A recent thread got me thinking about what people expect when it comes to learning to become a diver. Firstly we need to decide on 'What makes a diver?' For me, a diver is self-sufficient, has some experiences in a range of conditions and can perform basic rescue on themselves and their buddy. They are not Cousteau, however they can perform in 'typical' conditions and can adapt appropriately if the conditions worsen.
If you personally disagree with this definition, that's OK but for the purpose of the thread, let's please assume that this is the definition.
This training has been broken up (modularised) by the popular recreational training agencies (PADI, SSI etc), so that not all the training needs to be done at one time. This in turn means that people can complete portions of the training while 'on vacation' and this led to a boom in recreational diving, which led in turn to dive centers opening in thousands of popular holiday destinations around the world.
However, again for this thread lets assume that all this training is done together (ie. no time constraints). A complete beginner walks in to a dive center and walks out as a 'diver', with the aforementioned skill set.
I'd be interested in hearing what beginner divers believe should be the cost of learning to become a diver. $500? $5000? No equipment purchases- just the training.
If you personally disagree with this definition, that's OK but for the purpose of the thread, let's please assume that this is the definition.
This training has been broken up (modularised) by the popular recreational training agencies (PADI, SSI etc), so that not all the training needs to be done at one time. This in turn means that people can complete portions of the training while 'on vacation' and this led to a boom in recreational diving, which led in turn to dive centers opening in thousands of popular holiday destinations around the world.
However, again for this thread lets assume that all this training is done together (ie. no time constraints). A complete beginner walks in to a dive center and walks out as a 'diver', with the aforementioned skill set.
I'd be interested in hearing what beginner divers believe should be the cost of learning to become a diver. $500? $5000? No equipment purchases- just the training.