going pro ....not the zero to hero route

[kg001]

Hi all

I am currently a Padi Rescue diver with 50 dives looking to progress to Instructor. I'm in my 30's with a management career behind me and would prefer to train with a centre where I train, work, and live quite cheaply rather than rush my training with a "stack them high sell them cheap" type of course (which are not that cheap it seems ).

Can anyone recommend a professional centre where this is possible, could be Africa, Caribbean, Europe, Asia or Indonesia.

Many thanks

Kay
England

[black_sea]

Depends on your requirements.
You have to make a list and compare... Everyone wants different things, and you also have to keep in mind that you are investing time and money into future connections and job leads - so it has to be a place where you can potentially work in the future.

I do not recommend buying the whole course at once - DM, Instructor. Do your DM with a center that can take you all the way and if you like them, do your instructor with them.
Thailand is good if you like to party and get some service. A lot of guys go to Thailand for the "leisure" aspect of it, you know. Did my DM there, did not like the fact that you have to leave the country every month to get your passport stamped - visa run. Plus getting a work permit is expensive and a pain in the ass.
Did some courses in Egypt, like the diving better, less big stuff in the water than Thailand, unless you go further into open water, but a lot of pros are leaving now with the unstability there... check out the Egypt sub-forum on SB for testimonials.

I did my IDC in Scandinavia -you do get respect for doing things "proper". a respected and experienced course director is a must and does increase your chances in the future.
You have to talk to potential employers.
Also, be aware that you want a lot more dives and customer service experience before you can get work in the industry.

[ozzydamo]

Hi all

I am currently a Padi Rescue diver with 50 dives looking to progress to Instructor. I'm in my 30's with a management career behind me and would prefer to train with a centre where I train, work, and live quite cheaply rather than rush my training with a "stack them high sell them cheap" type of course (which are not that cheap it seems ).



Can anyone recommend a professional centre where this is possible, could be Africa, Caribbean, Europe, Asia or Indonesia.

Many thanks


Kay
England

Try Thailand with french people they are particularly soft on English women, actually they are very similar to English women!

Your putting the cart before the horse' do your dm then talk something further........

[ozzydamo]

Depends on your requirements.
You have to make a list and compare... Everyone wants different things, and you also have to keep in mind that you are investing time and money into future connections and job leads - so it has to be a place where you can potentially work in the future.

I do not recommend buying the whole course at once - DM, Instructor. Do your DM with a center that can take you all the way and if you like them, do your instructor with them.
Thailand is good if you like to party and get some service. A lot of guys go to Thailand for the "leisure" aspect of it, you know. Did my DM there, did not like the fact that you have to leave the country every month to get your passport stamped - visa run. Plus getting a work permit is expensive and a pain in the ass.
Did some courses in Egypt, like the diving better, less big stuff in the water than Thailand, unless you go further into open water, but a lot of pros are leaving now with the unstability there... check out the Egypt sub-forum on SB for testimonials.

I did my IDC in Scandinavia -you do get respect for doing things "proper". a respected and experienced course director is a must and does increase your chances in the future.
You have to talk to potential employers.
Also, be aware that you want a lot more dives and customer service experience before you can get work in the industry.

U Scandinavians, your so adventurous.............. like!

[harland]

your best bet financially would be to come to the US, which would be cheaper...i know an excellent instructor who is all about safety, and i sucked at math/science, and she helped me with it till i passed the tests...safer in the US as well (regulations, etc.)

[idcutila]

We run internships, on Utila, during the summer, where you can study for your program and when completed stay on site and work with our seasoned Instructors to gain lots of experience and certs.

Depending on the length of time you wish to stay we have several options some including food and lodging. For more information contact me by email or Skype.

[k ellis]

your best bet financially would be to come to the US, which would be cheaper...i know an excellent instructor who is all about safety, and i sucked at math/science, and she helped me with it till i passed the tests...safer in the US as well (regulations, etc.)

Aint that the truth. I am fortunate to live in one of the few rock bottom price zones in the country. Becoming a rescue diver here from scratch (Needing Open water and advanced openwater too) one can become a rescue diver for the cost of what most other places charge just for open water courses. Most people cant believe there is a place an hour and a half drive from me that will certify start to finish an open water diver for only 189.00.

Cost here make me proud to be a diver because its so obtainable

[DevonDiver]

going pro....not the zero to hero route

Hi Kay,

The "zero to hero route" tends to describe the process where minimally experienced divers take a bunch of back-to-back courses, each time possessing the bare necessity prerequisites for training. The end result being a newly qualified diver whose logged dive experience primarily consists of training dives and who has very little breadth of experience beyond only what they've been taught.

<50 dives experience can still be considered pretty 'minimal' - especially when you consider that many of those dives are training dives (OWx4, AOWx5, RDx4 etc)... and it's only 1/2 the bare minimum prerequisite for graduating as an instructor.

As a comparison, a DM or instructor working in the tropics can realistically be doing 140+ dives per month. There's been many occasions where I've been doing 50 dives every 10 days... 5 dives per day, with a day-off only every 2 weeks...

The world is full of 'zero-to-hero' instructors. Getting 'the card' is easy, if you have money to slap on the table. However, you can't buy respect or credibility... and it is respect and credibility that allow you to sustain a career as a dive instructor. Zero-to-heros tend to burn out quite quickly... most through never developing the 'love' of diving that is needed to sustain them in a very demanding and under-paid industry. Some just can't get work abroad and go home penniless when their savings are burned through.

To get away from the 'stigma' of zero-to-hero training, you should attempt to get substantially more experience. Consider doing your DM course locally, then accruing perhaps 4x as much experience operating as a dive leader and assistant. You can do this part-time or weekends in the UK, whilst sustaining yourself with a 'real' job mon-fri. When you've substantially exceeded the bare minimum experience pre-requisites, then you could consider going abroad for IDC.

Where are you in the UK? There's many decent dive operations there that'd help you progress to a good foundation for instructor training.

If you are really set on going abroad, then you'll get better recommendations on location/centres etc if you can provide more detail on your diving preferences and goals. If you don't have preferences or goals yet.... then please re-read the paragraph that starts "<50 dives experience can still be considered pretty 'minimal' "