Where did YOU do your IDC?

[scuba_addiction]

For all those PADI instructors out there I was wondering if you could give us a little bit of info about your IDC! To help out future instructors

1) Where did you do it?
2) Would you recommend the company? and Country?
3) How expensive was it?
4) What was your work prospects like after it?
5) And finally What was/is the diving like in that country?!

Thanks!

[oly5050user]

Recommend getting DM and IDC done at a facility that you would like to teach out of.Better chance of being assigned classes that way.

[the wart]

1) Where did you do it? Gildenburgh Waters, Peterborough
2) Would you recommend the company? and Country? Dive In, England (Yes I would, not the quarry we dived in, but the instructors were great)
3) How expensive was it? £500 (but I'd done AI in OZ with my employers) Can't remember the PADI fees at the time.
4) What was your work prospects like after it? Lousy! Just did IDC, no EFR or MSDT prep
5) And finally What was/is the diving like in that country?! Cold, Murky, but great instruction


What you'll find is that there is very little difference in the pricing of IDC's after exchange rates. I looked at doing my IDC in Thailand instead of the UK, there was no real benefit save for doing it in a warm country. Looking back I'm glad I didn't, when you say you've done you're IDC in Thailand it tends not to reflect greatly on you.
As for finding work after the IDC, languages. That's the main thing. It was such a hinderance the first few years trying to get work. Then after getting a Scandinavian girlfriend (also an Instructor) plus making the effort to teach in another language, it became a lot easier to find work.
You might want to have a look at the current Aussie Exchange rates. As PADI Asia Pacific is based in Sydney. What you may find is that although an IDC may work out cheaper in the Asia Pacific region, the crappy rates for the £ and PADI fees may make it seem less attractive.
Good luck.

[scuba_addiction]

1) Where did you do it? Gildenburgh Waters, Peterborough
2) Would you recommend the company? and Country? Dive In, England (Yes I would, not the quarry we dived in, but the instructors were great)
3) How expensive was it? £500 (but I'd done AI in OZ with my employers) Can't remember the PADI fees at the time.
4) What was your work prospects like after it? Lousy! Just did IDC, no EFR or MSDT prep
5) And finally What was/is the diving like in that country?! Cold, Murky, but great instruction


What you'll find is that there is very little difference in the pricing of IDC's after exchange rates. I looked at doing my IDC in Thailand instead of the UK, there was no real benefit save for doing it in a warm country. Looking back I'm glad I didn't, when you say you've done you're IDC in Thailand it tends not to reflect greatly on you.
As for finding work after the IDC, languages. That's the main thing. It was such a hinderance the first few years trying to get work. Then after getting a Scandinavian girlfriend (also an Instructor) plus making the effort to teach in another language, it became a lot easier to find work.
You might want to have a look at the current Aussie Exchange rates. As PADI Asia Pacific is based in Sydney. What you may find is that although an IDC may work out cheaper in the Asia Pacific region, the crappy rates for the £ and PADI fees may make it seem less attractive.
Good luck.

Brilliant thanks for the info

Well I was looking at Central America but the flights are insanely expensive (original plan was Fiji but flights were a couple of grand...stupid money!). I've been warned off Asia in general by my DM instructor and am currently learning spanish to hopefully open more doors I did my DM in Sharm and thats my back-up place, but because of the current political situation and last years shark attacks there just isn't enough work.

Will continue researching!

[the wart]

I'm guessing Utila as you mentioned Central Am?

I was there last year. The place is packed. So you'll definitely have a lot of people to vibe off of when doing the course.

I would still consider Egypt. Dahab can be a good place to the IDC as it's a more chilled place than Sharm and you can have a cheaper existence. Beers are half the price of Sharm (sorry but Beer prices are important wherever I go )

As for finding work in Central AM. I worked in Roatan for a bit. I got lucky and found full time work, but there is a lot of Freelancing going on there. Sometimes Malaysia and Thailand can be good places to try an look for work. The jobs that come up on PADI will get about 50 - 100 hits from instructors all over the world, there can be a good advantage to just being there at the right time, rather than sending a CV and hoping.

Anyway. Do the MSDT prep so you get your 5 specialties straight away. A little more employability factor.

[scuba_addiction]

Thanks

I went to Dahab to check it out and chilled the right word! It was also dead when I went! If I went back to egypt it would definatly be to Sharm just because I am obsessed with Tiran! Would love to work on liverboards though, just for a short while. (Go to the Brothers etc!!)

Of course beer is important I've yet to find a dive centre that doesn't devote serious time to beer o'clock. Sakara we love you.

Will def do specilaities, found some centres that offer free instructor spec's for life if you do your IDC with them which sounds amazing.

[Simon-]

1) Where did you do it? IDC in Abu Dhabi and IE in Muscat, Oman

2) Would you recommend the company? and Country? No hesitation recommending the CD, especially as I now staff IDC's with him

3) How expensive was it? Comparable to other dive centres in the UAE

4) What was your work prospects like after it? I work as an independant, so full time employment wasn't an issue

5) And finally What was/is the diving like in that country? Diving is ok, with variance in visibility from less than 1m to more than 20m. Water is never cold (winter it may get down to 18c, summer as high as 36c water temps), decent number of wrecks on the west coast, cracking marine life off the east coast and up into Oman.

[roturner]

For all those PADI instructors out there I was wondering if you could give us a little bit of info about your IDC! To help out future instructors

1) Where did you do it? Sublub, Rotterdam
2) Would you recommend the company? and Country? I would recommend both the current and the ex- CD's for getting you through the IE in one go. The current CD is better at teaching how to teach and draws from a deeper/broader background in terms of methods. He's very good even by my picky standards.
3) How expensive was it? I don't know what they charge. I was DM-ing there for years before I did my IDC and it was more or less a gift from them (provided I was willing to continue teaching there... which I was).
4) What was your work prospects like after it? Not sure. I started working as an instructor right away and have taught (been involved in some way) in training many people. In my case it was not intended as a career move so I'm happy with the arrangement. Other dive shops have approached me to train for them too but to date I've only agreed to do guided wreck dives on the North Sea for them.
5) And finally What was/is the diving like in that country?! LOL. It's the Netherlands. Nobody comes here for the diving.

R..

[scuba_addiction]

Thanks everyone

Was wondering...are there any instructors on here that have taught in; And would you suggest them? Whats the diving 'style' like? Aka In Sharm- its 99% boat diving. Shore diving is only really for Scuba Reviews/DSD's and random fun diving when instructors are super bored! In Malta- Its mainly shore diving, pick-up truck galore

Malaysia

Indonesia

Honduras- Utila

Thailand- I've been told not to do my IDC out there....but if anyone thinks differently please let me know!

?? There all places I am considering, just a shame the flights are so expensive to some of them...!

[SrLagarto]

1) Where did you do it?
Dive Time - Lagos, Algarve, Portugal

2) Would you recommend the company? and Country?
Absolutely!

3) How expensive was it?
PADI's fees were the largest percentage of the cost... the rest was on an Internship.

4) What was your work prospects like after it?
Excellent - I worked there for a year as OWSI, then on reaching MSDT was able to quickly secure an Instructors position on Malta.

5) And finally What was/is the diving like in that country?!
I doubt Portugal is at the top of many people's list when considering potential diving destinations, but they're missing out - t

he Algarve is a fantastic place to dive for training or fun, and offers many varied dive spots - including some exciting new wrecks.