SEI Instructors in Sanford/Orlando Area

[kev_328]

Hi-

I would like to further my diving education and become a DM. Are there any SEI instructors around the Orlando/Sanford area?

Kevin
Oviedo.

 

[ScottFL78]

I am recently SDI certified. I shopped around the area. I wasn't partial to any of them. All I found was PADI, NAUI, SSI and SDI/TDI. Have you been to the new shop that opened in Oviedo? Orlando Scuba Partners. They do most all of the certifications. They can probably help you.

 

[Lake Hickory Scuba]

Hi-

I would like to further my diving education and become a DM. Are there any SEI instructors around the Orlando/Sanford area?

Kevin
Oviedo.

Well the bad news is, I am in the middle of North Carolina. The good news I am a SEI Instructor Trainer and would be happy to train you up to the Divemaster level. Let me know if I can help.

 

[kev_328]

Hi Scott-

Thanks for the response. I have not been over to the new shop yet. They opened last month and I have not found the time. The majority of my certs have been through SEI; This is why I was hoping to find an SEI instructor.

 

[boulderjohn]

Hi Scott-

Thanks for the response. I have not been over to the new shop yet. They opened last month and I have not found the time. The majority of my certs have been through SEI; This is why I was hoping to find an SEI instructor.

Why do you want to become a DM? Is it just for the educational value of the training? If so, and if you are comfortable with your SEI experiences (as you evidently are), then you might want to consider if there are other SEI training options you might want to consider that do not include the DM certification. Many people take a quick glance at typical agency training progression charts and assume the DM is the next option for them, when in reality the agency offers many training options through specialties that may teach many more useful skills than a DM course might. I am not familiar with SEI's programs, but most DM programs focus on training the DM to assist in instruction or lead dives, which does not necessarily make you that much of a better diver.

If, on the other hand, you want to find employment as a DM, then you should look in the area where you want to work to see what the options are. If you decided, for example, to move to the Dominican Republic and work there as a DM, a little research will show that many of the shops there are associated with IANTD, so it would make sense to pursue your DM through that agency.

 

[kev_328]

John-

I think DM is a skill set that I will eventually use. At some point I would like to ease out of my current career and find something that I can do in my early retirement years.

 

[boulderjohn]

John-

I think DM is a skill set that I will eventually use. At some point I would like to ease out of my current career and find something that I can do in my early retirement years.

In that case, look to what will be most useful in the area in which you will choose to spend your retirement years.

A year or two ago someone started a thread in the Instructor to instructor forum about his frustration about not being able to get an instructor job with any of the shops in his area. It turned out that none of the shops in his area offered instruction through the agency through which he had gotten his instructor certification. The replies can be summarized as "Well, Duh! What did you think would happen? Did you think a shop was going to switch its agency affiliation for your benefit when you showed up looking for a job?"