Why no Con Ed?

[undrwater]

The one class that motivated me to move beyond OW was the HOG repair class, so I took the TDI nitrox to meet the prerequisite.

Note, if GUE added a "self reliant diver" flavor to their cool aid, I might be motivated again.

I much prefer the mentorship model anyway, and could see training done as a kind of co-op that eliminates sales pressure.

 

[charlier]

....It is really, really hard to convince anyone that there is any reason to do anything else. Maybe they can get their AOW on one of those sponsored trips, but that's about it. These people never see any more complicated diving. It doesn't sound like something they might like to do. I was preparing for a more advanced trip with a group of divers, and some of the people asked me about the water temperatures would be. I said they would be in the low 60s F. The immediate reaction was "You guys are nuts!"

I think that John has a very good point. In my experience living and diving in SE Asia, most divers do not see complicated diving, typically they have no need to learn non-silting fin techniques, or even learn decent gas management skills. Plus the water is 28-29°C with ~20-30m visibility.

Of course there are exceptions, but many DM's and instructors that lead dive trips in SE Asia do a very good job in guiding and making sure that their customers do not run our of gas. The DMs and instructors that I work with make lists of all the fish and creatures that the group encountered and provides fish and coral ID with even a bit of marine ecology tossed into the mix. Similar to backcountry skiing in Europe, ski guides mitigate hazards and make sure that their clients have a safe and enjoyable experience.

Even in strong Indonesian through-flow currents, many DM/instructors mitigate these hazards with close supervision. It seems to me that the vast majority of the OW and AOW divers in SE Aisa go to dive sites with very good visibility without a need for navigation, little stress or task loading required, and the rules of halfs or thirds do not apply. Tropical dives are simple dives and gas management often requires no more than a turnaround pressure for a straightforward ascent.

Although this might have been discussed before - I wonder if there is casual correlation between a person's job and the desire take continuing education classes. Many professions require yearly refreshers or continuing education; perhaps these are the folks that are culturally open to similar education for their diving. Is there a correlation between education and continued education in diving? Many professionals with advanced degrees (TS&M comes to mind here, engineers, et al.) might be more open to scuba con ed classes. My two cents. charlie

 

[drrich2]

Charlier:

Interesting thoughts. In some professional fields, the main purpose of continuing ed. is to stay abreast of new developments (or such is the logic used by agencies requiring such continuing ed.). There are exceptions, such as recertifying in CPR every 2 years whether guidelines have changed or not, but again, continuing ed. is often about keeping up.

In diving, on the other hand, continuing ed. is often about advancing into a different kind of diving, or perhaps better mastering what you already do (although I think the former is the greater driving force for many).

Richard.

 

[divin'dog]

... So I wanted to ask here: If you are OW certified, but have not taken any (or much) training beyond that, why not?

I was kinda like the type of student you are asking about. I was certified in 1988. Didn't get AOW until 2006 because I was going to Honduras. Was told that I should be AOW because the dives will be deeper than 60' and I should have the cert to show to the dive operator... Turned out not true as they didn't care.

I never took additional classes because OW gave me everything I needed to dive in New England for what I wanted. I taught myself how to navigate with a compass, how to triangulate. I learned to dive in low vis by diving in Boston Harbor... Learned how to get on a boat in a storm after we came up in one. Learned to dive in currents because there's lots of them here. Honed my buoyancy by diving in surges near rocky shores in 5' of water... etc.

It's not that I was all that smart. My OW dive instructor was very good and taught me all I needed to know to survive and continue learning on my own. She gave me the basic training/skills to go on. I never felt that I needed the additional training that was offered and definitely not for the amount of money it cost. When I got my AOW, it was a breeze. Honestly, I couldn't imagine having to pay for what was in AOW. Pretty lame course, imho, even though I was probably not the right target for that course when I took it.

However, once I took AOW, it started a snowball effect and I went on to DM. So maybe once you get your students back in the door, it is easier to get them signed up for more courses. There are a lot of "warm water only" divers so identifying the serious diver is important because I think they are the ones who will come back for more classes. You should reach out to those students who have not come back and ask them why.

Also, maybe your students don't feel the need to come back because they are well trained...