When l took my PADI IDC I instructor course back in 2004. l realised that it taught me nothing about diving!! Lots about sales on equipment and courses and product placement. Educationally it was no different than the Dive Master. Many years later l realised that it opened up a new world of opportunity in diving and how much more l learned afterwards from often failing and adapting to situations. My advice is not to rush your transition from DM to Instructor. The wisdom and experience you can gain without the responsibility is priceless
mine had a 30-minute "exam" which basically consisted of the instructor telling answers to students, then 1 pool dive where all the students were on their knees and performed each skill ONCE, then two open water dives where again each student performed each skill once whilst on their knees. someone lost their weight belt during the dive, wasn't able to complete all the skills due to time constraints and still passed. i shudder looking back at my open water certification.
I am not a dive instructor, I am working towards being one. As an 11H AIT instructor at Ft. Benning, you learn very quickly some people are obviously in the wrong line of work. I've lost track of the number of tomes I've had to tell someone they are pointing the weapon system the wrong way.
Honestly.....yeah. It definitely applies to almost all jobs across the board, but especially ones outside of an office. Even seeing police explorers just doing training they freaking flag each other every other minute.
I just started my DM program. How are you finding yours? I'm a little nervous about the swimming skills, but I've been going to the pool and seeing improvement at every session so far, so that's encouraging.
@@dharmapunk5 I was worried about all the physics in Part 2 of the DM test but after reading a bunch and studying some online flash cards I was able to pass it. I'm not the best swimmer I still have to practice for it to be honest.
About to start my instructor-course in 2 weeks 😃 Will be using my GUE setup, including my D12, canisterlight, longhose, and 2 backups. I’m even planning on doing the swimmingpool-sessions in this rig. It’s by far my favorite setup. I’m diving in this setup. The student? Standard rec-setup. If you know their setup, there’s nothing wrong with mixing the two.
For me personally becoming instructor has taught me that it's the perfect way to kill the hobby you love. :D Well, not really since I don't teach full-time.
Absolutely love this list!! Such a great way to remind us all that we have to keep learning and growing. Every dive is an opportunity to be a better diver! Would love to collaborate and create some great educational scuba content!
My instructor told me a story about an open water student of hers that swam up to her and ripped the primary second stage right out of her mouth so the student could breathe on it. there was absolutely no problem with the students reg at all. the person just freaked out. instructors deal with some pretty crazy stuff.
A lot of people say that it is more likely that an out of air or panicked diver will rip the reg out of your mouth rather than search for your octo. Which is why they advocate just primary donate with the octo on a necklace.
I do not agree with the wing comments. You should be wearing the same set up as your students. The need for extra weight in cold water is the only benefit of a wing and backplate. No quick release clips, pushes your face down when on the surface, unnecisarily complicates BC remove replace skills and weight belt remove replace skills... breaks your back when unloading boats and you get to 'that' bag... An old buddy once told me that a wing is great for your trim, I asked what was wrong with my trim, he said nothing, your trim is great, I just smiled and he never tried to convince me again. Unless you are tech diving, use a sport BC and lead by example.
Anyone have any recommendations on where to do my dive masters and Idc?? I was thinking Madagascar but not sure if the language barrier will limit or even spoil the experience. My second thought was Indonesia..
Well I didn’t know they had salt water crocs 🤨🤨 that could be a tick off the bucket list... I’m Living in Switzerland atm so not much Going on around here😂😂 the goal is to Live on a beach for a few months
@@Joshkelly931. Try the gili islands off Lombok in Indonesia man.loads of multi lingual instructors .im doing my DM with Oceans5 on gili air next month
That raises an interesting question... Do you have one set of gear you teach with that is similar to what the students are using and another set that is they way you like it for actual use?
Coming from a cold water background where we are in drysuits and need 30-50lbs of lead having a wing and backplate moves some of that weight to the 6lb ss plate as well as puts the lift of your BCD in a better place. I have dove with both systems and a bp+wing is by far more comfortable with bulky undergarments and a drysuit on. It doesn't squeeze you every time you are at the surface with a full BCD. As for the same gear as your students. This isn't going to happen as there are so many different types of gear and personal preference. Maybe in an open water course where all students are renting could you get away with this but after that they are trying different gear and buying their own. Knowing how all the different types of gear works and behaves in the water is key though. Being an instructor is all about trouble shooting and thinking on your feet while passing along knowledge in the best possible way.
