Why is becoming a DM considered not worth it?

[Isa.nerwen]

Hi ISA,

I think I mentioned Tim Lawrence the owner of DJL on both Koh Tao and Koh Lipe. Plus he’s the founder of SEA Explorer Club, diving on new wrecks in the 75-100m range.

I'm just checking the website as they also offer tech diving, but they are very expensive compared to other prices

 

[Isa.nerwen]

One of the best snow seasons of my life was spent working 60 hours a week for minimum wage , hitchhiking to work in blizzards, half way starving because I was poor, and living with 15 roommates in a 2 bedroom house. Would I do it now? Hell no, but at 18 with no responsibilities hell yeah.

If diving was my hobby then it would have been a dive resort and not a ski resort.

If you want to do it, do it. Who cares what anyone else says? You’ll be poor but it will be a lot of fun and you’ll do a lot of diving even if it’s baby sitting. It’s not like it’s a career change, it’s an extended vacation.

I'm definitely not 18 but I don't really have responsibilities either so
I am currently travelling since last December, it won't really cost me more than travelling for 2 months

 

[lostsheep]

I'm definitely not 18 but I don't really have responsibilities either so
I am currently travelling since last December, it won't really cost me more than travelling for 2 months

I’m still 18, just have 2.5 decades of practice

 

[Edward3c]

I'm just checking the website as they also offer tech diving, but they are very expensive compared to other prices

Sorry, I wasn’t suggesting you dive with the Explorer Club, they’re entry level is way above your current level. Just that DJL do both PADI recreational and technical courses. Remember you get what you pay for.

 

[Minion Fish]

Thank you! Where are you based? I think I'll probably do my DMT either in Koh Tao or Koh Lipe. That is if they let me in in Thailand again

From what I've read I need to get ready for the worst. But I don't mind the labour and I think I would be a good leader/teacher, at least from what I've seen from my regular life job.
But so far I've met amazing instructors that were always willin to help, I don't get do they become automatically mean when they teach a DM?

Hi again, sorry I missed that you were in Thailand already. Sounds like you have gone back to London now. I am in the south of Thailand in Phatthalung province, where I live with my wife and 2 small (step) grandchildren. I came to Thailand specifically to do my DM because it was the next "course" on the list. I previously had a house in Spain (Torrevieja), where I did my rescue diver course. (A nightmare with a very poor Spanish company). I thought that Spain would be "nice and warm" during the long bleak English winters........wrong.......still cold in January. "A bloke in a bar" said try Thailand and, Hey Presto I was off. I arrived on Phuket and another "bloke in a dive shop" said Crystal on Koh Tao was the best place to do it. Off I went and paid my money but I was an "old fart" by now, not at all like the young bucks that surrounded me ha ha. As a good looking lady, you will always get better attention than me from a young male dive instructor. That's just the way it is . I can only share my own personal experiences (which I hope will be better for you). Just saying: be aware that it's not just a few fundives.
I haven't been to Koh Lipe (yet). Krabi (Ao Nang) is 2 1/2 hrs away by pickup for me, where I go with "Local Diving for 2500 Baht for 2 dives", so is Koh Lanta where I've just been, a bit more expensive (Lanta Divers 2900 for 2 dives if you have your own gear and ins. with the option of a third dive for an extra 1000 Baht), but their boat is very good and they are close to Koh Ha (which means 5). Best diving I've done for a while, in spite of the coral bleaching. I can go more or less anywhere I chose, given notice. . I don't have "buddies" normally because I usually tell the leader that I will "tag along behind" which I like doing.
If you come back again, post something as I can sureley point you in the right direction regarding visas, travel, accomodation etc.
BTW, as an ex DMT at Crystal you can dive there free for the rest of your life (well that was the case when I did it, it may have changed now). I went back a couple of times but TBH the Andaman is far superior.

Best regards
Bobby Wells (Minion fish)

 

[ginti]

Please guys stop with the false story of being horizontal. It's just not true that tech drivers stay always horizontal, and it would create a wrong idea in the mind of @Isa.nerwen

 

[Isa.nerwen]

Sorry, I wasn’t suggesting you dive with the Explorer Club, they’re entry level is way above your current level. Just that DJL do both PADI recreational and technical courses. Remember you get what you pay for.

Yes but even their accommodation offer is way more than everywhere else Anyway I will check them out, I saw they offer internship too.

 

[Bob DBF]

I read that if you don't work you don't need a liability insurance? Because you are not working?

Here is the issue, most proffessional liability insurance policies are claims-made, in other words, when a claim is made the insurance has to be in force to have coverage. Say you are in California and a student dies while at at an event your shop held, even though you may not be directly involved. In California the plaintiff has two years to bring suit, if you have dropped your insurance, you are not covered if the suit is brought a year and a half later. Depending on where you are, and what he incident, the time may be shorter, or longer, depending on local laws.

My last regular buddy was a DM, and he kept his insurance in force 3 years after he left the business in California.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Please guys stop with the false story of being horizontal. It's just not true that tech drivers stay always horizontal, and it would create a wrong idea in the mind of @Isa.nerwen

Tech divers don't always stay horizontal, but I think many would agree that horizontal should be the default orientation that one reverts to when there is no reason to assume a different orientation.

 

[ginti]

Tech divers don't always stay horizontal, but I think many would agree that horizontal should be the default orientation that one reverts to when there is no reason to assume a different orientation.

I sincerely disagree. When there are no reasons to assume a specific orientation, there is not necessarily a default position; most tech divers I know do whatever they want just for the fun of it (including me). It's a different topic, I mentioned it just because I find it unfair to give a new diver like the OP an incorrect picture of what to expect.