Why is becoming a DM considered not worth it?

[Searcaigh]

Thanks all for the comments! For an update no-one request, I went for it and it was a great experience. And now I'm in instructor

Congratulations

Now update your profile

 

[JT145]

Thanks all for the comments! For an update no-one request, I went for it and it was a great experience. And now I'm in instructor

Good for you! Keep on learning whether you get a certificate or not. Be safe!

 

[elgringoperdido]

I'll chime in, although I am not a DM and have no interest in becoming one so I can't give any specific advice about whether it's worth the effort or whether it will make you a better diver.

I do have 13 certs from three different agencies. PADI and BSAC have been mentioned frequently but I have no certs with them and can't comment on it. TDI was also mentioned and I can definitely recommend their courses. I have 7 certs from TDI and for those I had to demonstrate excellent buoyancy, gas conservation, many different fin movements, frog, helicopter, etc. I'd say that those courses made me a much better diver and I can recommend them. (Well, helium is much more expensive now than when I did the courses but that's more of an issue if you want to keep going to 300+ feet after the course is over. If you just want the course it's not too bad.)

A recreational course you might consider is the NAUI Master Diver course. Of all the recreational courses I took that one was, by far, the most challenging and interesting and the one that improved my skills the most. Of course it depends upon your instructor. Mine was a real hardass. Never cut me any slack, but in the end I was grateful for it. He insisted upon 9 dives, although 8 are required for the course. He also required a planned decompression dive, although NAUI allows for a "simulated" deco if the instructor wants to do that instead. I had to learn boat etiquette, to tie a number of different types of knots (while being timed), to bring a 15-kg danforth anchor from 75 fsw up to 40 feet and keep it there for 30 minutes. Lots of navigation. He gave me a compass to wear and said keep it on at all times and practice walking, cycling, etc., with it. I wore that thing for a week straight, even in the shower. He also charged me nearly twice the rate for that course compared to other shops teaching the same course, but he came well recommended and I believe that it is usually the case that you get what you pay for.

An aside: I have noticed that the TDI Extended Range cert matches the CMAS/FFESM *** ("niveau trois") rating. Could be important if you dive in French waters. I have had this experience both in Guadeloupe and in the Mediterranean. They tend to be very bureaucratic about it and will look at your certs and decide if you are equivalent to *, **, or *** and your dive will be based on that. But you'll need to complete the TDI Advanced Nitrox and the Decompression Procedures courses first before enrolling in Extended Range. I do not think that PADI Divemaster will get you to *** with a CMAS shop. Something to think about.

Best wishes with the DM course if you decide to complete it, but also consider the other courses I mentioned if you really are just looking to improve your skills as a diver.

 

[seaj]

I can't agree with you more as far as the NAUI Master Diver course goes. Its an outstanding pinnacle for recreational diving.

My path took me from the master diver course to PADI DM. The NAUI course had me well preparred for dive master. The DM course was great if you want to work with a shop, support instructors in the water, and learn to look more outwardly as a diver as far as watching and helping others. Its also a solid step toward the instructor or tec path.

Im now a newbie ANDP diver and, looking back, find value in all the training I had. That said, I want to emphasize my agreement with the NAUI Master Diver course being an excellent, of not the best, rec diving course offered.

 

[Searcaigh]

Best wishes with the DM course if you decide to complete it, but also consider the other courses I mentioned if you really are just looking to improve your skills as a diver.

Refer to post #300

 

[MB NZ]

To add to the discussion. I've heard it said to get your DM and not bother with an instructor ticket. Why? Do you want to be stuck in a pool or confined water doing endless skills or actually diving? This was certainly the case when I was in the industry. The instructors were doing all the boring stuff while I was diving my socks off. Of course, one may have a passion for teaching and an instructor ticket will enhance employability, but I guess it depends on why you are in the game.

 

[Still Kicking]

To add to the discussion. I've heard it said to get your DM and not bother with an instructor ticket. Why? Do you want to be stuck in a pool or confined water doing endless skills or actually diving? This was certainly the case when I was in the industry. The instructors were doing all the boring stuff while I was diving my socks off. Of course, one may have a passion for teaching and an instructor ticket will enhance employability, but I guess it depends on why you are in the game.

Teaching can be a grind but it can also be incredibly rewarding.

I was involved with a nonprofit this summer that ran a class for some teens, many of whom had never been in a pool and were terrified of water on day one. To see them grow in confidence over several weeks and reach the point where they dived in a kelp forest with giant sea bass was a special experience.

 

[lizardland]

To add to the discussion. I've heard it said to get your DM and not bother with an instructor ticket. Why? Do you want to be stuck in a pool or confined water doing endless skills or actually diving? This was certainly the case when I was in the industry. The instructors were doing all the boring stuff while I was diving my socks off. Of course, one may have a passion for teaching and an instructor ticket will enhance employability, but I guess it depends on why you are in the game.

I did the same and I totally agree. I'd sometimes be assisting instructors in the pool but generally speaking I'd be doing more guiding related stuff with less hassle. Maybe things are different now, it seems like everybody and their dog has an instructor ticket these days. But when I was younger and travelling then DM'ing was a hell of a lot more enjoyable if what you wanted was diving and adventuring. Being a worker bee is great, you have enough responsibility so that you aren't eating everyone else's crap without ever really having to do any of the difficult, tedious stuff that a higher position brings.

Everyone is different, I don't enjoy teaching, I don't find it particularly rewarding and I think there is a big pressure to buy into the whole idea of how wonderful it is to be teaching that guilts a lot of people into becoming instructors.

If you really want to make yourself employable then I'd say put effort into learning a language other than English. Learn other skills that are diving adjacent. A commercial powerboat cert isn't that hard to achieve. Outboards are really simple and maintaining them isn't hard. Especially the old Japanese 2-strokes that half the world is still using.

And as the old saying goes, you never see an unemployed welder. Same goes for most trades. If you can do something practical like joining two pieces of metal together or attaching cables to things without it killing anyone then you'll find work anywhere and it'll pay for all the diving you can eat.

 

[Isa.nerwen]

To add to the discussion. I've heard it said to get your DM and not bother with an instructor ticket. Why? Do you want to be stuck in a pool or confined water doing endless skills or actually diving? This was certainly the case when I was in the industry. The instructors were doing all the boring stuff while I was diving my socks off. Of course, one may have a passion for teaching and an instructor ticket will enhance employability, but I guess it depends on why you are in the game.

I am really enjoying teaching so far. But also, I've decided to become an instructor because it's way easier to find work anywhere and as a DM you barely survive. In the 10 months I've worked as DM I barely got enough money for rent and food, sometimes not even.

 

[Jai Bar]

I am really enjoying teaching so far. But also, I've decided to become an instructor because it's way easier to find work anywhere and as a DM you barely survive. In the 10 months I've worked as DM I barely got enough money for rent and food, sometimes not even.

If you still got the time and no funding problems, maybe consider learning tech diving too.

Even if you don’t really intend to get into deep diving, the theory and knowledge will improve you as an instructor.

And it is a fun course that you will likely enjoy, no harm in seeking more knowledge, right?