When is to soon to get DM Cert.

[WgOaLnFg]

Lately, I have been considering the possibility of becoming a DM.

I have only been certified for about 2 1/2 months now, yet the possibility of becoming a DM has been on my mind a lot lately.

I caught the bug when I first put the regulator in my mouth and put my head underwater. I have been pretty active in diving since I did get certified. I have already gotten my AOW, and my Nitrox certificaiton.

This weekend, I am getting my Cavern class and the following weekend I am going to take a DAN O2 class. Soon I will be taking my Rescue class.

This has been the course of training that I selected even before the thought of becoming a DM so I'm not really doing this in prepairation of becoming a DM, it is in prepairation of disaster. My dive buddies are technical divers, and we all feel that it would be good to have these.

The thought of becoming a DM has really come when I was approached by an instructor at my dive shop, when he said that if I would be willing, he would love to be able to call me and have me come help him during his Confined, and OW dives.

I am looking at it saying, well, if I am going to do this, maybe I should get proper training on how to train and assist someone while in the water, other than just buddying up with someone.

My question to everyone is, how soon is to soon to get my DM cert.

 

[WreckWriter]

Anything short of 1 year and 250 dives is too soon in my opinion. Others will disagree.

Tom

 

[MechDiver]

WreckWriter once bubbled...
Anything short of 1 year and 250 dives is too soon in my opinion. Others will disagree.Tom

I will I did my last skill for DM on my 115th dive one day before my first year of diving. I also was diving 5 and 6 days a week, and could dive enought to learn how to DM.

How soon is too soon depends on you, your skills, and, IMO, how often you can dive to maintain same. If you're an active DM, you also have to accept the added risk and liability that comes with that.

Phil

 

[MikeFerrara]

I don't think it matters when you start the DM training. As a DM candidate you can't do any harm, your a student.

IMO, the important thing is the experience you have when you actually becoma a DM and take charge and responsibility for other divers. The real question is when are you prepared to rely on your jugement to avoid or manage a serious proble for someone else underwater? I have done it a bunch of times and still don't know the answer. I think some could handle it with little preperation and some will never be able to handle it no matter how much training and experience they have.

 

[Butch103]

cause I am considering the same........

WreckWriter...where did you come up with the numbers ?? Just arbritrary or do you have specifics for your numbers.....??:boom:

 

[Dee]

Don't know about those specific numbers but I agree you need way more experience than you have now.

There's more to divemastering than passing a few courses. You need experience behind you. Not just diving experience, but situational experience and judgement experience. Your skills need to be second nature. There's more to helping in a class than just making sure students get their gear together properly and hovering around a platform while they do their skills.

There's been alot of discussion on these boards about the low quality of instructors and divemasters. I think one of the reasons for that is they have gone from OW diver to those positions as quickly as possible with no practical experience to back them up.

Do yourself and the future students you'll work with, and/or eventually teach, a favor and get the experience first. You can't pass along practical knowledge you don't have.

 

[Butch103]

Can't disagree with you Dee on the experience, but what is enough experience ?? 150 dives in one year? 150 dives in both cold and warm water ?......Is experience measurable ?...Is a diver with better than average diving skills not a better candidate for DM than a "bad" diver with twice the dives and half the skills???:boom:

Dee once bubbled...
Don't know about those specific numbers but I agree you need way more experience than you have now.

There's more to divemastering than passing a few courses. You need experience behind you. Not just diving experience, but situational experience and judgement experience. Your skills need to be second nature. There's more to helping in a class than just making sure students get their gear together properly and hovering around a platform while they do their skills.

There's been alot of discussion on these boards about the low quality of instructors and divemasters. I think one of the reasons for that is they have gone from OW diver to those positions as quickly as possible with no practical experience to back them up.

Do yourself and the future students you'll work with, and/or eventually teach, a favor and get the experience first. You can't pass along practical knowledge you don't have. [/QUOTE

 

[Dee]

Butch103 once bubbled...
Can't disagree with you Dee on the experience, but what is enough experience ?? 150 dives in one year? 150 dives in both cold and warm water ?......Is experience measurable ?...Is a diver with better than average diving skills not a better candidate for DM than a "bad" diver with twice the dives and half the skills???:boom:

That's why I couldn't agree with the numbers. Someone can have 150 dives in a 30ft quarry and not have the experience of someone who has 50 dives in a range of sites and conditions. Of course, you're right...better than average skills is always better than any dive count.

By experience before going into DM training, what I have in mind is things like....

1. perfect bouyancy. Not only having it yourself, but understanding how to achieve it and being able to explain it to others. Knowing how get properly weighted, how different exposure suits is going to effect that bouyancy. Can you do safety stops at 15ft with no line? You'd be surprised at how many divers going into DM training can't.

With bouyancy I'll include your orientation in the water. A slight heads up orientation is a position that students have to be taught. If not they have the typical 45º angle/fins pointed to the bottom orientation and think they are doing fine! Do you understand how to trim a diver to help them accomplish this? If you can't do it to yourself, you can't help others. This only comes with actual diving experience.

2. Situational awareness. Yes, you'll learn alot about this in Rescue classes. But it's only through actual diving experience, diving with a wide range of other divers and witnessing all the various situations that can arise in the course of a normal days dive, that you truly learn to recognize potential problems. The more dives you do, the more you notice everything around you and not just what is happening 'with you'.

3. Can you use a compass? Most of the DM candidates I've seen haven't touched a compass since their AOW dives and don't remember how to navigate a simple square course. The DM course takes it for granted you can use a compass.

Knowledge of gas management and knowledge of gear can only be an advantage. These things come with actual diving experience.

If someone has mastered these things with only the required 40 dives to start DM training, more power to them and I wish them all the luck. If not, do the dives first and learn these things before taking on the responsibility of other divers.

The name for the cert. is Dive Master or Dive Control Specialist (?) If you haven't truly mastered these basics and/or can't control these things, you need more experience.

 

[WreckWriter]

Butch103 once bubbled...
cause I am considering the same........

WreckWriter...where did you come up with the numbers ?? Just arbritrary or do you have specifics for your numbers.....??:boom:

Hi Butch,

Totally arbitrary, best guess based on my own experience. As some have said, it will vary with the individual but I feel a certain number of dives is required to attain a near total comfort level and to have seen most things that are likely to happen.

As Mike said, DM candidate can do little harm, I was thinking of a DM working a boat.

Tom

 

[Scubamedicjoe]

personally i think anything under 200 dives aqnd some ocean and varied diving experence with diving and at least a couple yrs experence is too less but thats my 2 cents