What Should You Expect from a Divemaster Course?

You love diving? Great! You want to take it a bit further and keep learning? Awesome! After your Open Water Course, you can do the Advanced Open Water Course! This will let you dive up to 30 meters deep and gives you a taste of some of the specialities like deep diving, night diving, diving with nitrox, … Maybe you want to take it even further? Then the next step, being a divemaster might be for you! When I decided I wanted to become a dive instructor, I was lucky enough to live with two divemasters and a dive instructor who could tell me all about it!

If you’re interested in becoming a divemaster, you’re in the right place! I made a rundown with my experiences and everything you need to know! My experiences are told from a PADI point of view.
SSI and other diving organisations have the same kind of courses but will differ in certain smaller details!

First things first: Rescue diver

The first step to being a Pro diver, is becoming a rescue diver. In my opinion everyone who dives a lot (read: a couple of times a year) should take this course. Having the knowledge and skills to help divers who panic or have any problems under water makes diving a whole lot safer. You never know what happens.

The course takes 3-4 days depending on where you do it and consists of:
– emergency first aid which gives you a general certificate that is accepted all over the world
– some theory about what to do in which circumstance
– practice, practice and practice until it is so embedded in your brain, you’ll never forget it!

It is a very demanding course and you will be physically and mentally finished by the end of it but it is so worth doing and you will feel satisfied!

Where to go?

Choosing the right dive school

Choosing where you do your DM (Dive Master) is really important. In some places the conditions are more challenging, other places are more respected in the diving world. Take high and low season in consideration as well because this affects whether or not you can dive every day. A friend of mine did a DM course in a certain location and didn’t dive in 14 days because the location didn’t have any customers.

How long should it take?

Another important point is how long will you be a DMT (Dive Master in Training) for? In theory you can do the course in nine days but will this give you the same experience as doing it in four weeks? This will also depend on the dive school and which courses they offer. I chose to do it in four weeks and was really happy I did. I got the chance to follow two real open water courses, an advanced course, a refresher course and two discovery scuba dives. The experience from these courses was invaluable! I have seen the dive guides lead so many different groups in diverse ways! From my experience it’s best to take your time with the course. The longer it takes, the more experience you will get!

The Divemaster Course

When you first start the course, it will seem like a lot of theory and practice. I remember feeling so overwhelmed when I got my divemaster package, thinking that four weeks would never be enough! Don’t let this get to you and break it down in small pieces! It is a lot, but if you do it step by step you will swim through it!

Part 1: Theory

As a divemaster you have to make sure you have the knowledge to support the practice. Your manual will take care of this. In nine chapters it will teach you how to act and think as a divemaster. People will not only listen to you but also look at every small thing you do, so you will  have to talk like one and act responsible in every way. You will get two big exams about this book. Don’t stress too much, just read it properly, do the little pop quizzes in between and you will be fine!

Part 2: Skills

There is a list of 25 skills you will have to be able to perform calmly, slowly and with confidence. This has to be done in a way that when people see you perform the skill, they are able to copy it. If you are doing a DM with the intention of being an instructor, practice these skills already as if you are training to be one. It is okay for a dive master to do the skills as an instructor, but not the other way around. I got lucky and when I was doing my course, there was an energetic dive instructor intern, who went over the skills with me until I did them perfectly. The more you practice, the easier it gets. Start on land and perform the skills, it looks really silly but works. After that, practice them in the pool until you do them smoothly.

Part 3: Experience

As said before you have to attend different courses during your dive master. Observing is the key. Both my instructors were really calm people who gave everyone a feeling of safety and tranquility. I, myself, am more energetic and learned a whole lot from the way they taught people, making them feel safe and confident! The way your mentors teach forms a really good base for the way you will interact with people later when guiding dives yourself.

Part 4: Guiding customers on fun dives

The biggest part of being  a divemaster is guiding divers on dive sites. This can range from newly certified open water divers till experienced ex-instructors. Again, observation is key! The local Indonesian dive guides were really experienced and showed how they act differently with every diver. When guiding a new diver they will usually point out the bigger stuff and, for example, the easy to spot colorful fish like the anemone fish. With an experienced diver who is there to take pictures, they go a lot slower and look for the small rare creatures. In setting up the gear and helping them in it the whole approach differs for each customer as well.

One of the fun dives, with the couple from the picture below, the current changed immensely mid dive. The group got separated and Tino, the dive guide, had to go and retrieve Linnea who was pulled into the ocean. I stayed with Marten, guided him out of the current and waited one minute to see if they returned. When after a minute there was still no sight of them, I decided to take him back into the bay and surface close to the boat. Waiting on the boat for 10 minutes for the other ones to return was the longest 10 minutes of my life. This experience did prepare me for future problem solving moments.

All in all, the dive master course was one of the most educational experiences I ever had in my dive career. It made me realise how much I love diving and gave me the confidence to go underwater with other less experienced divers. A week later I went diving with two friends who hadn’t been for a while. Since we didn’t hire a guide, I guided them through the dive sites and helped them set up equipment! I’m so ready for the next step: Dive Instructor!

If you are interested in diving or want to go further with diving, subscribe to our blog for more information about dive instructor or great dive sites all around the world!