Certification courses abroad promising Open Water to DM or Instructor?

[geordanm]

I've tried sifting through prior threads to avoid asking a possibly redundant question, but to no avail.

I'm interested in taking this year off from school and using the time to immerse myself in diving. After looking into different option I have become a little bit confused by the hierarchy between Dive Master and Instructor. Currently, I am open water certified only. So, I would like a program that has a longer time-span that ultimately progresses to one or the other, without feeling like it is just a certification factory-vacation.

Since, I am not too familiar with diving or the South Pacific it has made looking into such things on the internet quite confusing with all of the excess hits that come up. If you have any personal experience with a similar program, or suggestions I would greatly appreciate narrowing down all on the options.

I have always wanted to go backpacking through SE Asia which is why programs in the South Pacific have appealed to me, but I'm open to suggestions for any tropical region, or warm climate.

Thanks!
-G

 

[Ralph Capeling]

You could consider going to Belize. Belize is tropical and english speaking.
Splash Dive Shop in Placencia in southern Belize attracts a lot of back packers and can take you from your open water certification to dive master on whatever schedule interests you.
Regards
Ralph

 

[zaberman1]

You may want to avoid places that advertise taking you all the way to instructor/dm from open water. I understand you are looking for a long term program but I wouldn't look for a program that ultimately leads one to becoming an instructor. First, concentrate on becoming a better recreational diver by taking your time with the courses, diving on your own, and constantly critiquing/refining your skills. You need many 'fun' and challenging dives before thinking about teaching other people so that you can have your own OH SH** stories to relate to. Become a better recreational diver. Second, once you have spent years in the sport, invest in divemaster and take it from a very strict shop. You may spend months earning that certification (I did). Assume you were learning SCUBA, who would you want to learn from? Didn't mean to be presumptuous, just offering MHO.

 

[otterdive]

Assume you were learning SCUBA, who would you want to learn from? Didn't mean to be presumptuous, just offering MHO.

I completely agree. In my opinion, one MUST be 100% confident in their own diving in a variety of conditions. Please don't rush the steps. When you, and maybe a respected mentor, feel that you have a good, solid set of skills, then challenge yourself a bit with the supervision of more experienced divers. Then go for your adv. cert. Dive even more. When you own diving starts to become 2nd nature, then do your Rescue. I loved my Rescue class... it's there where I started to feel all the pieces falling into place. Then shadow some DMs on guided dives for a while. When you are ready, and not just when you have the required 20 dives, go for DM. Take your time with a school/shop that really cares about training. I'll be happy to suggest one in Thailand if you are thinking about going there.

Really spend some time working as a DM. Your own diving MUST be 2nd nature. Now you can care for others. You are supposed to know it all as a DM. Your knowledge of theory needs to be 2nd nature as well. In my opinion there is simply no way that someone can have that level of diving proficiency, and knowledge, and that indefinable ellement that makes some people good at caring for others with the current minimum number of dives (20) to start DM

The IDC does not teach this stuff. It's just two weeks of learning the instructional system of whatever agency you decide to go with.

I know the lure of doing a "zero-to-hero" program is strong. Take your time, and become a true diving professional. Have fun, and I wish you the best in your career!

 

[geordanm]

Take your time with a school/shop that really cares about training. I'll be happy to suggest one in Thailand if you are thinking about going there.

Thank you, I would really appreciate that.

All of your advice was very helpful, but my post was a little misleading. I don't want to be an instructor to others necessarily, but it seemed that those certification programs are the only ones offered, allowing me to be abroad for a longer period of time, and including accommodations.

Overall, before even considering instructing another person- I just want to know that my own life is safe with whichever program I end up deciding upon. And with my own skills.

-G

 

[pir8]

Why not just travel & dive?

 

[geordanm]

Personal reasons, but ultimately that would be something that I would like to do.

 

[scubadiver888]

I'm only familiar with PADI. For other agencies the terminology might be different. I think the level of training you are looking for is Rescue Diver. The highest level of non-professional in PADI is Master Diver but if you decide to go professional you can skip Master Diver.

The progression will be Open Water (OW), Advanced Open Water (AOW), Rescue Diver (RD). When you obtain the AOW you'll need to five specialties. Where you learn will often dictate which specialties you learn, e.g. you won't learn Drift Diving if the only places to dive are lakes and quarries. Which specialties you can learn is also dependent on what the instructor knows to teach.

After you obtain Rescue Diver you will be a much more confident and safe diver. The only other thing you'll need is practice, practice, practice.

If you do decide to become a professional the next step is to become a Dive Master (DM). The DM course is were you do a lot of the practical skills as well as a LOT of theory. I think that a lot of the things people touch on here will make a lot more sense if you do the DM course.

After DM is Assistant Instructor (AI) and Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI). This is more about the business of diving, customer service, sales, etc. It will include more practice so you can get to demonstration quality level for the skills you learned as a non-professional.

How about signing up for a DM course that take a while with the understanding that, if they are a good training facility, by the time you get to the DM portion you will be good enough to consider training other. If you are not, it is really good training. If you are, sign up for AI or OWSI.

 

[Bonairetrip]

I am a little confused as to what the OP is trying to accomplish. Is it a course that would permit one to be on an education visa? Is it to access some sort of scholarship or trust?

Generally speaking, you have four paths in front of you:
a) Becoming a better recreational diver. AOW and then Rescue diver come to mind. There are also speciality classes you can take. And getting lots of dives in during varied conditions is also a great way to learn.
b) After (a), you can progress to a dive master, assistant instructor and instructor. These classes are most often taken if you want to teach and/or guide dives.
c) Technical type training. Examples might be things like the DIR Fundies, IANTD deco or tri-mix, rebreathers, etc.
d) Commercial diver training.

 

[DivinDusty]

I'll be happy to suggest one in Thailand if you are thinking about going there.

So you do not suggest doing this program, I have been doing a lot of research into it and sounds pretty good but I do see the downsides as well.I believe strongly in having a fun but safe time with scuba and I just want the best education possible so I may pass that down to my students. I was wondering as a newer diver if the Thailand one is any better? That is the program I was going to go with, Or do you suggest just doing the classes through my local DS. Another question for any dive shop operators out there is if I do go through with the learn-in-asia program am I going to have a harder time getting employed? As I have seen through my online research there are a lot of options out there and I would like some help picking the best one.
-cheers