Advice on where to go pro

[Dragondiver1]

I am a new diver from Canada and am desperately wanting to skip this upcoming winter. I want to go somewhere warm from January to June.

I have advanced open water from PADI, a handful of specialties and about 42 dives so far.

I need a location that is open to Canadian travellers that can do Rescue all the way up to MSDT. Something affordable would be nice.

Was originally planning on Thailand but they consider Canada too dangerous for now (COVID).

Any recommendations on country and dive shop would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Scared Silly]

IMHO there are going to be few places open this winter as the virus is going hit the fan and spread. There are countries open the Americans right now and while some are in the Caribbean I am not sure how affordable they are for long term stays while doing dive courses:

Find out which countries are welcoming US tourists back

(Though posted for Americans, it is probably similar for Canadians).

 

[lowwall]

Countries That Have Reopened For Canadian Tourists - Travel Off Path

Thailand and the Philippines are not on the list. But most of the Caribbean and Central American is.

Utila (Honduras) has traditionally been considered the cheapest place in the Caribbean for pro courses. I'd guess based on cost of living that the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Haiti are pretty inexpensive, but you'd need to check the actual course prices. Maybe Cuba is an option for Canadians.

 

[Tassi Devil Diver]

At only 42 dives and a "new diver" forget going pro just enjoy your diving!!

 

[Sifossifoco]

I would say Utila in Honduras should be the most cost-effective option. And yes, you may not have many dives yet, but you have got six months to spend by the sea, and that's easily 200 dives at 10 dives per week. Definitely go for it, if that is your dream.

 

[Zef]

Episode 187 - Go Pro 1

-Z

 

[Tassi Devil Diver]

Get 500 dives and 5 years of experience, then you might have something to offer as a dive pro, otherwise if you want to join the dive industry sausage factory and become just another sausage then definitely go for it, if that is your dream.

 

[Diving Dubai]

I am a new diver from Canada and am desperately wanting to skip this upcoming winter. I want to go somewhere warm from January to June.

I have advanced open water from PADI, a handful of specialties and about 42 dives so far.

Take a step back, and let's analyse the route to MSDT

DM (post rescue). Lots to MASTER (rather than just tick boxes) Guiding, being responsible underwater as well as having the instincts and ability to deal with issues and nervous/novice divers requires experience and mental bandwidth.

It takes time to build that experience and confidence, and your diving skills should be something people look upto, so if you can't right now hold a midwater stop and deploy a dsmb without any significant depth changes +/-1' or 300mm then you're not ready

Instructor training is easy - most candidates problem is self induced stress and fear of failure. You only learn how to carry out the course to standards. It doesn't teach you how to teach.

There is nothing more fearful than the first time you stand in front of your first group of OW students. When you've been learning your "Students" have been competent divers. They get the skill wrong, you correct, they do it properly. In the real world this doesn't happen You can show a skill a number of times to a student, they don't get it - do you have the breadth of experience to come up with another way?

Then we have MSDT - to get there you need to have certified 25 divers. Small number right? That 25 is where you learn to teach, really learn. You also need to be able to teach 5 specialties, so you should have significant experience in each.

Now there will be places happy to take you're money and give you a 7 day DM course (tick box filling, no learning) And then some place will be happy to take more money post IE and give you MSDT, you'll team teach or just be in the water on the qualification dive to nab the cert.

How much do you think you'll have learned, and how good an instructor will you be?

My advice - go somewhere warm, take a DM internship. Spend 3 months diving yourself to death, experience all the different sides of DM'ing, from helping teach, guiding, helping customers gear up and correcting their mistakes and get your own experience and skills up to scratch. You might feel that Pro is not for you, and save yourself money, or you might decide you do want to go pro, and you have something to offer.

Our DM course is 3 months, during that time I ask myself the same question. Would I trust that candidate to guide and take sole responsibility for one on my kids who is newly qualified on a dive. If the answer is no, they're not ready.

One final point. Interview the shops you're interested in, ask questions, get advice from others as to what questions to ask (if you don't know) This is your money, you deserved to be properly taught rather than giving money to "attend" Make sure you're aware of all the additional costs or Professional insurance and annual "membership fees" these can be substantial, and they're annual recurring costs (which increase every step up the ladder you take)

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Take a step back, and let's analyse the route to MSDT

DM (post rescue). Lots to MASTER (rather than just tick boxes) Guiding, being responsible underwater as well as having the instincts and ability to deal with issues and nervous/novice divers requires experience and mental bandwidth.

It takes time to build that experience and confidence, and your diving skills should be something people look upto, so if you can't right now hold a midwater stop and deploy a dsmb without any significant depth changes +/-1' or 300mm then you're not ready

Instructor training is easy - most candidates problem is self induced stress and fear of failure. You only learn how to carry out the course to standards. It doesn't teach you how to teach.

There is nothing more fearful than the first time you stand in front of your first group of OW students. When you've been learning your "Students" have been competent divers. They get the skill wrong, you correct, they do it properly. In the real world this doesn't happen You can show a skill a number of times to a student, they don't get it - do you have the breadth of experience to come up with another way?

Then we have MSDT - to get there you need to have certified 25 divers. Small number right? That 25 is where you learn to teach, really learn. You also need to be able to teach 5 specialties, so you should have significant experience in each.

Now there will be places happy to take you're money and give you a 7 day DM course (tick box filling, no learning) And then some place will be happy to take more money post IE and give you MSDT, you'll team teach or just be in the water on the qualification dive to nab the cert.

How much do you think you'll have learned, and how good an instructor will you be?

My advice - go somewhere warm, take a DM internship. Spend 3 months diving yourself to death, experience all the different sides of DM'ing, from helping teach, guiding, helping customers gear up and correcting their mistakes and get your own experience and skills up to scratch. You might feel that Pro is not for you, and save yourself money, or you might decide you do want to go pro, and you have something to offer.

Our DM course is 3 months, during that time I ask myself the same question. Would I trust that candidate to guide and take sole responsibility for one on my kids who is newly qualified on a dive. If the answer is no, they're not ready.

One final point. Interview the shops you're interested in, ask questions, get advice from others as to what questions to ask (if you don't know) This is your money, you deserved to be properly taught rather than giving money to "attend" Make sure you're aware of all the additional costs or Professional insurance and annual "membership fees" these can be substantial, and they're annual recurring costs (which increase every step up the ladder you take)

What he said.

 

[Zef]

There is nothing more fearful than the first time you stand in front of your first group of OW students. When you've been learning your "Students" have been competent divers. They get the skill wrong, you correct, they do it properly. In the real world this doesn't happen You can show a skill a number of times to a student, they don't get it - do you have the breadth of experience to come up with another way?

This is so very much right on point!

As an alpine ski instructor I have found that what separates a good skier from a good instructor is not one's ability to ski...it is one's ability to adapt their knowledge to how the skier learns. My experience has been this is even more true with learners, which will be the primary clientele in a dive instruction scenario, as adults seem to have stronger beliefs on what they are doing compared to what they are actually doing as applied to body movement and skill development. As an instructor one must be able to recognize the gap in understanding and adapt demonstrations and explanations on the fly.

What I find interesting is that as a ski instructor, in order to maintain my credential, I am required to participate in continuous education which includes on-the-snow clinics at a minimum of every other year. This is not a requirement for dive instructors in any of the major recreational training agencies (PADI, NAUI, SSI, etc.) that I know of.

-Z