i'm currently a rescue diver with ssi and want to continue with diving and make it a career. How ever i"m not sure what would be the best way to do this, at this point in time i"m looking at dive schools that offer all the training in one package. the trouble is there are so many different places and programs it's a little over whelming, i was just curious if anyone has became an instructor through one of these places or knew of a reputable one and could point me in the right direction...preferably florida.
Scuba schools
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Supershark
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Sorry, do not know any in Florida. But you should have no problem transferring to PADI. I work for a school in Thailand and we regularly do crossover courses.
I did my professional training here in Thailand and have many friends no working worldwide that did the same course. If you want ant further info please feel free to message me.
I did my professional training here in Thailand and have many friends no working worldwide that did the same course. If you want ant further info please feel free to message me.
Prodive are a huge chain with a good international reputation. I can't recommend them directly because I didn't go there but I do know people who did their IDCs with prodive Florida and spoke highly of them.
Supershark mentioned Thailand - this is often an option for those with a more limited budget. Living costs are so cheap there that the cost of internship + flights + living can be far, far cheaper than attending a school in US or Europe.
As an SSI rescue diver you should be eligible to enter the PADI divemaster program straight away (assuming all other requirements are met); once this is completed and you have the required 100 dives you may attend an IDC and IE. For the professional ratings, these are the two courses you need to complete (also an Enriched Air Nitrox Specialty course is verrrrrry useful, you can't teach this without it). Everything else that's offered is just trimming - some places will offer gear or extra courses or other temptations but you need to focus on what is core and then have a look at the extras and compare value for money.
Of course - you don't need to be a PADI instructor - you could stay with SSI and become an SSI instrctor - although you'll find that in certain places, SSI don't have as much of a prescence as PADI.
Write to the schools you are interested in attending and ask them how they would approach your training. Consider you may be spending a few months without an income and make sure you can afford living costs if you need to relocate.
I tend to recommend looking at the bigger, 5* CDC centres. Some people will disagree and suggest a more intimate training environment rather than the so called "instructor factories". Again, speaking from experience I would suggest if you're going to be spending some time away from home, a big school with a lot of students is a cool place to be and hang out and make friends, bounce ideas and learn from each other. During an IDC especially, big class size does not interfere with your training - most of the big schools (if not all of them) will divide the course into groups appropriate to the local Instructor Exams. I used to work at a big school in Thailand (same as scubashark as it happens) and I think we can both safely say we had an absolute blast there!
Good times!
Smaller schools often do not have full time staff cabable of training instructors. This is not always a problem but it means that IDCs can be limited in terms of when they occur. If you'd rather attend a smaller school get word-of-mouth information from former students and dig a little deeper. Again - no disrepect for the smaller shops but it is difficult to compete in the market so make sure you know exactly what you'll be getting. I know of shops that offer IDCs but are actually effectively acting as 'booking agents' for an IDC where a number of smaller shops combine forces with a local Course Director. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, just something to consider.
Hope that helps - good luck!
Crowley
Supershark mentioned Thailand - this is often an option for those with a more limited budget. Living costs are so cheap there that the cost of internship + flights + living can be far, far cheaper than attending a school in US or Europe.
As an SSI rescue diver you should be eligible to enter the PADI divemaster program straight away (assuming all other requirements are met); once this is completed and you have the required 100 dives you may attend an IDC and IE. For the professional ratings, these are the two courses you need to complete (also an Enriched Air Nitrox Specialty course is verrrrrry useful, you can't teach this without it). Everything else that's offered is just trimming - some places will offer gear or extra courses or other temptations but you need to focus on what is core and then have a look at the extras and compare value for money.
Of course - you don't need to be a PADI instructor - you could stay with SSI and become an SSI instrctor - although you'll find that in certain places, SSI don't have as much of a prescence as PADI.
Write to the schools you are interested in attending and ask them how they would approach your training. Consider you may be spending a few months without an income and make sure you can afford living costs if you need to relocate.
I tend to recommend looking at the bigger, 5* CDC centres. Some people will disagree and suggest a more intimate training environment rather than the so called "instructor factories". Again, speaking from experience I would suggest if you're going to be spending some time away from home, a big school with a lot of students is a cool place to be and hang out and make friends, bounce ideas and learn from each other. During an IDC especially, big class size does not interfere with your training - most of the big schools (if not all of them) will divide the course into groups appropriate to the local Instructor Exams. I used to work at a big school in Thailand (same as scubashark as it happens) and I think we can both safely say we had an absolute blast there!
Good times! Smaller schools often do not have full time staff cabable of training instructors. This is not always a problem but it means that IDCs can be limited in terms of when they occur. If you'd rather attend a smaller school get word-of-mouth information from former students and dig a little deeper. Again - no disrepect for the smaller shops but it is difficult to compete in the market so make sure you know exactly what you'll be getting. I know of shops that offer IDCs but are actually effectively acting as 'booking agents' for an IDC where a number of smaller shops combine forces with a local Course Director. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, just something to consider.
Hope that helps - good luck!
Crowley
I went through Pro Dive in Ft. Lauderdale Florida. Contrary to what Crowley said it is not a chain. There are other programs that share the same name but are not related. It would be no problem to convert you over to PADI. Also, Pro Dive can take you all the way through Master Scuba Diver Instructor from Rescue. Where you are now it wouldn't take too long to do so. Also, there is another course offered called the Resort Operations Specialist. This will give you training on things such as equipment repair, gass blending, cylinder inspection, Reef Check instructor, etc. If you have any further questions please contact me at matt.heath@prodiveusa.com
I'm a little confused by this statement???
Are you saying that one can pay Pro Dive for not only the MSDT Prep course but also for the opportunity to get the 25 certs necessary to actually qualify as MSDT? Perhaps you meant one could take the MSDT Prep course after they pass the IE?
I'm also interested in hearing more about what exactly a Reef Check instructor is?
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