Which certification?

[rocketman9415]

I am interested in getting certified...i live in south florida, boca raton to be exact, i have gone to two dive shops already to get information on getting certified...i have the option of getting PADI, SDI or NAUI... PADI and SDI are online, and the NAUI is 2 classroom sessions 4 hours each...i need help deciding which certification to get. any info would be great...thanks!

 

[Walter]

Living in Boca, you should take MB's class. The man is an amazing teacher! Send him a private message and set up a class.

 

[smellzlikefish]

Disclaimer: This is by no means definitive and I'm sure all of the certifications teach similar ideas. That said, I feel like Naui is geared more toward the working diver, while Padi and SSI are more for recreational diving. I have Naui, but have since been trained on more advanced topics by AAUS. I guess it depends on what you want to do.

 

[divetatoo]

Which organization to go with seems to be a big point of debate here. I would spend a good amount of time at the dive shops to get a feel for the instructors and the dive shops in general. Feeling comfortable with the people you will be learning from, in my opinion, is more important than the organization who certifies you. I am a PADI guy, but if I was comfortable with a NAUI instructor and felt that he/she was looking out for me to do well, I would use them.

I like PADI, most of my certs were through them, but I chose TDI for my Nitrox cert as I did research and felt that TDI was better. I also met the instructor for the class and felt confident that he knew what he was doing.

 

[FritzCat66]

If I had to do it over again I definitely would have gone with SDI. They're the only ones reasonable enough to teach computers from the get-go. With PADI and most (all?) of the others, you'll have to go through the hoops of learning tables which you will then promptly throw away and never look at again once you have a decent computer.

It's like taking a math class from some old-timer who insists on everyone using a slide rule, whereas SDI is operating in the 21st century.

Jump, boy! Jump! Do this table exercise! Good diver! Now here's your cert...

 

[elan]

Computers are nothing more than a table with better precision and real time tracking. There is nothing 21st century there They are just tools. More important IMHO is to get understanding of how the depth and time affect nitrogen load. IMHO tables gave me better understanding.

 

[ligersandtions]

Go meet the instructors. Forget who represents which certifying agency....which instructor did you like the most? Who did you seem to click with best? Who had the most compatible teaching style? Who did you get a good vibe from? Who do you trust with your life?

The agency is not nearly as important as finding a good instructor. I don't know any instructors in your area, but if Walter says MB is good, then MB is probably really good. Talk to him and see how you feel....go from there. But don't let agency dictate....cause you can end up with crappy instruction from any of them, depending on the instructor.

 

[packman]

If I had to do it over again I definitely would have gone with SDI. They're the only ones reasonable enough to teach computers from the get-go. With PADI and most (all?) of the others, you'll have to go through the hoops of learning tables which you will then promptly throw away and never look at again once you have a decent computer.

It's like taking a math class from some old-timer who insists on everyone using a slide rule, whereas SDI is operating in the 21st century.

Jump, boy! Jump! Do this table exercise! Good diver! Now here's your cert...

Gotta disagree here. The tables are an important tool in understanding how depth, dive time, and nitrogen affect each other. All the computer is really is a fancy dive table that can adjust your dive time on the fly as your depth changes. Without an understanding of the tables, how will you know if you are getting valid information from the computer? The tables are also a useful backup in case your computer craps out or locks up on you.

 

[packman]

I also agree that the personality of the dive shop/instructors is much more important than the certifying agency. Find a shop you like with instructors you like and the rest will fall into place.

 

[Trimix2dive]

Ugh, this debate again. I'll fall on the side of the instructor, not the piece of plastic being the best choice. I have a variety of different colored cards. For all the certifications I have I picked the instructor I was confident in and whose teaching philosophy fell in line with my way of learning.

Interview them, and spend your money wisely.