What is an experienced diver

[doghawk]

Hi
I am considering taking up diving for pleasure and to enhance my CV with the aim of traveling and working in wildlife conservation.
I have seen a number of positions advertised for experienced divers
I am keen to get to this level as quickly as possible.
So could anyone give me any advice on what constitutes an experienced diver and the appropriate level of certification I would need to attain to classify as an experienced diver.

 

[Doppler]

Hi
I am considering taking up diving for pleasure and to enhance my CV with the aim of traveling and working in wildlife conservation.
I have seen a number of positions advertised for experienced divers
I am keen to get to this level as quickly as possible.
So could anyone give me any advice on what constitutes an experienced diver and the appropriate level of certification I would need to attain to classify as an experienced diver.

Experienced means someone with a background in diving and dives logged... Not necessarily certifications bought to enhance a CV. I would suggest getting a hundred or so dives logged in a variety of environments before you call yourself experienced.


Sorry, but that ain't gonna happen overnight?

The zero to hero muppets (some of whom hold instructor cards) are what give this community a bad rap. Suggest you avoid the " fast as possible" route at all costs.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Just to add to what Doppler said, IMO an experienced diver is also somewhat subjective and what one employer or program may require may be miles away from what another requires. At a minimum 100 dives in a combination of freshwater, saltwater, cold, low vis, deep, current, and any other environment you can think of is where one should start. As for certifications I'd say OW, an advanced open water course of some kind, and rescue would be the minimum cert levels. Pro level cards are somewhat meaningless as they may in no way relate to the types of dives an employer or program may require. Unless you will be teaching in some way.

One program may want your "experience" to include a degree in Marine Biology. Another underwater welding or inspections. Best bet is to get certified and then just dive. At some point contact the admin of the program(s) and find out what they are looking for specifically and gear further training to that. Oh and do lots of diving outside of training courses.

 

[00wabbit]

I saw an add for an expedition to tag manta rays and they were looking for 400 dives plus some specific certifications.

 

[TSandM]

I'd say an experienced diver is one who is pretty capable of planning and executing an average dive in a variety of conditions, without requiring any major assistance to do so.

Experienced diver, in the context of an employment offer, would almost certainly mean significant experience in the environment pertinent to the employment -- In Puget Sound, for example, that would mean experience with cold water, low viz, and planning dives with respect to major tidal exchanges and strong currents. In Southern California, that might mean good skills for handling surf entries, and underwater navigation. For any ad, you need to inquire as to what "experienced" means in THEIR minds.

 

[DMDavid]

In some areas of the world they might be asking if you jam to Jimmy Hendrix.

 

[dbulmer]

An idea for the OP.

Contact the Marine Conservation Society and see if you can talk to someone on the phone. Doing this means that you have to be proactive which I suspect is one of the qualities you would need to have in that field.

 

[supergaijin]

Hi
I am considering taking up diving for pleasure and to enhance my CV with the aim of traveling and working in wildlife conservation.
I have seen a number of positions advertised for experienced divers
I am keen to get to this level as quickly as possible.
So could anyone give me any advice on what constitutes an experienced diver and the appropriate level of certification I would need to attain to classify as an experienced diver.

A solid year of diving would be a good start.

As for certification, I believe (insert agency here)'s Rescue Cert would be a minimum.

As for being experienced for a given task, it depends greatly on what conditions you'd be diving in. I am pretty experienced in tropical water (2000+), have worked seasons in NZ's temperate waters (300?), but I am not experienced in cold water.

Throw in some task-loading, then I could probably make a decent fist of it in tropical water, struggle in temperate and be lost in cold water.

 

[nimoh]

I also agree that it takes a lot of dives to become experienced. I have been diving for 4 years and have a little over 100 dives, am a PADI divemaster but still consider myself to be a new diver. I am probably the paradigmatic zero-to-hero diver to which Doppler was referring. In PADI's eyes, I am a professional diver, in mine, a newbie.

I am taking GUE Fundamentals in a week to help improve on my skill as a diver. I can't really comment on the class, since I haven't taken it yet, but based on reviews I have read about it and people I have talked to, I am expecting in to have a dramatic impact on my diving skill.

 

[OldNSalty]

It is such an open ended question that it can't really be answered. Do those things that will help you find work in the conservation field...and while you are at it, take up diving....then do some diving, take some classes, do some more diving...some day, just like magic, you might find that someone needs your skill set (which includes your diving)

If I had to outline the steps I took to make me uniquely qualified to do my current job I could but there is no way 20 years ago I could have reasonably planned it out...all I could do was shoot for a general target.