The right way to get certified

People will tell you that you should get certified in the states through a formal course, then go to the Caribbean. They tell you not to get certified in the Caribbean, "Because they just want to get you in and out as quickly as possible". They say you'll have much greater skill as a scuba diver doing it in the states first.

Well, I did it both ways, and I don't agree. As long as you get certified at a reputable resort with dedicated and thorough instructors, you'll learn just fine there. And you'll have more fun, because generally speaking the people in a resort are nicer. They know you're there to have a good time, and they make sure that the learning experience is an enjoyable one.

The classroom portion can be done on-line or in a classroom. I recommend doing both. It costs a bit more that way, but there are things you can't get through the computer. I don't recommend doing just the classroom, though, because the PADI online course is so good. It's very thorough. And it's fun.

So my recommendation is: Contact a resort of your choosing, book a vacation to include an open water certification course. Then do the PADI online course before you go.

(incoming!)

To each his own!

Maybe you need to do a non-PADI course to see their point. I've done SSI and ACUC courses and both had 10+ hours classroom and 10+ hours pool time before the checkout dives. I don't think you can get that kind of training in a resort.

I am not a big fan of the on-line courses because I really like to get to know the students while in the classroom. I like to certify students in a "mud puddle" so they are prepared for the unknown more so than in 100' of visibility in Coz....but again, to each her own...

I come in the side of "how do your learn best?" I have posted many places that I am a classroom person. I think the interaction between instructor and student, and between student and student, has real value. I also know that most people born after 1975 are immersed in e-learning and may well prefer it. As far as venue is concerned, I know competent and very engaging instructors in many places throughout the world, and the idea that those in resort locations are somehow not as good, or "don't do it right," is just wrong. There are places in the Caribbean, the South Pacific, and the US that may have issues, but that doesn't disqualify everyone else within 100 miles, or 1000 miles! In selecting a dive center or instructor, meeting the needs of the student comes first. Some people don't want to spend hours in a pool or classroom for several days of their vacation, and do that part of a class "back home," and then do their open water dives at a dive destination in some warm and tropical place. Others have longer vacations and are happy to do the entire course over several days at their dive destination resort. Good for all of them!
There are many ways to do the learning necessary to become a competent recreational diver, all of which culminate in practical "learning by doing" in a pool first, and then in open water. People should choose what suits them best.
DivemasterDennis

I DO teach in a resort environment - that is my primary source of income, and yes it is fun. So from that perspective I do not discourage this type of training.

But that being said, I sometimes feel rushed by vacation time constraints and although by standards I am not leaving anything out, I do sometimes feel like the students can get shortchanged and that I could add so much more if I had more time.

Having taught in other environments, I saw that students really concentrated more on the learning process and fine tuned skills when diving locally. It's up to the instructor to make and keep it fun. I also see that locally trained students are comfortable in their local dive sites as well as diving in new places, dive more often, and are overall more competent divers because of this. Those local dive sites might not be as warm or full of colorful life, etc. as the FL Keys, they are a great place to get together with other local divers, have fun times (I hear some of those potlucks & BBQ's are a blast), keep up skills and be mentored by more experienced divers, and plan more diving trips...it's all part of that "Meet People, Go Places, and Do Things!" scuba life-style.

I do try to point all my resort students toward local diving so they can keep their skills fresh and meet more dive buddies and mentors.

=Matt Beckwith;6279797]People will tell you that you should get certified in the states through a formal course, then go to the Caribbean. They tell you not to get certified in the Caribbean, "Because they just want to get you in and out as quickly as possible". They say you'll have much greater skill as a scuba diver doing it in the states first.

Click to expand...

not necessarily so...depends on the instructor. There are as many bad instr's on the islands as there are stateside.
If you plan on all your diving to be done in the islands why bother in the cold dark northeast?

Well, I did it both ways, and I don't agree. As long as you get certified at a reputable resort with dedicated and thorough instructors, you'll learn just fine there. And you'll have more fun, because generally speaking the people in a resort are nicer. They know you're there to have a good time, and they make sure that the learning experience is an enjoyable one.

Click to expand...

Yes you can certainly learn just fine at a island location. I would not say they are nicer..They may seem nicer because they are really really really depending/expecting on a tip from you.

The classroom portion can be done on-line or in a classroom. I recommend doing both. It costs a bit more that way, but there are things you can't get through the computer. I don't recommend doing just the classroom, though, because the PADI online course is so good. It's very thorough. And it's fun.

Click to expand...

why not recommend just the classroom..Yes if an instructor sucks in their presentations then online can be a better choice. I find with students it really does not matter academically which method is used. Online is totally acceptable for people who have a limited timeframe and need complete academics on their own timeframe. Really no difference than watching a dvd video,reading a text and do knowledge reviews as in the traditional method. Really doing exactly the same with elearning but material is delivered digitally rather than on paper.

So my recommendation is: Contact a resort of your choosing, book a vacation to include an open water certification course. Then do the PADI online course before you go.

Click to expand...

Why not do all academic (either elearning or in class room setting) AND confined water pool work done at home locally BEFORE going on a island vacation? Why waste time getting pool work done on vacation rather than going diving?? Get it all done locally and take a referral for the 4 required training dives..you will be able to show up on the island location better prepared and probably have the benefit of having experience with some gear mask,fins,boots,snorkel at least/or all of your own gear rather than use the rental gear on the island resort that may or may not be in questionable condition. Much easier to use your own gear that you already know works for you than to use a mask or fins that you never had to use or forced to use different mask/fins every time you dive.. keep the learning curve a simple as possible

I have to agree with Elena! It's important to allot sufficient time during your vacation to complete your class! Weather and your ability to be comfortable in the water can really screw with too tight a time schedule. Sometimes one person at her shop gets upset that I stretch out the pool sessions to two or more. Color me "I don't care what she thinks": it's my class! I have to do this in order to feel good about my students and for them to feel GREAT in the water. BTW, Key Largo is in the Caribbean as well as being a resort. You just don't need a pass port to get here! I love my new home.

dfx:

Maybe you need to do a non-PADI course to see their point. I've done SSI and ACUC courses and both had 10+ hours classroom and 10+ hours pool time before the checkout dives. I don't think you can get that kind of training in a resort.

Click to expand...

I took my OW with Padi and had 10+ hours of each in one weekend, checked with the other agencies SSI and Naui and they had the same amount of time spread out over 6 weeks, and was very inconvenient for me. So to say one was better than the other is just an opinion. When we did our pool skills no one was giving a pass, I didn't get my referral until I completed my 10 minute float which was a month later!! On the other the hand I was at a pool getting some pool time while some one was doing their pool session with another agency and his swim was about 10 meters, not 80 and float was about 1 min not 10! So it always depends on the instructor and the student. you can't expect to be an efficient diver if you take the course at a resort, dive during that time and don't dive again until you're on vacation again next year, no matter what agency you certify with, you tend to get more out of diving when you use a LDS because you tend to dive more.