GUE vs. TDI in terms of opportunities in scientific research projects?

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Come to think of it. @SpeedyJ the few month back I talked to a younger dude who did fundis and is a big gue fan. He ended up doing intro to cave with tdi or iantd because he couldn't afford cave1. Now he says he's getting goofed on by his gue buddies for having taken an inferior class... that kind of stuff bothers me and IMHO it's very typical.
A few grand extra you might not care about but other people do (especially the younger people).
Young divers who are short of funds and want to participate in research projects should apply for the GUE NextGen Scholarship program. Those who are selected receive unlimited free GUE training for a year, plus an equipment and travel stipend.


In my experience, divers who complain about the cost of advanced training usually aren't serious about it in the first place. Divers who make it a priority can usually find a way to scrape together the necessary funds. And those who really can't afford the training also can't afford to sustain diving at that level anyway, so what's the point of getting training that they won't be able to fully use?

The reality is that tech diving is an extremely expensive hobby. I wish it wasn't, and that we could be more inclusive, but that's not reality. Students who focus on the price of training rather than on the quality of instruction and skills learned are really missing the point. They would be better off stepping back and staying within recreational limits instead of overextending themselves. Those are the divers who end up cutting corners and taking unnecessary risks to save a buck, and then they end up as a thread on the "Accidents & Incidents" forum.
 
If you want to get in on projects your best bet is going to be to make friends ; it’s gonna be mostly who you know compared to what you know. Obviously some dives require a more advanced skill set.
As I recommended above, anyone can participate in Project Baseline even if they have no friends. The project will even take data submissions from solo divers (I am not encouraging this but there's no rule against it). Most project stations are within recreational limits. There is no fee to participate (although donations are welcome) and no GUE certification requirement.
Divers are annoyingly cliquey but some groups basically institutionalize this behavior. I fundamentally object , pun intended, and refuse to play.
Which groups are those?
 
In my experience, divers who complain about the cost of advanced training usually aren't serious about it in the first place. Divers who make it a priority can usually find a way to scrape together the necessary funds. And those who really can't afford the training also can't afford to sustain diving at that level anyway, so what's the point of getting training that they won't be able to fully use?
I used to go cave diving after work when I was a broke instructor/university student in my 20s. Got a lot of hours in and saw lots of great cave without spending a lot of money. Saying that people like me back than aren't serious (and ending up in accident&incidents) because I didn't spend as much money on training is pretty ignorant... and pretty arrogant too.
Essentially you're feelling superior because you've spend more money, you're basing it on money spend not skill or hours doing stuff... that's what it boils down to.
 


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I think there is hope for this thread, if we can all do our best to avoid it becoming a POV war over GUE moving forward.
You must be be new here.
 
As I recommended above, anyone can participate in Project Baseline even if they have no friends. The project will even take data submissions from solo divers (I am not encouraging this but there's no rule against it). Most project stations are within recreational limits. There is no fee to participate (although donations are welcome) and no GUE certification requirement.

Which groups are those?


I have zero interest in project baseline; it’s not even remotely the kind of thing for me. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt that you were speaking generally.

I have no shortage of my own projects; I don’t need to join anybody else’s. If my combination of skills would be useful, from my day job or my diving, people can come recruit me, I’m not into groveling.

“Which groups are those?”

You know where I’m from…



.
 
Assuming the OP hasn't been driven off yet, what kinds of projects do you want to be involved in? I bet you can find others in the area interested in similar things and just go do it! There is lots of cool stuff out there waiting to be discovered.

My passion is wrecks, finding them, identifying them, and telling their stories. It's something I did for years before I was certified as a diver and continue to do now. I don't consider myself an archeologist, but rather a researcher and storyteller. This is something anyone can do, regardless of certification, agency affiliation, or anything else. Most of the hard work is done on the computer and sometimes the library, tracking down records and piecing bits of information together to form a cohesive picture. When that picture comes together it is an incredible thing. When you can conclusively say that the cut down, barely floating hulk in the breakwater began life as the Coast Gaurd Cutter Tiger and was at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, or that the giant hulk growing trees out of it was built as the La Merced in 18-something and sailed to Australia on her maiden voyage, well, it is just amazing.

Find the people who share your passion and make somethimg happen. See if you can find a name on that wreck. Document every species growing on the piling. Count the fish in your local reef. Don't let the gatekeepers stop you.
 
People use different paths to follow a dream or interest. But if I was the OP I’d save my money and get a science degree in college first and while studying for it I’d look at the diving end. There’s 2 ways to approach diving, work long hours to buy time for diving or work short hours to have time for diving, personally I prefer the second. For the $2000 diving course someone mentioned, I can make 40 wreck dives simply because I have the time.
 
For the $2000 diving course someone mentioned, I can make 40 wreck dives simply because I have the time.
The courses are actually much more with expenses... they're being dishonest to score a point. The people I know ended up paying closer to 3 grand plus travel. Same range with tec1.
 
The courses are actually much more with expenses... they're being dishonest to score a point. The people I know ended up paying closer to 3 grand plus travel. Same range with tec1.
Thankfully I met some marvellous people and got good honest training very affordable. In my early teens I painted a house for a very experienced diver, in a lovely scenic part of Ireland. He fed me, bought some gear for me and brought me diving every evening.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/
http://cavediveflorida.com/Rum_House.htm

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