17 years old diver has questions about technical diving

[Ozarion]

Hello first of all i am 17 years old and i have been diving since i was 14 years old and i am thinking of tecnical diving when become 18 years old but ı am confused about which one should i choose padi,tdi,ssi,naui.....

what amount of money do we talking about full program of a tecnical diving course ı mean ı dont want a course i want to choose an organisation and want to finish all the courses

 

[chrpai]

Got about $5,000-$10,000 laying around to start?

It's kind of hard to know what to tell you without knowing anything about you. Find a good instructor and start with an intro dive to get an understanding of what the path looks like. Personally I've been diving for 13 years and only think about it from time to time. If I lived closer to dive sites that needed it, I'd have done it already.

 

[Nirvana]

Why are you considering technical diving, exactly? Do you want to dive in caves, penetrate deep wrecks, what exactly? If you truly mean "all the courses", from some intro to tech course all the way to trimix expedition with a rebreather, the cost can go to tens of thousands of dollars.

But if you just want to become a better skilled diver, to be able to more fully enjoy what you already do, there really is no need to go all the way down that road.

In any case, there are some exceptionally qualified individuals in this board that may help you on your way if you elaborate your needs some more.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

That was a good post. The question is too vague and lacks an indication of what direction you want to go. Your best bet is to turn 18, forget about agency, decide what area of tech you want to do, and then take an Intro to Tech Class from an instructor you respect. One that will do their best to see if you are even cut out for it. An Intro class should begin with all the creative ways you can die doing this kind of diving. And what it will take to mitigate the risk of that happening. And it will cover the intial costs of getting into it.

5 grand is not a bad place to begin. For the Intro Class, maybe an Adv Nitrox/Deco, and an Intro to the area you wish to persue along with at least one set of doubles, a stage bottle, regs, lights, reels, drysuit, etc.

Oh and your skills should be exemplary before you begin the training. Say like better than those of many DM's and OW instructors. There are a few of them near me I would not allow into my intro class. They are not ready for it and their skills would be a danger to themselves and others.

Few tech divers stick with one agency and go all the way through. I don't personally know any. At the tech level agency is kinda important but the right instructor is paramount. I have NAUI and TDI tech certs. If an IANTD instructor put on the course I needed for my next level I'd go that route.

 

[toddthecat]

Got about $5,000-$10,000 laying around to start?

Corrected emphasis

 

[chrpai]

Corrected emphasis

Oh, and don't forget thick skin.

 

[Doppler]

It would help if your profile was complete... where do you live? What do you currently dive and what interests you? When you say you want to COMPLETE ALL THE COURSES, is that what you mean? I teach most of what TDI and PSAI have in the way of a curriculum plus a couple of distinct specialties. If you wanted to work through the whole list, open and closed circuit, open water and overhead, my guess is it would take more than a year... full time... and cost you in excess of $100,000 in fees alone.

So, having got that out of the way, post a few details please and we can supply a proper answer.

 

[dvankirk]

Oh, and don't forget thick skin.

And be prepared to be humbled. Just when you think that you have all of your sh*t together, realize that you have miles to go.

 

[DevonDiver]

Cost: As others have mentioned, the cumulative costs of technical diving are very high - that includes training, equipment and the regular cost of technical diving. Luckily, progression in technical diving isn't something that should be rushed through. The costs can be spread over a long time by progressively balancing training in line with your developing experience. You won't really understand the 'demands' of technical diving until you begin the process - for now, just try and accept it is completely unlike anything you've experienced as a recreational diver. Stepping up from rec to tec is going from being a big fish in a very small pond to being a very small fish in a very big pond. If you relish a challenge, then that should appeal to you. Nearly all of my technical diving students say something along the lines of "it was the most extreme/intensive/challenging' training they've ever done.

Agency: Personally, I find the choice of agency largely irrelevant. Many (most?) experienced technical divers tend to agree. The syllabus, skills, drills, protocols and procedures do not vary much between agencies. All agencies are equally recognized. Most agencies have cross-overs and equivalent levels. On occasions, agencies may differ on ' training philosophy' - but that is largely inconsequential unless you also have a firm personal philosophy on technical diving (not many novice-intermediate technical divers are gonna have that...).

Instructor: Your choice of instructor is everything. It is a far more relevant decision factor than choice of agency. The best advice is not to compromise on your instructor selection. Get the best, most reputed, instructor that you can arrange access to. If this means travel and extra cost, then accept that as a valid investment. There are bum tech instructors. Do a lot of research on the individual; ask around the tech community and investigate online. Reputation counts for a lot in a small, highly motivated and perfection-focused community. Good reputation is hard-earned and well deserved. Bad reputation also follows the individual around. Also make sure that the instructor is actively involved with the type of diving you want to do. An excellent caver might be an inexperienced wrecker, an expert tech instructor might have low familiarity with sidemount etc etc. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE sign up for a tech course with a shop if you don't know WHO will be teaching the course.

Further info: How To Select A Technical Diving Instructor

 

[Ozarion]

First of all really thank you all of you because of your answer yes ı really meant want all path ı know you think ı am just a boy but ı really want this whatever what about advanced nitrox and side mount are they good way to start? ı am already a nitrox diver and living in Turkey so i need to go egypt for tech education are there good instructors there?