What style of DM course do you guys recommend?

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FYI - the DM course will not "further" your diving skills in any way. (Other than perhaps via whatever dive experience you gather during the course... which experience could be better had by simply going diving.)

Not trying to dissuade you, but you oughta know what you're getting into.

I agree. Your diving skills won't be improved. The only thing you'll really learn is how to lead dives. I don't think any of the professional certifications improve your skills as a diver. You don't teach anything as a dive master, and even as an OW instructor you're only teaching basic skills.
 
I think all the above posts make good points and should be considered carefully.

My two cents...

A) Divemasters will be helping others with their technical skills, and also they will copy yours by example. A thinking awareness of diving's many nuanced subtleties will help you identify their problems and offer specific and effective solutions. Therefore a DM's own skill in the water should be comprehensive and absolutely instinctive. Experience counts.

B) Helping others learn is more than technical. People skills are vital to teaching - to be able to empathize, understand, and communicate, to comprehend different personalities and inhibitions, to be able to convey knowledge and instill confidence in a manner it will be usefully received. Experience counts.

Both these factors are exponentially more important as you move to Instructor level.

I would look for a DM course where you can work with people extensively, even assisting after DM certification. Add as much to your own "hands on" and "in water" experience with students as possible - preferably over an extended period of time, like an internship or apprenticeship.

This path is not about "getting the patch." Ultimately it is about responsibility for people's lives. And improving the quality of their lives.

Your default, a six month period (or longer) with your LDS or something similar would actually be a route I'd recommend highly.
 
As a newbie dependent on a dive master, I would feel more comfortable with a dive master with 500+ dives rather than a newly certified DM with 50+ dives.

My perspective is informed from about 12 years of climbing (ice, rock and mountaineering) where I started with formal instruction followed by guided climbs and a progression to independent climbing. My instructors and guides (e.g. Barry Blanchard & James Blench) had thousands of days climbing in all types of conditions. It wasn't their certification that gave me confidence; rather it was their lengthy track record.

Good luck with your DM goals.

GJS
 
.... Mainly I just want move overseas and dive every day, so going professional is an obvious way to do that. Using the DM course as a way to dive in a location I'm desperate to visit is also a powerful motivator (looking at you, Komodo). ....

Fair enough. Why not do the DM with the centre you want to dive at? Plenty of people do this for a while until they get fed up of the reality not matching the fantasy. As others have said the course will not impart dive skills, it's about helping out on teaching and being a guide/labourer. FWIW I think PADI should set the entry dive requirement to 250 with a wide variety of conditions, but they wouldn't make any money then nor get people to work for nothing for their dive centres. If I was thirty years younger I wouldn't mind a season there myself, provided I had a real job to come back to.
 
"FWIW I think PADI should set the entry dive requirement to 250"

Here in the North-East USA we get 12 weekends per year to dive. It would take a lifetime.
 
"FWIW I think PADI should set the entry dive requirement to 250"

Here in the North-East USA we get 12 weekends per year to dive. It would take a lifetime.

Good point, and that is one of the reasons people travel on dive trips.....one week mid-winter in (say) Bonaire and you can get in 25-30 dives. It also expands your experience and diving background.
 
My turn:
First, phlegm: You mention "go overseas", "dive every day", "desperate to visit", "lifestyle". You don't mention you enjoy or have a desire to work with students, or meeting other divers as a (charter boat?) leader. I enjoy watching (and often helping) students to become certified divers, having had a career in education. It's very rewarding at times, but it is a job. The pay aspect for said job has been discussed to death.

RJP, azmodan50: I disagree to a point. I feel the DM course forces you to polish your skills to demo quality, so that somewhat improves your diving. Whether your skills improvement is worth the cost of the course, I doubt it very much.

Yoydyne-88: 12 weekends a year in NE USA??? That's less than 3 full months. You don't dive (wet) in May, Sept. & Oct.?
 
fair point. I like teaching people in my current context (hospitality) and get a kick out of seeing them succeed using my methods, but it's fair to say I'd be doing this course more to sustain a prolonged period of diving than I would be for the satisfaction of teaching.
 
Hey phlegm :)

Have you ever experienced the diving or any dive training in those Indonesian locations or the liveaboard you've shortlisted?
Seems to me, you're prioritising the reputation of the scuba diving enjoyment as a factor in the quality of professional diver training you might receive - because it doesn't :p

It is a bonus, and what I would suggest for your further research is: who will be teaching you? Who will be your mentor? What are their qualifications and their experience? Because they will be the pillar of support during your training and their professionalism will shape the beginning of your professional scuba diving career!
Me and my colleagues of Downbelow Marine and Wildlife Adventures' Go PRO team, have been trained in-house at our premier PADI 5 Star IDC Dive Centre by the same mentor: resident Platinum PADI Course Director, Richard Swann! Now, as elite Instructor Trainers, we deliver pro diver training to all Go PRO interns from the PADI Divemaster course and above. As far as our Go PRO team is concerned - the PADI Divemaster performance requirements are an introduction of what's to come in the PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC), which is why only our Go PRO team are responsible for professional diver development, and prepare candidates for that logical progress!

Our Go PRO advisors have years of experience in catering personalised Go PRO internship programs to suit our interns’ capabilities, experience, qualifications and future goals, and plenty of benefits to assist in the most comfortable beginning of your dive career. You’ll get a reply with a bespoke program within 24 hours, when you e-mail or call with as much detail about yourself as you can share! 24 hours!
 
shilling aside, this poster has a point. How can you possibly assess the quality of instruction you'll receive? Sure, I can (and have already) look up the certs my potential instructor holds, but it's not much of an indicator. I'm getting good vibes from the email exchanges I've had from some centres but that really only tells me about their written communication and may not be a true reflection on their teaching prowess. everyone harps on about how important it is to get the right instructor, but actually finding them from afar is kinda tricky.
 
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