my question. (Thanks for reading this far!) Which route to take? Master Diver? Dive Master? There is a world of difference... Master Diver seems to be something of a joke... a card that in reality gets you nothing but some bragging rights. Dive Master seems like it actually comes with some real advances in my knowledge and training... but it's also not cheap to get, takes a real time investment, and, from some threads I've read, seems like it might bring with it some liability issues that, frankly, I have no interest in risking, since I'm not truly interested in this as a career at this point. The cost of getting my DM is not really an impediment, although it will be nice to pay down my gear debt a bit first.
But I like the idea of learning more, other than just specialties, and I like having the option to go farther if I want. I like the idea of, for fun, working on a boat on occasion, and assisting training the occasional classes... I enjoy sharing my enthusiasm and knowledge with others. Who knows where I'll want to go eventually? (And I have to admit, the idea of being able to write off all the gear I've purchased so far this year is appealing, as well.)
I realize none of you are me (duh), but what's your take on what I should do? Is it an insult to the hard-working people who DM for a living to even consider it? Or is it worthwhile to continue my education in the sport? Or should I **** and go back to recreational diving until I have 100+ dives under my belt and want to give up my day job and restart my life on a different path?
Hoping for serious advice, but I have a sense of humor. I hope I'm not completely out of line to post this as my intro to this board... either choice I make, I plan to remain active in diving!
I know for some it's a no-brainer... scuba is what they want to live, eat and breathe (har-har), so it's a natural progression. For me, while I may want that to some extent as well, I'm not willing to give up my well-paying day job to live on a DM's income... I could be mistaken, but it seems to me that the only way to really do well (financially) in this field is to own your own fleet of boats, stores, resorts, whatever. I don't wish to come off like a snob at all, but I worked hard to get to where I am today and am not ready to give up the perks. I'm certainly not rich, but I'm comfortable with where I am for now. But I digress.
Background: I was originally certified in '87, at 16 years old, on a family vacation in Hawaii (PADI Basic OW). We returned in '89, and I got my advanced certification... although, as a young, carless student with a $20/week allowance, I hardly did any diving in the intervening years, as much as I loved it. I dove a few times after that... some on a vacation in Cabo, some more with dad in Hawaii, a couple of times locally (although rented wetsuits and gear made it cold and less fun that I liked). I went far away from the ocean to college, and life intervened, and I gradually lost the intensity of love for the underwater world I had originally discovered, as I moved around the country, with both school and work.
That's the background. To make a long story short, recently I went on a trip to Jamaica, dove at a resort, and remembered what I loved about it. Took to it like a fish, remembered pretty much everything from my training, and got the bug back BIG TIME. And now I have the means to do something about it. I've purchased all my own gear except tanks (yay mastercard!), advanced my Cert level to PADI Rescue, have done a couple beach dives and a several local boat dives, and plan to add in a few specialty certs in the next couple of months. I would say I probably have in the neighborhood of 30-35 dives under my belt, but it's hard to say for sure as my old log book was lost in the "dry years", as it were, and I can only reconstruct some of them.
Naturally, one thing newly-minted Rescue Divers are asked about is if they wish to continue on to become Dive Masters. And therein lies my question. (Thanks for reading this far!) Which route to take? Master Diver? Dive Master? There is a world of difference... Master Diver seems to be something of a joke... a card that in reality gets you nothing but some bragging rights. Dive Master seems like it actually comes with some real advances in my knowledge and training... but it's also not cheap to get, takes a real time investment, and, from some threads I've read, seems like it might bring with it some liability issues that, frankly, I have no interest in risking, since I'm not truly interested in this as a career at this point. The cost of getting my DM is not really an impediment, although it will be nice to pay down my gear debt a bit first.
But I like the idea of learning more, other than just specialties, and I like having the option to go farther if I want. I like the idea of, for fun, working on a boat on occasion, and assisting training the occasional classes... I enjoy sharing my enthusiasm and knowledge with others. Who knows where I'll want to go eventually? (And I have to admit, the idea of being able to write off all the gear I've purchased so far this year is appealing, as well.)
I realize none of you are me (duh), but what's your take on what I should do? Is it an insult to the hard-working people who DM for a living to even consider it? Or is it worthwhile to continue my education in the sport? Or should I **** and go back to recreational diving until I have 100+ dives under my belt and want to give up my day job and restart my life on a different path?
Hoping for serious advice, but I have a sense of humor. I hope I'm not completely out of line to post this as my intro to this board... either choice I make, I plan to remain active in diving!
After that I'll probably pick up Peak Buoyancy, perhaps U/W Nav, and Night (not that I really need it). Get the Master Diver before I go for the DM.
