When is to soon to get DM Cert.

[jpmorrison]

15 to 20 dives a couple of pool dives over a 3 to 4 month period with all of the required courses and you are there (dive master)
You can buy anything but you can't buy experience.
just teasing

 

[scubatexastony]

NAUI requires 25 dives and MasterDiver and Rescue, 18 yrs old.
PADI requires 20 dives and AOW and Rescue, 18 yrs old.

Let's get started! JUST KIDDING! My best guess is it takes a desire to help others learn what you have learned, while being responsible for their TOTAL safety. Or as my friend told me, the DM that helped on my OW classes inspired me to become a DM, a true indication of "doing it right".

No, I'm not a DM, but I'm leaning that way, thanks to my friends who are truely (in my minds eye) DMs.

tony

 

[Scubamedicjoe]

ok I am going to stir the pot some first let me say anyone with less than a hundred dives shouldnt be a dm you say why
its more than being comfortable in the water your skills need to be really really up to par and you should be able to do them in the dark second most divers cant navigate worth a beens underwater !!!!!!!!!!!!!! and bounacy control hum its a joke to most divers
and another issuie I think personally allot forget what the role of a dive master is
remember divemaster can be for hire on boats , class's, traing ect
the certain amount of training you get in your dive master course will task you if its done right !!!!!!!!!!!!!
second you need to be familar in all kinds of diving envirments and roles including deep, night , and would recomend deco and wreck both penitration and not .
again my 2 cents !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
if we make these course any easier we not doing the diving industry any faviors at all just creating more risk of divers deaths or troubles !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[SM Diver]

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

Tom

People vary, but I think that's a pretty good rule of thumb.

 

[Walter]

I don't know of any agency that has adequate standards (IMHO) for this course.

I don't care much when someone enters the program, but to be certified, that standards need to be raised. I would love to see a required internship on a dive charter. Number of dives is important, but in many ways, it is secondary to experience dealing with people in different diving conditions. Somewhere between 50 to 100 days interning on a charter boat should be adequate for most people to gain the necessary experience.

 

[dc4bs]

100+ dives and 6 years (most of the dives in the last 2 years)?

I'm currently working on a PADI DM cert. Will also be going for TDI DM cert as well.
I have: PADI ow, aow, nitrox, rescue, 9 specials
Also: TDI adv nitrox, deco (planning for trimix in the next few months).

I hadn't planned to become a DM but my current instructor thinks I'm a better diver than many of the DMs he's worked with. Also, the DMs at the LDS are not 'tek' and most have never been beyond 130 fsw.

My instructor needs a DM who can assist him with 'tek' classes, and he asked me. After thinking about it for a few weeks, I decided to go for it.

EDIT:
If I find out about one in the NJ area, I'd be interested in taking a DIRF class as well.

 

[zboss]

There are a lot of other skills besides dive skills that are important IMHO... for example, I may be a new diver but where I dive I know the ocean like no one else, I have great boat handling skills, good engine mechanic skills, great organization skills and a lot of customer service experience also.

So... folks with that said doesn't that count towards dive credits?

 

[daylight]

WgOaLnFg,
Dee and WreckWriter have given you some excellent advice. Looking at your original post, it appears that you are going from class to class without accumulating experience and skills along the way. Having a goal to be a DM is great. It will incentivize you to develop your skills to the point that they are demonstration quality. As a DM, your skills will be observed closely and emulated by students and divers.
Enjoying the journey is part of the fun of diving. There is a lot to be said for building your experience as part of your foundation.
Good luck on achieving your goal.
DSAO,
Larry

 

[Wendy]

Personally I wouldn't feel comfortable in the water with a DM that only had a few months of diving experience. I don't think I would be confident in his abilities to help me in an emergency situation. But that's just me. I beleive that when taking classes that you need to take it slow and become proficient in one thing before you go on to the next. Like I did AOW and nitrox, maybe 6 months later I did cavern, almoat a year after that I did intro to cave (nearly a year of cavern dives til I felt I was ready to move on and I was the only one in my intro class that didn't need further dives to pass the course), then last spring I did rescue, and now finishing up my DM course.

So, in my opinion, take it slow, gain some more expereince. I would hate to give number of cert dives, but here goes anyways, at least 100 dives before DM, in more than one type of diving.

 

[chiara]

When I started my DM course I had just under 100 dives, actually I started it and then went on vacation to Thailand where I reached the 100 dives and resumed the course after coming back home.

This happened in October last year, the papers were sent in February, just about two years after my very first certification dive.

Was I ready?

NO

Was I aware of not being ready?

More than vaguely, but my instructor surreptitiously accused me of underestimating myself.

Would I be ready now, about 50 dives later, to guide dives for money and fun and do it safely?

No, I'm just about learning.

Please BEWARE: when your certifying instructor says you're ready to get your card, please follow your instincts, and if possible go and get the unbiased opinion of another instructor from the same agency, be it PADI or something else, but it has to be the same agency so standards are known and understood.

The instructor I certified with has been referred to PADI, one of the reasons (not the main, though) is his incapacity to prepare me; I just hope he will be stopped before he does any real damage.