Continuing education with IDC

[Monarch_15w]

I was looking into a locale dive shop that was offering a PADI IDC course to go from Divemaster to Instructor. The cost is $4000 to take the "advanced" class. Is this a good deal. What does the PADI divemaster course usually cost and how much is the instructor cousre. Would that be over paying. I have heard from some others that you could spend up to 15000$ on to get to a PADI instructor? any truth behind this. Am I better off with a different dive shop. After words if I affiliate with the shop they will pay for my Instructor insurance under the dive shop if I go through them. Is that a good trade off for the more expensive classes. I am currently an SDI divemaster but there is no crossover course that doesn't make me do everything over again.


Please help me out do I have other options.

Dan

 

[SubMariner]

I was looking into a locale dive shop that was offering a PADI IDC course to go from Divemaster to Instructor. The cost is $4000 to take the "advanced" class. Is this a good deal. What does the PADI divemaster course usually cost and how much is the instructor cousre. Would that be over paying. I have heard from some others that you could spend up to 15000$ on to get to a PADI instructor? any truth behind this. Am I better off with a different dive shop. After words if I affiliate with the shop they will pay for my Instructor insurance under the dive shop if I go through them. Is that a good trade off for the more expensive classes. I am currently an SDI divemaster but there is no crossover course that doesn't make me do everything over again.


Please help me out do I have other options.

Dan

Your dive profile indicates that you have "50 - 99" and have been certified "Six - Ten Years". But how many years/dives do you actually have as a Divemaster? There IS a difference between Divemaster and Master Scuba Diver. Do you hold a DM rating with another agency? I'm a little confused in where you are in your training.

 

[AndyNZ]

I am currently an SDI divemaster but there is no crossover course that doesn't make me do everything over again.

As an SDI DM, you can enrol in the PADI IDC.

There will be a couple of extra lectures (e.g. how to teach the PADI RDP) and it would probably be worth familiarising yourself with the PADI skills in case there are significant differences.

From my experience of teaching SDI, the diver level courses are so similar that there is no major difference - so the overhead in the practical stuff is not high. But you'd definitely want to get hold of the PADI DM theory exams and work through those so you are familiar with the way that PADI expects dive theory to be examined.

All in all, you are probably looking at an extra half-day on the IDC, plus about a week or two of self study to be in a position where you would be able to complete a PADI IDC.

 

[Ironman]

I was looking into a locale dive shop that was offering a PADI IDC course to go from Divemaster to Instructor. The cost is $4000 to take the "advanced" class. Is this a good deal. What does the PADI divemaster course usually cost and how much is the instructor course. Would that be over paying.

Not necessarily overpaying, but it is hard to say without some additional detail. What is the 'advanced class', as the shop describes it? Does the $4000 include 'everything' - books? IE fee? Instructor Application fee? A more detailed breakdown from the shop might help you better determine whether it is a fair price.

I have heard from some others that you could spend up to 15000$ on to get to a PADI instructor? any truth behind this.

If that price involved travel to another location, and therefore the $15000 included room and board, it might make some sense. Or, if it included equipment, as some courses in SE Asia seem to, maybe. But, just for the coure(s), no. I have trouble believing that figure.

After words if I affiliate with the shop they will pay for my Instructor insurance under the dive shop if I go through them. Is that a good trade off for the more expensive classes.

My opinion - I don't think so. I get a much redcued costs of insurance because I am covered through our shop policy. But my cost amounts to several hundred dollars / year and therefore the offset would not necessarily make up for more expensive training.

 

[Monarch_15w]

I am a recently certified SDI divemaster as of Arpil 22. I need to update my profile. I am looking to join a shop in Omaha now. They are a PADI office.

 

[oly5050user]

I was looking into a locale dive shop that was offering a PADI IDC course to go from Divemaster to Instructor. The cost is $4000 to take the "advanced" class. Is this a good deal. What does the PADI divemaster course usually cost and how much is the instructor cousre. Would that be over paying. I have heard from some others that you could spend up to 15000$ on to get to a PADI instructor? any truth behind this. Am I better off with a different dive shop. After words if I affiliate with the shop they will pay for my Instructor insurance under the dive shop if I go through them. Is that a good trade off for the more expensive classes. I am currently an SDI divemaster but there is no crossover course that doesn't make me do everything over again.


Please help me out do I have other options.

Dan

Sounds high to me..In NY I charge $600. for a DM course..an IDC runs about $1250.-$1500. and then you have the IE which is around another $450. Total $2,600..
Another option is to to go to Buddy Dive on Bonaire,an IDC/IE there runs about $2,500$2,700. That includes hotel and diving.I was just down there a couple of weeks ago talking to Pepe,who is the in house course director there.Contact me via PM if you need an intro to them.

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

I was looking into a locale dive shop that was offering a PADI IDC course to go from Divemaster to Instructor. The cost is $4000 to take the "advanced" class. Is this a good deal. What does the PADI divemaster course usually cost and how much is the instructor cousre. Would that be over paying. I have heard from some others that you could spend up to 15000$ on to get to a PADI instructor? any truth behind this. Am I better off with a different dive shop. After words if I affiliate with the shop they will pay for my Instructor insurance under the dive shop if I go through them. Is that a good trade off for the more expensive classes. I am currently an SDI divemaster but there is no crossover course that doesn't make me do everything over again.


Please help me out do I have other options.

Dan

Last I knew Los Angeles County charged $800 to go from Advanced to Instructor. Welcome to LA County Scuba! - About the UICC Program At least that was the cost 5 years ago. And there were scholarships. $4000 for DM to Intructor, ouch.

 

[wadedeeper]

I was looking into a locale dive shop that was offering a PADI IDC course to go from Divemaster to Instructor. The cost is $4000 to take the "advanced" class. Is this a good deal.

Don't know what the going cost is for your area...I would suggest calling around to the other dive shops in your area to answer that question. What may be expensive to me...might be the going rate for your area...

What does the PADI divemaster course usually cost and how much is the instructor cousre. Would that be over paying.

again...call around...costs usually differ from area to area.

I have heard from some others that you could spend up to 15000$ on to get to a PADI instructor? any truth behind this.

There are Diving Schools that take you from OW to instructor and charge an arm and a leg...this sounds likely...but I couldn't tell you for certain.

Am I better off with a different dive shop.

I would recommend to call around and get the general reviews of others around town. If you hear a lot of bad reviews about a certain shop...you might be better to avoid that one wouldn't you agree?

After words if I affiliate with the shop they will pay for my Instructor insurance under the dive shop if I go through them. Is that a good trade off for the more expensive classes.

Most shops will offer to run you through the IDC/AI courses as part of your obligation period...meaning they will cover the costs and you work it off from your first classes. Up to you if that's what you want to do.

I am currently an SDI divemaster but there is no crossover course that doesn't make me do everything over again.

There is a crossover from any professional level to PADI professional level. Contact Padi to be certain, but I have never heard that they refuse an agency's professional level and crossing to PADI.

 

[1_T_Submariner]

Any option of converting to Padi DM and Dm'ing for a while?

 

[SubMariner]

I am a recently certified SDI divemaster as of Arpil 22. I need to update my profile. I am looking to join a shop in Omaha now. They are a PADI office.

Is this particular shop your only option? Or is there an SDI shop that with whom you can affiliate yourself?

As AndyNZ indicated, if you hold the equivalent DM rating with another agency, you can enroll in an IDC; provided you fulfill the rest of the IDC pre-enrollment requirements (like number/variety of dives, EFR or equivalent, etc.).

Meanwhile, IMHO the course you outlined seems expensive and unnecessary. I suggest talking to local Instructors in your new area to find good Course Directors, whom I would then interview. THEN make your decision with whom & when to take an IDC.

Take your time & do your homework.

Pax,