Want to get a number of certs at once in a tropical destination.

[Nemo__]

I was hurt bad a few years ago and have a sweet retraining package through my insurance. I have over 20 grand to spend on training and a travel subsidy.

So is there a tropical destination where I can go from avid swimmer/snorkeler to instructor level PADI with that budget in a single trip?

I know I am a lucky bastard. Thanks for your help.

 

[SC_Hoaty]

I think Thailand has some "zero to hero" programs.

FYI - most folks will probably advise taking your time and actually learning skills, vs. collecting C cards. Rushing things is how folks get hurt, or hurt others.

You might want to think about looking at an occupation with decent pay, and get trained for it instead.

 

[Storker]

Don't get me wrong, but if my instructor had a bunch of C-cards and classes but only the bare minimum of dives required to reach his/her certification level, I'd probably ask for another instructor. Or choose another provider for my course.

Classes are great, but they seldom compensate for lack of experience
Experience is great, but it seldom compensates for lack of knowledge
Experience + classes is a killer combo.

Why don't you take the slow route with lots of diving between your classes? I'm pretty certain you'll be a much better instructor that way.

 

[fjpatrum]

20K will go a long way in a place like Thailand, and doesn't necessarily require a zero to hero approach. Sure, it's an option, but it's not the only option.

You could do a lot of diving in Asia outside of Thailand and still get all the training you need to become an instructor. I suspect the same is the case in South America or some areas of the Caribbean. Hell, if you're willing to "live cheap" you might even be able to do that in a lot of places in Florida.

 

[spc751]

I just got back from Riveria Maya, MX where I was diving with Dressel Divers. They were very good to dive with and have shops in several countries.

I talked to a number of their Instructor or Dive Master interns about internships. The interns spend six months working and diving at a dive shop then received the training free.

While it is not like having several years of diving experience before beginninginstructor training you would be getting more experience than someone who becomes an instructor in only six weeks.

· A 6 monthsdive instructor internship in which you participate fully in the dive centertasks as assigned by the manager in exchange for all training and dives leadingup to and including the dive instructor level for free (including studymaterials & PADI FEES).· This divecenter participation program also gives free breakfast and lunch (in some areasalso dinner), free lodging (youth hostel style), a free daily morning dive,free standard dive equipment use and a sales commission plus tips.· The daysspent in the instructor course proper do not count as part of the 6 months butyou do continue to benefit from the free board and lodging.· Start whenyou want after acceptance. This means you can look for the cheapest ticket possiblein terms of dates.· Uponsuccessful completion of this dive instructor internship you are offeredemployment in Dressel Divers.
http://dresseldivers.com/en/courses/dive-instructor-internships

 

[Oldbear]

Checkout Utila Dive Center...Utila Dive Centre|PADI Career Development Center|PADI Scuba Diving|Utila Bay Islands Honduras|Caribbean and Central America

While I did only my DM there I really enjoyed it. http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...ew-utila-dive-centers-divemaster-program.html There were other divers that were doing more comprehesive training (OW - Instructor). I enjoyed spreading my training around to different locations and instructors, but each person has their own preferences. But Utila Dive Center has been my favorite so far...

You might consider only going to the DM level and take a bunch of specialty courses, side-mount, UW photography & videography, tech, nitrox, etc. Then do the IDC with who you might want to work with. I have seen were a lot of training centers like to train their own instructors.

Good luck,

~Oldbear~

 

[rick00001967]

I just got back from Riveria Maya, MX where I was diving with Dressel Divers.

· A 6 monthsdive instructor internship in which you participate fully in the dive centertasks as assigned by the manager in exchange for all training and dives leadingup to and including the dive instructor level for free (including studymaterials & PADI FEES).· This divecenter participation program also gives free breakfast and lunch (in some areasalso dinner), free lodging (youth hostel style), a free daily morning dive,free standard dive equipment use and a sales commission plus tips.· The daysspent in the instructor course proper do not count as part of the 6 months butyou do continue to benefit from the free board and lodging.· Start whenyou want after acceptance. This means you can look for the cheapest ticket possiblein terms of dates.· Uponsuccessful completion of this dive instructor internship you are offeredemployment in Dressel Divers.
PADI Dive Instructor Internship & Diving College!

holy cow. that sounds awesome. almost worth quitin my job and flyin south.......i wish......

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Have a great time. If all you are going to do is dive for a year, spread the classes out a little, and get some fun and experience dives in between the classes. You have lots of options, Utila, Roatan, Cozumel, Thailand, Spain, Bali, the list goes on. Do some on line research not just as to quality of dive center, but housing options and other lifestyle matters. Boy, do I wish I was you right now!
DivemasterDennis

 

[Mustard Dave]

Whereabouts are you from? Why do you want to be an instructor? Where do you want to teach?

I recommend you read this thread before thinking of a zero to hero course: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...why-does-every-new-diver-want-instructor.html

If you still want to do this, there are loads of places in Thailand, but be warned - I've heard bad things. As you can see from the left-hand side of this post, I am from the UK. I dive all year, even when it is close to freezing. Every year my club has a trip to Malta, which is very popular with British divers as flights are cheap, the water is clear and there is plenty of sunshine. In 2011, there was a young Austrian DM working there. The dive centre we use take on DMs for the summer. They do not pay them but they will train them as instructors at the end of the season.

We stayed in touch via Facebook and saw he and one of the instructors spent Christmas in Thailand. When we returned last year, he came back to the same place to work as an instructor. On our first day, he picked us up in the minibus. One of the lads from my club asked him how he liked Thailand. He told us he loved the place but he was a bit disappointed with the training standards. They were backpacking with the intention of doing some freelance instructing. He said there are a lot of backpackers and gap-year students over there. None of them have much money but they all want to learn to dive; the dive schools need some money so a lot of the tuition is high-volume low-quality. The Austrian lad was quite upset about this; he has worked hard and he is a good diver - having to rush people through courses and sign people off before they were capable was an insult to his professionalism.

If you read post #169 of the link above, you will see what I understand of these 'cert factories'. If you want to go from zero to hero, I will not try to talk you out of it. Everybody began somewhere. What I will ask is that you consider your students. A diver should only teach others when he has reached a high standard and gained experience. Unfortunately, certain agencies will sell you all the pointless courses under the sun and push you into being a 'professional' before you are ready. It is unfair to teach somebody if you are not ready - you are ripping them off and compromising their safety.

I recommend that first of all, you just learn to dive, enjoy it, and gain some experience. Then think again whether you want to be an instructor. If you still do, do not limit yourself to clear blue seas and sunny weather. Have a think about Scapa Flow in Scotland - the water is cold (although in a drysuit this isn't a problem) but the diving is great and trade is good. The Germans scuttled a number of ships after the surrender at the end of WWI; many were salvaged but some are still down there. There are dive schools offering internships there. Not only is it excellent wreck diving, but it will set you up to dive anywhere in the world.

 

[GrimSleeper]

As Mustard Dave says above, if you're going to do a 'zero-to'hero' internship and you actually plan to teach afterwards, be very careful where you do it. I know plenty of people, and know of lots more, who automatically bin every CV they get from an instructor who has done their training on one particular Thai island, due to the appalling training offered by many shops there. Harsh on those shops that try to train instructors properly, but who has the time to sit and work out which is which when there are so many instructors looking for work?

Which brings me to the next point. As S_C Hoaty says, if you've got the opportunity to do something completely new and a decent budget to train for it, why not find something that actually pays? Trust me, dive instruction is strictly a lifestyle choice. The vast majority of instructors stay in the industry for less than two years after certification, then move on to something that pays the rent.