..future instructor

First off, let me introduce myself. My name is Chad & I am 19 years of age. I'm currently certified AOW with PADI..with 100+ dives.

I suppose my question can be directed to any of you with knowledge/experience in the scuba instructor field.
I am seriously looking into attending a scuba instructor school located in Marathon, Florida Keys... I plan on investing around $12,000 for tuition in a Scuba Instructor/Deep Tech/Rebreather/Equipment specialist course at Hall's International Diving Career Institute.

Does anyone happen to have any advice for a young man interested in having a full-time career in technical diving? Any personal opinions for my chosen path? Will knowledge and enough experience in technical/rebreather/equip...provide me with a stable job and income?

I would appreciate any review of the school I am looking into.. Good or bad.. or any advice for having a stable career in diving...

Hi Chad,

I'd suggest saving your money. No sensible person would take a technical diving course from someone fresh out of school. A good tech instructor will have years of diving behind him/her before teaching it.

If you really want to teach start out by becoming a basic open water instructor and see what you're getting into.

Does anyone happen to have any advice for a young man interested in having a full-time career in technical diving?

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What do you mean by a full time career in technical diving? Teaching others? If so, I would fully agree with SeaGypsy. Exploration, underwater reasearch? Are you perhaps thinking commercial diving? If so, Hall's is probably not the way you want to go. Coming from Hall's the most likely job you will get is at Club Med or a liveaboard. Is that what you have in mind?

ClubMed would be the last place I would want to instruct. I'm really more interested in the less recreational aspect of diving.. more along the lines of research, videography, photography. Commercial diving I have already looked into... and underwater construction work really does not appeal to me enough to risk my life welding pipe, or cleaning oil rigs.

I like the research area of diving...maybe a job with National Geographic?

First,

Don't go to Halls. Way expensive versus what you REALLY get. And the "real experience with real students" that Halls boasts, well, that's with pretty much ANY ITC. I know someone very well that has gone through that program and to this person's never-ending nightmare, it's something that has not been a great experience for this person. In addition, The aforementioned person spent well OVER the (and I mean OVER) the original 18k for tuition. The cute little "Paychecks in paradise" ad with the "composite" photo, in Dive Training Magazine, it's a gimmic. Thats' all. Remember, they are in DT Magazine because Halls pays to be advertised in it. It's NOT an official endorsement. I have to give Halls a thumbs down.

If you want to stick with PADI, PADI's website has many of "non-tradeschool" type IDC's world wide. If you're trying to go NAUI, same thing! NAUI too has a website with many listings to locate an ITC near you and for the right price.

As far as technical diving and instructing, rise up through the ranks with continuing education. Your PADI or NAUI reps will be more than happy to help you along.

Tekk Diver once bubbled...
First off, let me introduce myself. My name is Chad & I am 19 years of age. I'm currently certified AOW with PADI..with 100+ dives.

I suppose my question can be directed to any of you with knowledge/experience in the scuba instructor field.
I am seriously looking into attending a scuba instructor school located in Marathon, Florida Keys... I plan on investing around $12,000 for tuition in a Scuba Instructor/Deep Tech/Rebreather/Equipment specialist course at Hall's International Diving Career Institute.

Does anyone happen to have any advice for a young man interested in having a full-time career in technical diving? Any personal opinions for my chosen path? Will knowledge and enough experience in technical/rebreather/equip...provide me with a stable job and income?

I would appreciate any review of the school I am looking into.. Good or bad.. or any advice for having a stable career in diving...

Click to expand...

Dude... there's something wrong with this picture. You have 100+ dives and no instructor card. So you are going to spend 12,000 bucks getting into technical diving, which you then want to teach?


First off, no IT worth the money would enroll you as a technical instructor. You don't have relevant experience... at least not from what you have written. I am not saying you are not a strong candidate for development, just that you need to work a little to get where you want to go. Fact is, right now, I'm not entirely sure you have the necessary experience to take on a deco diver program... to teach it, absolutely not.

You need to begin by instructing the "basic" stuff. This will allow you to form a solid understanding of what's involved in teaching people. How they react to stress. What motivates them. And what 's the best way to get the message across to them. (In all technical programs, this means what needs to be added to the course outline.)

You may find you do not have the people skills to be an instructor... there are a lot of people trying to teach who don't have any leadership qualities.

My serious advice is take your $12,000 and a leave of absence from work. Go take a cave course in Mexico. Go from there to Belize. Then go to the Pacific. Dive. Dive a lot. Build experience.

Watch good instructors work. Ask them questions. Take a few courses. Work in the industry and home and overseas... forget the local stores... that's a waste of time. Get on the road, freelance and wing it. That's good experience at building some business acumen. Used to be the caribbean was the place to do this, now it's micronesia.

Don't spend the money at some diving institute. It's a waste of your time and at the end, the only people that will employ you are other wankers who know nothing.

Sorry mate, but you seem to be going about this the wrong way. Oh! Who the **** am I. I'm an Trimix IT for TDI and teach in the US and Canada.

Hey,

If you want to do research diving, there is pleanty of volunteer organizations you can do work with. Like the Palm Beach County Reef Research Team (PBCRRT). Also you can find groups to do fish counts for on reefs. This is all recreational diving stuff, no techincal diving required. Just look on the internet for groups such as this, and if you come down to Florida to visit, maybe you can volunteer sometime with them. They usually only do a couple dives a month.

Also were you planning on going to college? Maybe you can could study something like Marine Biology, etc. which would help you in the future if you still wanted to find a career with someone like National Geographic.

Hi Chad,

The above posts are correct in that before you think about going down the route of technical instruction you should have built up the required experience and that is not measured necessarilly in years but in actual experience which usually in the event of a very aggressive and proficient diver at least 3. I have seen exceptions to the rule, but usually in the time frame of more years not less. This would mean that you are in the water every week and for many many hours.

There are so many details, tips, tricks etc. that you pick up over the years, and they never stop coming and you never stop learning or improving. The good foundation you will build through the experience will lay the path for the future.

Your drive, target setting and goals are admirable and great, however a little patience and experience will put you in good shape to accomplish your goals.

Best of luck to you!

You won't probably find a full time job in technical diving unless you gain some experience and hook up with one of the tech diving manufacturers.

Your best bet, if you want to work full-time in our field, is to diversify yourself as well as you can, and offer an employer everything you can. Then, be willing to do all that.

With budgets tight these days, shop/resort owners want to get the most they can out of each hire.

And, in a totally opinion ONLY comment, I personally went with Florida Dive Institute in Orlando over Hall's and everybody else. And it wasn't a local decision. I came from Portland Oregon at the time to do it.

Keith Mattson's class size, experience, attention to each and every student, and then assistance all the way through the IDC and IE process was more than worth every single cent I paid. And I have to admit Keith is a large reason why I'm still in the scuba industry today, even though I've had very limited contact with him over the years. Everybody has thier own opinions, and that is kewl. But if you've not, check them out.

Go out and get some experience first. If you are interested in technical diving then actally do some first. If I were you I would try to find a good shop that you can basically do an apprenticeship with. I assisted with classes for two years and had a couple hundred dives before I felt I was ready to become an instructor. Basically do an apprenticeship first.

I know a guy who did one of those "innstructor in a week" type of deals and the guy is complete **** in the water. He should not be teaching people how to scuba dive.

I can't comment on tech diving because that is completely out of my realm of expertise.

Tekk Diver once bubbled...
First off, let me introduce myself. My name is Chad & I am 19 years of age. I'm currently certified AOW with PADI..with 100+ dives.

I suppose my question can be directed to any of you with knowledge/experience in the scuba instructor field.
I am seriously looking into attending a scuba instructor school located in Marathon, Florida Keys... I plan on investing around $12,000 for tuition in a Scuba Instructor/Deep Tech/Rebreather/Equipment specialist course at Hall's International Diving Career Institute.

Does anyone happen to have any advice for a young man interested in having a full-time career in technical diving? Any personal opinions for my chosen path? Will knowledge and enough experience in technical/rebreather/equip...provide me with a stable job and income?

I would appreciate any review of the school I am looking into.. Good or bad.. or any advice for having a stable career in diving...

Click to expand...