Padi or naui for divemaster/instructor?

[Littlerayray]

Acuc does not charge or at least my instructor did not charge for class material all handouts were provided for the classroom it could also depend on the instructor as well but the important part is find an instructor you like that teaches what you are looking for ask questions before signing up for a course I will admit padi makes it very easy to get certified and they offer a lot of course for example drysuit course my instructor taught me how to use a drysuit sagely free of charge I understand in a way why they have the courses they do but I've heard the outlines and find a lot of their courses are money grabs

 

[Dive Right In Scuba.]

I'm not quite clear on what you are saying. Are you saying that ACUC provides the materials for its courses free to the instructor, or are you saying that the instructor included the price he paid for those material in the courses price? I teach for two agencies, and for both of them, the price paid to the agency for the course materials is included in the price of the course.

The cost of instruction for every agency I know is the price the instructor or shop charges for it. That money goes to the shop or independent instructor. None of it goes to the agency. I also don't know any instructors or shops who routinely give their work away for free, just as I don't know any plumbers who will fix your pipes for free. Do you?

 

[Littlerayray]

Ok so here was the deal I paid 350 for my open waters course that included pool rental and equipment for pool use as well as all course material for in class tutorial there was a fifty dollar fee for our checkout dives to cover cost of rentals for our required 4 dives

 

[Wilderness Medic]

A lot of good replies and stuff to consider. Thanks.

While all agency certifications are acceptable for diving world wide, working as an instructor for different agencies might prove problematic. In the Instructor to Instructor forum on ScubaBoard, we recently had a thread started by someone who had recently gotten his instructor certification through a pretty obscure agency, and he wondered why none of the local shops would hire him. Well, duh, if you are certified to teach for an agency that is not offered in any of the shops, you had better be in a position to act independently.

On another point, you wrote, "Can't stand padi. Put another dollar in, pay a lot dive immediately.... All accurate. I feel like they are a money hungry scam. I'd like to be able to certify friends or whoever,...." On that basis, I think you need to get certified by one of the agencies that does not charge for their materials or services. I will provide a list of all the ones I know who do that at the end of this post for your benefit. When you become an instructor, I assume you will do the same, providing all the materials to your students free of charge, and of course, you will not charge for instruction, will you?

By the way, what you pay for instruction depends almost exclusively on the shop or instructor. I just finished teaching the PADI Wreck Diving certification to two old friends today. Because they are two old friends, I did not charge them a dime for it. We were going to do the dives together anyway, and so all it meant for me was doing the academic work during cocktail hour and spending some time teaching them how to lay line in the yard. It will cost me a few bucks to submit the certifications online and for PADI to mail the certification to them. That's it--a few bucks. You may consider that a money hungry scam, but I am having trouble seeing that.

List of Agencies I know that do not charge for class material or instruction:

Not sure I get the context of your reply. Of course none charge NOTHING for it....

I think I already said I don't want to work anywhere. So the whole shop only wanting X to hire you doesn't matter to me. As far as instructor went I want to be able to do exactly what you said about your old friends. Take them out free of charge, teach them, and let them get certified and enjoy bein able to dive. I'm not looking for employment as a dive instructor. That's why if I went on to instruct I want to make sure I don't have to be working at a shop to certify people.


As far as DM I'm looking to learn the most I can and get the best advanced training.

 

[geoff w]

... Of course none charge NOTHING for it....

I think I already said I don't want to work anywhere....

As far as DM I'm looking to learn the most I can and get the best advanced training.

I have had instructor friends who have been willing to charge zero for me to do my AI with them and my wife to do her DM with them, but timing didn't work out. They are fine instructors. I have plenty of opportunity to do my AI for nothing, and may get around to it this year. Not all instructors and shops and certifying organizations, including PADI, are bad and solely money driven. The instructor I did my OW, AOW and DM certification will do my AI, as will the local dive shop I support and DM for

I wasn't planning on ever working as a DM after I got my training, but a good instructor for your DM training should make it so enjoyable and enriching you want to work professionally at least occasionally. If you never do anything you consider working as a pro, and then go on to be an instructor to certify your friends, you're probably doing your friends more of a disservice than a favor. Who would you rather get training from - an instructor who regularly runs classes, sees a wide variety of student problems and is current on teaching, or a friend for free who just does it on rare occasion as a favor?

As others have said in this thread and many similar ones, getting the best advanced training isn't about the training organization, even if you think of some of them as a money hungry scam. If your personal experience with PADI has been only as a money hungry scam, you definitely need to find another dive shop before you do anything else. And yes, some dive shops, as with any other type of establishment, are money hungry scams

 

[Wilderness Medic]

I would rather get certified from a friend I know and trust who is a competent diver that rarely teaches honestly, but I see what you're saying.

I guess never say never. Maybe someday I would end up somewhere working as a DM/instructor but that wasn't really part of my desire to possibly become certified to certify.

I'll check out the local SDI and see how DM goes. The only other local one is padi and I wasn't thrilled with the owner/instructor.

Definitely more open to all organizations now due to all the replies. I guess the only way to see if they give good instruction is to give it a go and see how I like it.

 

[ReefHound]

I would rather get certified from a friend I know and trust who is a competent diver that rarely teaches honestly, but I see what you're saying.

Being able to dive competently and being able to compentently teach diving are two different things. Not saying anything about your ability to dive or teach but as a rule of thumb, the instructor who teaches 40 weekends a year and certs 300 students is going to be a far better instructor than the one that teaches a half dozen students over 3 or 4 weekends. Knowing how to perform a skill flawlessly does not necessarily mean you can teach someone else to perform that skill well. Everyone learns differently and experienced instructors have developed a repertoire of methods to make it click tod ifferent students. More importantly, sometimes things go horribly wrong and the experienced instructor is likely going to be better prepared to deal with it.

 

[geoff w]

...I'll check out the local SDI and see how DM goes. The only other local one is padi and I wasn't thrilled with the owner/instructor.

Definitely more open to all organizations now due to all the replies. I guess the only way to see if they give good instruction is to give it a go and see how I like it.

Where are you located? For the local dive shop I'm with, people will come down from northern California and up from San Diego for instruction. If you're not near a diveable body of water, which in California is usually the coast, you're going to be traveling a bit to dive anyway, so it might be worth it for you to look beyond your local neighborhood for a good dive shop, especially if you're not thrilled with your local PADI dive shop owner / instructor

A good instructor should be willing to spend a lot of time talking to you before you ever sign up for instruction to make sure your personalities mesh, to make sure you are going to be happy with them, and to see if they're going to be able to put up with you, ESPECIALLY for any professional level training. You should not have to sign up with anyone for pro level instruction to see how you like it; if that's the case, keep looking. After all, you are the customer, and if you do it right, any really great dive training should really be as much as making a positive lifelong relationship as getting another plastic C-card

 

[Wilderness Medic]

Near Fort Bragg.

 

[geoff w]

Near Fort Bragg.

Maybe you should be expanding your scope of dive shops to an area with more competition! Especially if there are only two options near you and you weren't thrilled with the taste of the PADI flavor owner/instructor. If you were going to go to a university to get a degree, you wouldn't limit your search to the schools in your home town, would you? You would probably want to go somewhere to get the best education. Dive training should be not much different

Maybe try posting in the Nor Cal forum for suggestions, or if you're willing to travel farther for several weekends (figure 8-9 hour drive each way), PM me and I'll give you a recommendation for the local dive shop I'm connected with. Or let me know and I'll check with some San Jose area dive buddies to see who they recommend

If you could swing it and want to be spoiled for life, I can't imagine anything better than Dive Master Internship in Palau ! Best run dive operator we've ever been with