Diver-Drex
Contributor
I am taking my tech training through an instructor that is certified to teach and actively uses material from several agencies. He requires solo or self reliant diver cert as a stepping stone to tech and uses the SDI course material. This is also his opportunity to evaluate a student’s readiness for additional training. He uses Intro to Tech and Adv Nitrox along with PADI Tec40 as the first stage of decompression dive training. If the diver desires you can continue on to Tec45 and then Tec50 and Deco Procedures.
It’s a combination of the best material available rather than brand pride or a rigid structure. It’s also a system of designed gates that you need to successfully pass. The student and instructor can work together to ensure competency at each level before moving on.
I had spoken to a few instructors before deciding where to go. My experiences with those shops are in bold contrast to where I am being trained. One shop was insistant that you needed to enroll in the entire PADI Tec program at the same time regardless of your present or future goals. And that you had to use their approved equipment configuration. I test drove the shop by taking a sidemount course with them. There were three of us in the class, two in the equipment the shop requires for Tec and me in something else. The first day the instructor spent the majority of the day trying to get their gear squared away and had nothing to offer me. A couple of online videos that night at the hotel answered my questions. Day two was more of the instructor trying to get their set up right while I enjoyed diving in my ‘unacceptable’ gear. I walked away from that shop.
A TDI only instructor I spoke to took some pride in letting me know that he holds very ‘high standards’ and if it took a year to meet his standards for AN/DP then so be it. He also let me know he is like a “drill sargeant” in how he runs things. This flat turned me off. I was in the military for 19 years with a great deal of that time in special operations and being deployed. I don’t need a civilian wannabe drill sargeant in my life. While I appreciate his ‘high standards’ I hold myself to high standards and have more than enough discipline. Some people like or need that approach and the popularity of ‘boot camp’ style fitness training is evidence of that. As they say I’ve got drawer full of those T-shirt’s.
At the end of the day it does come down to the instructor and what your goals are, both short and long term.
- Make sure the instructor’s personality and teaching style matches your needs.
- See if the instructor does the type of diving you do. An instructor that is primarily a cave diver may be an outstanding diver and instructor but may not be the right choice if wrecks are your thing.
- Make sure the instructor is committed to you meeting performance standards and not the minimum number of dives. They should be willing to work with you until you pass, within a reasonable amount of time.
- Make sure the environment they conduct the training in matches the environment you want to dive in. For landlocked divers this may be challenging. But if you’re planning to dive in the ocean and have access to it for training and the instructor won’t leave the quarry you may have cause for concern.
- Take a class with them before enrolling in tech training. Test drive them on a specialty course. The investment in time and money could save a lot frustration later on.
It’s a combination of the best material available rather than brand pride or a rigid structure. It’s also a system of designed gates that you need to successfully pass. The student and instructor can work together to ensure competency at each level before moving on.
I had spoken to a few instructors before deciding where to go. My experiences with those shops are in bold contrast to where I am being trained. One shop was insistant that you needed to enroll in the entire PADI Tec program at the same time regardless of your present or future goals. And that you had to use their approved equipment configuration. I test drove the shop by taking a sidemount course with them. There were three of us in the class, two in the equipment the shop requires for Tec and me in something else. The first day the instructor spent the majority of the day trying to get their gear squared away and had nothing to offer me. A couple of online videos that night at the hotel answered my questions. Day two was more of the instructor trying to get their set up right while I enjoyed diving in my ‘unacceptable’ gear. I walked away from that shop.
A TDI only instructor I spoke to took some pride in letting me know that he holds very ‘high standards’ and if it took a year to meet his standards for AN/DP then so be it. He also let me know he is like a “drill sargeant” in how he runs things. This flat turned me off. I was in the military for 19 years with a great deal of that time in special operations and being deployed. I don’t need a civilian wannabe drill sargeant in my life. While I appreciate his ‘high standards’ I hold myself to high standards and have more than enough discipline. Some people like or need that approach and the popularity of ‘boot camp’ style fitness training is evidence of that. As they say I’ve got drawer full of those T-shirt’s.
At the end of the day it does come down to the instructor and what your goals are, both short and long term.
- Make sure the instructor’s personality and teaching style matches your needs.
- See if the instructor does the type of diving you do. An instructor that is primarily a cave diver may be an outstanding diver and instructor but may not be the right choice if wrecks are your thing.
- Make sure the instructor is committed to you meeting performance standards and not the minimum number of dives. They should be willing to work with you until you pass, within a reasonable amount of time.
- Make sure the environment they conduct the training in matches the environment you want to dive in. For landlocked divers this may be challenging. But if you’re planning to dive in the ocean and have access to it for training and the instructor won’t leave the quarry you may have cause for concern.
- Take a class with them before enrolling in tech training. Test drive them on a specialty course. The investment in time and money could save a lot frustration later on.
