Zero to Hero--AOW diver considering taking the plunge

[divermatt]

Folks--
I'm not a zero, but I'm certainly not a dive master yet either. I'm in a "gap year" between work and schoool, and was thinking of using the remaining months to get my PADI IDC work done. I would love to have the ability to teach, and I would also love all the diving I'd be doing in a tropical climate. Of course, I wouldn't mind the 3 months away from work much either.
So has anyone done these progams? Rants or Raves? Gimme the stories folks! FYI, I'm thinking of doing this in Playa Del Carmen or Coz.

Thanks
Matt

 

[Melicertes]

Folks--
I'm not a zero, but I'm certainly not a dive master yet either. I'm in a "gap year" between work and schoool, and was thinking of using the remaining months to get my PADI IDC work done. I would love to have the ability to teach, and I would also love all the diving I'd be doing in a tropical climate. Of course, I wouldn't mind the 3 months away from work much either.
So has anyone done these progams? Rants or Raves? Gimme the stories folks! FYI, I'm thinking of doing this in Playa Del Carmen or Coz.

Thanks
Matt

I found IDC pretty grueling but that might be because our water skills were done in some pretty adverse conditions. We did 2 kilometer swims running straight into rescue drills with at least two or three unconscious diver egresses per buddy through the pounding surf every single one of those 10 days on IDC. My wife and I are both strong academic students so we found the theory stuff relatively easy to manage. We studied the stuff well in advance of the IDC and found the exams on IDC to be the same ol' same ol' stuff to us by then.

That said, after IDC we both felt more like new students again rather than accomplished (hero) instructors. The surf, currents, surge, and swell even had the examiner almost calling it quits in the end. Make no mistake the ocean humbled us well and thoroughly that week and I walked away with an renewed and ever healthier respect for Neptune's temper than before. We've been diving off the Wild East Coast and Cape of Good Hope in South Africa for years, and we've seen our fair share of rough conditions, but having that respect for the ocean reinforced that hard during our IDC made us realize that IDCs don't make heroes, if anything they often (although not always) make arrogant fools. My advice to you is to fuel your passion to teach by first learning the academics, diving the real thing and learning to effectively practice that theory (a slow and deliberate process), and only then leading (and learning yet more every day). Too many people get attracted to the prestige an instructor's badge holds and goes about this @$$ about face: they want to learn the theory and lead way too soon. We need good instructors out there, and I'm sure you'd make a fine one, just be sure that you go about the process the right way - do not rush it. Nothing of deep value and quality gets created overnight

 

[rakkis]

My CDs made sure I was nice and humble during my IDC. Something about taking me apart to build me back up?

The other 2 guys going through the IDC came to have major doubts about ourselves by the beginning. Once we got the PADI formula down, it was a piece of cake. But wow... what scores.. Nothing like 1s and 2s to humble you. Not just in the classroom, CDs and IDCSs were conspiring against us in the pool too. 3-person panic attacks are no fun.

 

[daniel f aleman]

Don't waste yout time, take a consolidated PADI Instructor course from EASE http://www.easedivepro.com/index.html or Prodive http://www.prodiveusa.com/.

Or for NAUI http://www.commercialdivingacademy.com/sub/class-rig-scuba.htm#scuba.

For NAUI and, YMCA, SSI, CMAS, SDI http://www.hallsdiving.com/career2/index1.htm;

...all located in Florida.