SSI and PADI

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Without getting into a huge debate over training agency programs, its not so much as the difference between the two as the " perception". I am an SSI AOI Instructor, and have Tri Mix Instructor as well, however when I inquired into a PADI Instructor crossover, the IDC wanted to charge me $3000.00 and told me I had to start all over again to " do it the PADI way "..need;ess the say, I didnt go PADI nor will I ever..at least my students know that I have insurance and certified, and am an active instructor unlike others who have been suspended and still teach under that agencies name..SSI teaches through repetition of skills building a much more safety conscious diver and is self reliant..Final word on the subject..you pay for the instructor ; not the agency, choose the one that you trust and is legit..
 
Its not about the agency its about the instructor. There are bad instructors that teach for every agency.

@jmitch $3000.00 for a IDC cross over is insane drop me a PM I can get you into a IDC for much much cheaper then that. And no there is no reason you need to start from the beginning. You need to demonstrate you can do the skills to PADI standard and pass your written exams and presentation exams. The IDC is designed to ensure you can do that. Who ever is charging you $3000 for an IDC is crazy.
 
"...PADI instructors cannot step away from the "formula" they are told to teach, nothing less and nothing more..."

As a PADI instructor for 10 years, this statement is completely untrue. Like any teaching organisation in the world diving or non-diving, PADI has a set of criteria that it wants each and every student to learn. I will often teach my students something if I deem it useful and not a safety risk. For example I always teach my Advanced students how to use an SMB, even though it isn't part of the advanced course. I also teach deep dive students about air consumption calculations during their advanced courses.
 
"...PADI instructors cannot step away from the "formula" they are told to teach, nothing less and nothing more..."

I think alot of the reason people think this is because a PADI instructor my not withhold a certification if you accept a student and they meet the minimum requirements set by PADI. You can add requirements that are required for you to be there instructor as a pre-reg and you can teach additional skills as part of your course (except in the OW course) but you can not with hold a cert if for example divingguru's student cant properly deploy a SMB.

The only reason that you can with hold a PADI cert if the student has meet the PADI requirement is if the student has failed to pay the agreed upon price for the course. AKA if they still have a balance due for the course itself.
 
..Final word on the subject..you pay for the instructor ; not the agency, choose the one that you trust and is legit..[/QUOTE]
IMHO the best thing said on the whole post :)
 
I'm a new diver and have chosen SSI over PADI just because I don't like those huge 'commercial' organisations...
I've been hearing many experiences of people around me that have gotten their OWD while on Holiday and only did it in a few days, then getting pushed into getting their AOW immediately after 5-6 dives!... It sounded a little bit too rushed for my liking.

Ofcourse it all depends on the School and Instructor in the end but seeing PADI certificates 'everywhere' it's hard to know what's legit or not...

Thats only my humble newbie impression...
 
:no:
Is not te tables that you use Is the ones that you dont use.....,



Its called educational validity, building from simple to complex and following a proven system. I am a PADI Instructor and often add more practice and techniques (the standards manual says that students must be able to demonstrate the skill in a comfortable, fluid repeatable manner to prove mastery and meet the performance requirements but unfortunately many Instructors in all agencies don't follow this definition) but don't agree that Instructors should be allowed to add extra skills. This could cause task loading and of course there are a million situations when it could or could not be appropriate but leaving that in the hands of so many instructors, with differing skill/experience levels and judgement, I could see that being hard to defend in court if something should happen.

I'm unsure what you mean by the tables being liberal. They were designed and extensively tested for use by recreational divers instead of the Navy Tables used elsewhere, designed primarily for fit young men doing decompression diving. The spencer limits 60 minute washout model employed by many computers is the same model as the PADI table. PADI tables give shorter dive times for single dives but becuase they use a shorter surface interval credit (60 minutes instead of 120) they give more time on repetitive dives. Out of 2,000 dives i've never seen anyone get bent diving within the table limits even when they have other pre-disposing factors.

To me, all systems have been proved valid and I don't think anyone can say who does it better than the others as we all have our bias but as a dive center manager I don't think of any one certificationc card as being more acceptable than another and really believe it mostly comes down to the instructor that you had; their experience, comprehension and application of the tools that the agency puts at their disposal and personal passion, methods and personality.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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