Instructor Course ...

Hi all,

I am currently living in Sydney, Australia and have just embarked on my Dive Master course (SSI).

I should have this finalised by the end of the year.

I am on my final WHV out here but may be home (UK) over June/July for weddings hence it taking me nearly 10 months to get this done.

I am very seriously considering doing my instructor course (IDC).

I have been in talks with a particular dive centre in Bali. I can go from my 60 logged DM dives to 100 dives with them at $5 per dive ($200) to start the course. They recommended I’d likely need 6 weeks to get this all done and rent for that period of time would probably be looking at $600 (AUD) which is fantastic considering what I’m paying now. The course includes the Assistant instructors stuff and all necessary tests, books, info etc …

So let’s get around to my query. The above, all in all covering visa, food, accom, course – would cost me around $4,000 AUD.

My question to you guys is, where would you recommend doing the instructor course if you could direct me? The above is probably my perfect budget as that will be roughly the amount I’d get back from my superannuation return.

Kit wise I will likely have: 5m wetsuit, fins, mask, boots, chalk slate, SMB, dive computer. I cannot afford to pay for the course AND Regs + BCD’s right now. I’m better off getting this done, probably continuing recreationally until I can afford it (over the following year) before looking at doing anything with the cert as it seems a lot of places really want you to have everything to instruct properly. Plenty of dive centres are happy to let me do the course with the kit I have right now - so please bear in mind advising on places I can turn up with what I have.

I was speaking with a Shop owner from NZ who said Bali is a poor choice as the waters are to easy. He said when I moved somewhere different I may struggle - how real of an argument is this? Bali however does look beautiful and the visas are easy to come by.

I appreciate any advice of positive criticisms – I have a year to plan this so want to make the right choice.

i'd concentrate on doing a bit of diving before you head off to be an instructor. or even before completing your DM course. Just dive for the sake of diving. just my 2p

Hi,

I appreciate the response.

I have actually asked a few people who are instructors at my current school and of others I have dived with if they felt it was a little ‘rushed’ and obviously there were mixed responses.

My reason for wanting to go from DM straight to Instructor is more so an issue of having the time available.

I am out here on a Working Holiday Visa, second year. When that finishes it will be back to the grey, cold rains of Yorkshire – England. It will also be back to a career at a lesser wage, less free money and less free time. I’m not sure if I’ll ever have 6 weeks spare to be able to go and do it. I sure as heck have no desire to dive in the UK.

When my visa finalises here I will have completed my DM so I will have 60 logged dives. I will get my Superannuation back sometime late January early February which will likely be around $4,000 - $5,000 AUD. I have savings, which have been allocated elsewhere but this money is floating and I feel this would be well spent. Learn more about a sport I love and gain a qualification out of it – to use never or whenever.

Once I get back to the UK – it’s time to get ‘serious’ and I’m not sure when I’ll get the opportunity to take up to 6-8 weeks to do something like this. Sure that time involves the 40+ dives I need to do on the side but I don’t really want to pay the prices they charge in the UK to dive cold waters with generally poor visibility either.

So yeah – on that end it is something I want to do so just looking for advice on where to do it considering the given quote price and my budget.
Hi,

I appreciate the response.

I have actually asked a few people who are instructors at my current school and of others I have dived with if they felt it was a little ‘rushed’ and obviously there were mixed responses.

My reason for wanting to go from DM straight to Instructor is more so an issue of having the time available.

I am out here on a Working Holiday Visa, second year. When that finishes it will be back to the grey, cold rains of Yorkshire – England. It will also be back to a career at a lesser wage, less free money and less free time. I’m not sure if I’ll ever have 6 weeks spare to be able to go and do it. I sure as heck have no desire to dive in the UK.

When my visa finalises here I will have completed my DM so I will have 60 logged dives. I will get my Superannuation back sometime late January early February which will likely be around $4,000 - $5,000 AUD. I have savings, which have been allocated elsewhere but this money is floating and I feel this would be well spent. Learn more about a sport I love and gain a qualification out of it – to use never or whenever.

Once I get back to the UK – it’s time to get ‘serious’ and I’m not sure when I’ll get the opportunity to take up to 6-8 weeks to do something like this. Sure that time involves the 40+ dives I need to do on the side but I don’t really want to pay the prices they charge in the UK to dive cold waters with generally poor visibility either.

So yeah – on that end it is something I want to do so just looking for advice on where to do it considering the given quote price and my budget.

You may not realize why people will tell you to get more experience diving... But you really should. If you continue diving and building up experience (wisdom), you will see later on that it is not so much taking the classes and getting the certificate as it is the experience that you take with you into your training to be a DM or instructor.

Quote: Once I get back to the UK – it’s time to get ‘serious’ and I’m not sure when I’ll get the opportunity to take up to 6-8 weeks to do something like this. Sure that time involves the 40+ dives I need to do on the side but I don’t really want to pay the prices they charge in the UK to dive cold waters with generally poor visibility either

You realise diving in England is all drysuit diving which is going yo set you back at least $1000 AUSD?

As rivers said, just keep diving. Nothing worse than undertaking a course you are not ready for with unfamiliar gear.
You can't really expect to do your IDC here in Australia in a wetsuit and go back to England teaching other students to dive drysuits.
Mike


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We'd echo what the other have said about getting some more experience - or at least completing more of your DM before you start making too many decisions. You may find that as you progress through your DM course your attitude may change as you become more exposed to the job role, and the expectations of yourself and others, so there is really little point in making decisions for yourself a year in advance at this stage.

It may be worth looking for a DM position for a while before commiting to the IDC. We find the best instructors are the ones with DM experience. A few months working in a DM role taking fun divers and scuba reviews really helps as a new instructor - none of those novel problems seem quite so novel when you've seen them all before with certified divers and know how to overcome them! This will be especially true if you plan on working in a different area to that in which you do your IDC. A brand new instructor with no teaching experience AND no experience in the environmental conditions will struggle to find work.

Based on your post I'm not sure why you want to be an instructor.

IMO, going through the instructor course does not teach you more about diving. It teaches you a teaching methodology to present the material the agency promulgates.

If you want to learn more about diving, continue to dive and look into technical diving (decompression procedures, penetration, etc.). If you want to teach people how to dive (which it doesn't sound like based on your impending return to England), then go the instructor route.

Mike.D:

Quote: Once I get back to the UK – it’s time to get ‘serious’ and I’m not sure when I’ll get the opportunity to take up to 6-8 weeks to do something like this. Sure that time involves the 40+ dives I need to do on the side but I don’t really want to pay the prices they charge in the UK to dive cold waters with generally poor visibility either

You realise diving in England is all drysuit diving which is going yo set you back at least $1000 AUSD?

As rivers said, just keep diving. Nothing worse than undertaking a course you are not ready for with unfamiliar gear.
You can't really expect to do your IDC here in Australia in a wetsuit and go back to England teaching other students to dive drysuits.
Mike


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Wow lots of responses - I'll try and respond to the others but this stood out immediately.

I have no desire to dive in the UK. I believe I stated that - so it's not going to set me back anything. It's part of the reason why I wish to dive a little more whilst I have the spare time and free cash to do so ...

I mean I have no desire to be out in the grey and cold and I assume visibility will be terrible. I live inland so it's also a hassle just getting to and from places never mind the difference in suits, costs yada yada. I intend to get more out of diving but in other countries, when on holidays most likely

---------- Post added February 25th, 2014 at 03:31 PM ----------

Michael Guerrero:

Based on your post I'm not sure why you want to be an instructor.

IMO, going through the instructor course does not teach you more about diving. It teaches you a teaching methodology to present the material the agency promulgates.

If you want to learn more about diving, continue to dive and look into technical diving (decompression procedures, penetration, etc.). If you want to teach people how to dive (which it doesn't sound like based on your impending return to England), then go the instructor route.

Click to expand...

Well on this end - I think it's fair to assume I was doing it and then returning home.

I would assume that upon completion of my DM course no matter where I did an IDC I would not be 'guaranteed' a job. So I assume I would be going home because I would have no work ...

It's part of the reason the IDC interested me. I would prefer to spend the next couple of years moving around, seeing places and this could offer up that potential.

Another reason I assumed I would head home is due to a lack of personal equipment. I would assume that most shops would have their instructors with their own kit and there's chance of me affording that any time soon.

---------- Post added February 25th, 2014 at 03:37 PM ----------

Goodtime Adventures:

We'd echo what the other have said about getting some more experience - or at least completing more of your DM before you start making too many decisions. You may find that as you progress through your DM course your attitude may change as you become more exposed to the job role, and the expectations of yourself and others, so there is really little point in making decisions for yourself a year in advance at this stage.

It may be worth looking for a DM position for a while before commiting to the IDC. We find the best instructors are the ones with DM experience. A few months working in a DM role taking fun divers and scuba reviews really helps as a new instructor - none of those novel problems seem quite so novel when you've seen them all before with certified divers and know how to overcome them! This will be especially true if you plan on working in a different area to that in which you do your IDC. A brand new instructor with no teaching experience AND no experience in the environmental conditions will struggle to find work.

Click to expand...

Hi,

Appreciate the response and you raise a few good points.

First off it's probably best to highlight I am CURRENTLY doing my DM. I work out here, I go to the gym and I try to see friends, watch the rugby - saving. It's tough on time to get dives in more than one weekend a month.

I also would like to highlight that I am not saying I am going to sign up for an IDC - I was wanting advice on where to do one, and possible costs. As stated I will likely not finalise the DM until November 2014 so this is all in consideration of January 2015 - no commitments yet just food for thought.

I have spent the last 8 years working in various offices around the world and I was considering this as a potential to feed the opportunity to work away from home for a little longer.

If I decide not to head home June/July this year I will likely finish my DM in September and I will likely do more diving before this visa even finalises. I would assume the absolute minimum dives I will log between now and November 2014 would 60.

---------- Post added February 25th, 2014 at 03:47 PM ----------

divin'dog:

You may not realize why people will tell you to get more experience diving... But you really should. If you continue diving and building up experience (wisdom), you will see later on that it is not so much taking the classes and getting the certificate as it is the experience that you take with you into your training to be a DM or instructor.

Click to expand...

I do appreciate all advice given.

I completely get what everyone is saying.

Just because I have a sheet of paper saying I am a qualified instructor does not mean I am any good. People who have the experience, have dived various conditions, experienced first hand the 'situations' that can arise when diving could likely be far more well suited to run dives than I would be.

As another poster stated - the courses definitely read a lot more like they have a pedagogical focus so in that light I assume 'they' believe you have the experience as it demands a minimum of a 100 dive log to commence the course.

---------- Post added February 25th, 2014 at 03:51 PM ----------

OK SO MY FINAL THOUGHTS!!

I guess the over all consensus is to hold off ... get more dives in and get some experience and that is fair enough.


I will continue with my DM and see how I feel at the end of it all.


I can sign up to the IDC course where I was looking in to as late as January 6th as they stated it would commence mid January so I have plenty of time to make up my mind.

Like I mentioned before - I see it as a good time in my life to do this. I doubt I'll ever get 6-8 weeks to do something like this again. There's only so many times you can keep leaving home before you have to realise you need to sort your life out lol. If I decide against it I'll likely get a day or so here and there when I go on holidays ...

I'll keep an eye on the boards, great source of information.

But for now - I'll just keep diving and see what happens post DM

Thank you

BarrattsMini:

...Like I mentioned before - I see it as a good time in my life to do this. I doubt I'll ever get 6-8 weeks to do something like this again. There's only so many times you can keep leaving home before you have to realise you need to sort your life out lol...

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You're right about maybe never having another time like this to do something so wonderful. But if I had 6-8 weeks to do something like this, I would be out there diving my freakin' arse off and screw the DM/IDC. But that's just my 2¢...

>I would assume that upon completion of my DM course no matter where I did an IDC I would not be 'guaranteed' a job

I would disagree. Ask the shop you currently are doing your DM course with (who are they out of interest?) and I dare say that if you were to do the IDC with them they would give you some work straight after your IDC. then you could certify 30 or so OW's, a few AOW's, some speciality and a few rescue students... after that virtually anyone will hire you (assuming there is actually a job going) as long as you don't bomb an interview as someone impossible to work with. This way you could take the slow route home and pick up work in Asia. Dive instructing in any country is a job of passion, not money.

the issue with the thai/bali courses is they will certify you then wave goodbye. Other shops (like most I've dealt with in Sydney) will work you a lot more as they are also investing in you under the assumption that you will DM or instruct for them after.

the shop I now dive at have said that if I did the IDC, certified divers in the rough numbers above and perform well then they'd be happy to hook me up with a 6 month sabbatical job over in Fiji or somewhere given the contacts they have. I've no idea if they were talking rubbish to sign me up, but they've never lied to me before.


Also, ring around a few stores in Australia and tell them you're a Thai/Bali certified instructor and looking for work. don't hold the phone too close to your ear, the sound of phones hanging up can cause emotional damage. Not that I am doubting the quality of the course, but that's the reality... I have no idea how the IDC's are viewed in other asian countries.