Why is becoming a DM considered not worth it?

[Isa.nerwen]

Oh, as in that was how many dives (actually 18) I took to get all the training objectives signed off. But actually that was only open water dives-I probably had about 12 pool dives as well

How many dives did you do in total during your DM course?

 

[Isa.nerwen]

I'd like to add here that this thread has gone really toxic, and I think if @Isa.nerwen was a guy, she wouldn't be getting treated like this. . .

Some of my female friends have shared their stories with me, and I, as a grumpy old white male conservative American, want to say that it's not cool to **** (harder) on the ladies then we sh!t on each other, guys. Not cool at all. . .

@Isa.nerwen if you want to come to the states, your next course is on me. Hang in there.

Thanks for the nice comment

Are you sure haha? My next course could very well be instructor in that case
Where are you based btw?

 

[Leatherboot69]

I did 18 open water dives; perhaps 20 pool dives (I didn’t log them so I don’t know exactly); and probably another 15 open water fun dives to build experience and practice different skills. For most objectives I had one practice set of dives (some in the pool, eg DSD and reactivate) where I would observe or participate non-assessed (eg lead a guided dive or assist on a specialty course), and then one set of dives under assessment. I started DM on about 60 dives including cold water, zero visibility and limited wreck penetration as well as tropical/warm water conditions.

 

[Leatherboot69]

What about you?

 

[Lorenzoid]

I'm on Koh Tao, which is a massive dive factory, there are always between 12-18 DMTs at my shop.

At least you were aware of what you were getting into.

Yes, but a intro to tech course costs a lot of money and it's only a few days, while the DM is a little more and a lot more diving.
Obviously, I did improve because I got to dive a lot on top of having workshops ....

You do realize nothing stops you from doing both? The DM course can indeed be a way to get in a lot of dives for a low per-dive cost, but that's probably the most favorable thing that can be said for it, as far as for the diver who has no intention of ever working professionally, that is.

Years ago, I spent a month on the island of Utila, Honduras, which is similar to Koh Tao in being known as a training mill. I took the Rescue course there, and then like many others who had just finished the Rescue course pondered whether to proceed on to the DM course, as our shop tried to coax us to do. Some others did, but I chose not to. Rather, I stayed a few more weeks and just dived dived dived. My cost per dive was reasonable, thanks to a friend who worked at one of the shops. If I hadn't gotten that friends-and-family deal, maybe I would have continued on as a DMT. I socialized with the DMTs all the same and had a great time for my remaining weeks there. But in hindsight, nothing would have improved my diving like an intensive skills-focused course or workshop, such as an intro-to-tech type course or Fundamentals. While the number of dives in Fundamentals was low in comparison to a DM course, the work we did on our skills during each of those fairly long, very shallow dives, was intense. I am not by nature a cocky person, but I will say I'm certain I emerged from that course a better diver than I would have been after the DM course.

 

[VikingDives]

Thanks for the nice comment

Are you sure haha? My next course could very well be instructor in that case
Where are you based btw?

You're welcome. I'm in New Mexico.

For posterity's sake, I'm going to comment that my "you're a noob" comment was made in response to another pretty toxic post on this thread. With that quote deleted, it looks like I was being rude. In context, I don't think I was, but without the quote I kind of sound like an a$$. FWIW, I generally try to avoid name-calling on here.

 

[Leatherboot69]

With the right selection of specialties and regardless of the title I think Master Scuba Diver is actually a better choice than Divemaster for divers who don’t intend to work as DMs. 39 dives post-Rescue Diver learning new, useful skills that you can use for all diving (in my case navigation, limited wreck penetration, dry suit, deep and Nitrox), as opposed to 49 dives learning skills that are enjoyable to learn and valuable in their own right in improving things like rescue and situational awareness, but which you don’t necessarily intend to use again. (I did both)

 

[LI-er]

With the right selection of specialties and regardless of the title I think Master Scuba Diver is actually a better choice

You're confused. Master Scuba Diver doesn't teach anything new in fact it doesn't do anything more than separate a diver from his or her hard earned cash in exchange for an environmentally damaging worthless piece of plastic.

 

[Leatherboot69]

You're confused. Master Scuba Diver doesn't teach anything new in fact it doesn't do anything more than separate a diver from his or her hard earned cash in exchange for an environmentally damaging worthless piece of plastic.

Bite… Lol. Nah, I did it and I learned loads from gaining five specialties and getting up to 50 dives. But I know that’s not a popular view on SB, I don’t have a problem with that. No plastic involved, we all moved to e-cards about twenty years ago.

Off topic but I bet if MSD was called ‘Diver Modular Basic Training’ you would all absolutely love it lol. “Wow, this is comprehensive and yet adaptable to local environments.”

 

[TMHeimer]

How many dives did you do in total during your DM course?

Thinking back 15 years I guess I did maybe 10 OW dives at most. Most of the course was in the pool. But I don't really think the DM course is about getting experience diving. I had 156 dives before signing up and I felt that was about the right amount for me.