How to switch to PADI?

[Standingbear56]

Regardless of Agency ....

Find a great instructor!

Agreed 100%


jcf

No SSI requires more dives. SSI AOW is 24 dives + four specialties. PADI is 5 dives.

The SSI Advanced program is actually more in line with the PADI Master Diver rating which requires 5 specialties. PADI's AOW program is designed for 2 things only - 1) give the OW student more diving experience in different situations under the supervision of an instructor and 2) Introduce the student to 5 different specialties.

Just a comment, you had a bad SSI instructor. That does not mean that SSI is a worse agency than PADI. But if you have found a much better PADI instructor then great, use them. Most of the time it is the instructor that makes a course, not the agency. Good luck with your AOW

Absolutely!

I mean I know that structurally there are differences.. such as SSI actually requires you to go diving to earn an advanced rating while PADI will hand it to you after 5 dives...

They are 2 different programs designed to do 2 different things. Please see above, otherwise you are comparing apples to oranges.

What part of doing the PADI AOW is handed out? The students must meet all the standards and do all the dives. In most cases, there is classroom and pool work in addition to the OW dives. Handing out a cert is simply giving the student the card without them doing any of the requirements.

I also know PADI allows Instructor Independence while SSI requires shop affiliation... but aside from these misc. little differences... as a brand new Open Water Diver - who cares what card you have?

The OP.

Someone earlier said... Put Another Dollar in... oops, I mean take another class and PADI will be happy to give you a PADI card.. For that matter why not take a specialty with all 22+ agencies and have a card from each... after all... he/she with the most cards wins.[/QUOTE]

You missed the whole point on that one. I said there is no reason to take another OW course. If the OP wants a PADI certification, he should simply take his next class with PADI. Besides, doesn't SSI want you to Put Another Dollar In or are their AOW courses and materials all free?

Take Care,
George

 

[TennisCoach]

It sound to me that the weight could have been that he did not have 2- 5lbs to put in diferent pockets. Or maybe he wanted to make it more difficult for you to teach you something else. I am lucky my instructor and his staff is the best. his name in Charlie Matthews. He is helped by Mr. Lee and Miss Ashley and they are both great. Ashley helped me with the weights yesterday in my first pool dive and she did a great job.

 

[jbop65]

Sorry everyone for not posting sooner work is a killer right now.
By no means did I imply my instructor is a moron.If it came across that way then sorry.

it was my first pool dive when this happened.I guess you could say everything we learned through the pool and the open water dives was rushed.

On my 2nd open water dive the instructor stayed up while me and a buddy did the dive ourselves
while down below I got a chance to watch a group of open water divers that were with PADI.
again yes I know the instructor makes the course but it appeared to me that they were learning things I was being rushed through.

I honestly don't know what is better SSI or PADI maybe NAUI?
I know SSI requires two specialty courses before you can take AOW.

I think it's a preference as too what agency your with.My concern was or is what agency offers the best in training for AOW and on.I would really like to be a Dive Master by spring time.

Also as stated before I remember reading on a site that offered Jobs for Instructors they leaned more to PADI.And if this is so I just wanted to make sure all my eggs are in the right basket before I apply at a resort.

But Honestly what is most important is getting the best training.

Thanks again for everyone helping didn't mean to start waves remember new here trying to learn so I can be the best at what I enjoy.

John

 

[Paco II]

There is no pre-requisite to take AOW with SSI. All that is required to complete it is taking 4 specialties and have 24 dives.

...I know SSI requires two specialty courses before you can take AOW...

 

[dive pro]

Thanks again,I understand what everyone is trying to say and it makes sense about having a good instructor,I do believe I will take my advance open water with PADI though just feel better with the instructor teaching it.Now is it still a requirement for me to take 2 specilty courses as well before I can take my AOW test with PADI? What two courses would you recommend?

Thank you

I am a Padi and SSi instructor, I guess you had a bad instructor there is no bad agency, there are diferences on some skills but SSI will require more experience, dives and specialties before you become AOW, Padi will do it right after you become OW.
There is no problem becoming AOW with Padi holding an SSI card I do it sometimes. For the Padi AOW you need to read the chapters of the dives you are doing on the Adventures in Diving book, I recommend get it ahead, and then the 5 dives, 2 are core dives Deep and UW navigation, the rest are up to you depending on the location you dive at....
Hope this helps

 

[String]

This sounds entirely a case of a poor instructor who if the above is true is most likely breaking SSI standards.

PADI,SSI and so on are near identical in content, especially at that level so it serves no purpose to switch agency. However, it DOES makes sense to find a better instructor. If that instructor happens to teach a different agency then so be it - they are so similar anyway the agency really is irrelevant here.

 

[Walter]

while down below I got a chance to watch a group of open water divers that were with PADI.
again yes I know the instructor makes the course but it appeared to me that they were learning things I was being rushed through.

SSI & PADI are pretty much equal for OW. You may find an exceptional instructor with one or the other that makes a difference, but they aren't common.

I honestly don't know what is better SSI or PADI maybe NAUI?

Standards wise (the only way to judge and agency) NAUI has an edge over PADI and SSI. YMCA/YDI is better, IMO, than any of the others. It's harder to find, but hopefully that will change in the near future with the change in structure taking place now.

I know SSI requires two specialty courses before you can take AOW.

SSI doesn't actually have an advanced class. They award an advanced certification to those completing a minimum number of specialties and having logged at least 24 dives.

I think it's a preference as too what agency your with.My concern was or is what agency offers the best in training for AOW and on.

PADI's AOW class is useless, 5 dives and almost no academics. NAUI's AOW isn't much better in dives - 6 instead of 5, but has much better academics. YMCA/YDI has an excellent advanced class - Silver Advanced with 10 dives and excellent academics.

I would really like to be a Dive Master by spring time.

Now, you are rushing things. Slow down and actually learn to dive before even thinking about DM and beyond.

 

[ligersandtions]

By no means did I imply my instructor is a moron.

On my 2nd open water dive the instructor stayed up while me and a buddy did the dive ourselves while down below I got a chance to watch a group of open water divers that were with PADI. again yes I know the instructor makes the course but it appeared to me that they were learning things I was being rushed through.

Please tell me I'm reading this wrong....did your instructor really let you and your buddy go down by yourselves on your SECOND open water dive ever? This sounds like a case of a horrible instructor! You should be watched meticulously on each of your pre-cert OW dives; not to mention, you should be demonstrating the required skills.

In my honest opinion, I think you should look at yourself as a diver....can you proficiently demonstrate all the skills you should have been required to do in your OW class? If you answered "no", you should make it a point to go out with an experienced diver (DM, AI, instructor, somoene who has been diving for a good period of time and is competent) and after the dive is over, ask them if they saw any serious deficiencies or things you should be working on. You should also make it a point to practice all the skills until you can do everything that would have been required of you. If you answered "I don't know", you could take my advice above, or get yourself enrolled in a PADI AOW (since you can't do it with SSI at this point), which will give you some more time with an instructor, in a fairly simple underwater environment. If you answered "yes", are you sure?

I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but I also had a bad OW instructor (who certified my hubby and me without having us demonstrate the majority of the skills required). Essentially, this exact question was brought up, and it really made me reflect on things that we didn't do....I had been diving with my buddy a number of times before I realized how bad the instructor was, so we didn't go out with DM's or anything, but just practiced on our own. By the time we made it to AOW, even though we were the two newest divers there, we did very well because of the amount of time and work we had put in underwater.

 

[jbop65]

First yes the Instructor sent us down alone on 2nd dive.Can I do everything good that I was taught in OW classes........Hmmm my honest answer is No I do believe there are a few things I need to do better and I do plan on working on them very hard in the next few dives I make.

one thing for sure is I can always get good answers here on the board

thanks
John

 

[fyrdyvr]

SSI to PADI... isn't that like apples to apples? What's the point?

I mean I know that structurally there are differences.. such as SSI actually requires you to go diving to earn an advanced rating while PADI will hand it to you after 5 dives... I also know PADI allows Instructor Independence while SSI requires shop affiliation... but aside from these misc. little differences... as a brand new Open Water Diver - who cares what card you have?

Someone earlier said... Put Another Dollar in... oops, I mean take another class and PADI will be happy to give you a PADI card.. For that matter why not take a specialty with all 22+ agencies and have a card from each... after all... he/she with the most cards wins.

I LOVE this guy.