BSAC OWI to PADI OWSI coversion?

[lord.harshil]

Hi guys, I'm in a bit of a spot (as usual)

Ok background : I'm a university student in the UK and am currently a PADI DM and I worked with a diving company in sunny singapore for the last 6 months.

Now, being a uni student, i am effing poor. So I need to do this the cheapest way possible. With the university diving club, everything operates at cost price so the BSAC instructor course seems to be really cheap (all in all roughly £300-400)

The PADI OWSI course (with exam and blah blah) appears to be somewhere in the region of £1000 (am i right here? correct me if my figures are totally off please)

So i was thinking, lets take the BSAC courses (For Dive Leaders the Instructor Foundation Course is an excellent introduction to teaching our sport, this is followed by the Open Water Instructor Course, Theory Instructor Exam and Practical Instructor Exam.) and then convert them to PADI OWSI and bingo! hello egypt! hey there gorgeous! hello sun! hello still-alive wallet!

now the problem is this :

1) did i get my figures right? or would it make more sense to go padi straight away.
2) how much does it cost to covert it to a padi owsi?
3) does the bsac instr have a yearly fee like padi does?
4) if i get my bsac inst, convert to padi, can i then choose to not stay a current bsac instr (dont pay the yearly fee) and just pay the padi yearly fee and teach and cert people with padi open water?
5) is there something else in the fineprint i missed out on?

thanks in adv dudes!

[Walter]

Assuming you like teaching a more complete course, you'll be happier with BSAC.

[Jim Lapenta]

Depending on where you are PADI may be more well known but BSAC will be more respected and at each level is a more complete course.

[lord.harshil]

does padi recognise bsac? can i be a padi owsi if i have a bsac instr rating?

[Jim Lapenta]

You would still have to shell out a couple to a few grand for an IDC and IE.

[lord.harshil]

so if i intend to be a padi owsi, i might as well do the idc and ie straight away from padi?

because bsac recognises padi owsis and from what i've been told, its a quick cheap conversion process.

not the same from bsac to padi?

[lord.harshil]

being brutally honest with you guys, i'm just trying to find the cheapest route since $$$ is the main factor for me right now.

if i intend to work as a padi owsi (since its the most employable open water instructor qualification) which would be the cheapest route?

[Walter]

If you don't care about the issues raised, just bite the bullet.

[Standingbear56]

BSAC = More intensive and complete courses. Very highly respected. Greater teaching satisfaction IMHO.
PADI = Larger chance of employment and a more (outside of Europe) recognized name.
Taking into account the general nature of most people, since they are both certifications recognized worldwide, most will take the easier way of doing things. ie PADI.
Yes, both BSAC & PADI recognize each other.
I would go with BSAC 1st, then get a PADI X-Over if finances allow. If not, and you are looking for a teaching career outside of Europe, then go PADI.
Take care,
George

[DevonDiver]

I was a BSAC instructor (via the military) before crossing over to PADI.

BSAC is not that wide-spread outside the UK, so employment opportunities are very scarce. Also, as a BSAC instructor alone, you would be in competition with other instructors who have ratings with both agencies.

BSAC can offer a more comprehensive course, but that depends entirely on who provides the training. If you were a BSAC instructor, then you need to be aware that there is no cross-over directly to PADI. You could skip the PADI AI course, that is all.

On a pure cost basis... it would be cheaper to go directly for the PADI IDC...if you end goal is definitely to get PADI status and seek employment as an instructor.

On a skills/experience basis...there are advantages to getting the BSAC instructor training, in addition to the PADI IDC. The same is true for any wider breadth of experience you gained.. i.e. tech.

When it comes to working as an instructor, I never regretted getting the PADI status. There are so many more opportunities with it. It isnt my favorite agency to teach for, but if you are serious about starting a career in diving (in UK and Red Sea especially) then you might struggle to find work without being able to teach fro PADI.