Best Certification Agency?

[waterpirate]

If your choices are limited as to shops in your local you are kind of stuck. A good way to evaluate an instructor imho is to get yourself to one of the instructors check out dive locations and observe the students assembling their gear pre-dive, this speaks volumes about thoroughness and his ability to educate people.
Eric

 

[whatdecostop?]

Go where you feel the most comfortable, like the people, the potential instructor appeals to your perception of "that warm fuzzy feeling".....I concur with previous comments...the instructor not the agency will make your course enjoyable and give you the best gains.

 

[chrisch]

Sounds like solid advice. One thing I was really looking at is that PADI doesn't offer an advanced nitrox course, where some (most?) others do.
..

There is no need to continue for ever with one agency. A PADI basic nitrox will be accepted by the other training agencies when you are ready to do the advanced. The PADI AOW is not really a very "advanced" course and you should be looking now at the rescue diver course (OK I know you need to do the AOW first to get on the RD). Rescue skills are important for taking your diving further.

In my experience a very large number of instructors offer certs from more than one agency. If one agency was better than another this would not be the case. I agree with the general view its the instructor that makes the real difference.

Chris

 

[Walter]

What would you like to accomplish with your advanced training? The absolute best advanced training of which I'm aware is the LA County Advanced Diver Program. If you can devote about 10 weekends to training in southern California, I'd highly recommend it. If that's not possible, the next best program is YMCA's Silver Advanced course. Don't bother with the Y's AOW, it's virtually the same as PADI's, insist on the Silver Advanced. Unfortunately, there are no instructors listed in Montana. My third choice would be NAUI's AOW. It has more academics and one more dive than PADI's AOW, but is still a long way from being a great class. OTOH, you might consider NAUI's Master Diver Course. Unlike PADI's Master Diver, it is a real course, rather than an add on for a fee. NAUI's Master Diver Course has excellent academics and if you truely want to learn about diving, that's what I recommend.

 

[El Orans]

bowmouth and lsdeep are correct. dont make the mistake of shopping for agencies before instructors. people comprise and agency and most likely you will have good and qualified instructors but thats not always the case. you can get very lucky and unlucky. such is life.

my advice is ask around and get feedback from people you know. go instructor shopping and meet with the person. ask the instructor all the questions you want and if you think that the person is ok, or that you jive then go for it. the agency is socondary.

Here's a good starting point if you're looking for an instructor: [thread=130180]Some Questions to Ask When Choosing an Instructor[/thread].

 

[Jason Ooi]

PADI, NAUI, BSAC, SSI, CMAS, IANTD etc.
"INSTRUCTOR" choosing a good instructor

 

[FlipScubaDiver]

find a good instructor with lots of years of experience...IMO, the agency doesn't matter.

 

[Footslogger]

Sometimes it comes down to "what's available" in your area. When I first got certified in 1971 the only agency/instructor I could find was NAUI.

Some years later (after a relocation to the Atlanta area) I could only find PADI, and then later on some SSI shops.

'Slogger

 

[girldiverllc]

I'm a PADI Instructor. Why? Because I was trained PADI and I like the textbooks and the progression.

That said, NAUI, SSI, BSAC, YMCA...whatever...we all teach diving. Most importantly, if the instructor is worthy of the title...we all teach SAFE diving.

I would add that in addition to finding a great instructor who DOESN'T CUT CORNERS, you should also look for someone that you feel comfortable asking questions from.

For me, when I was taking entry level courses, I had an instructor at one point that was a great diver. Could go deeper, faster and farther. And let all of us know that. Unfortunately, I didn't want to appear "less than", so I didn't ask all of the questions that I would have liked to.

The Instructor is the key. And good instructors, we don't mind a "pre-instruction" interview. We appreciate a student who is going to take the sport and their training seriously.

Cindy
http://www.girldiver.com

 

[elcameroon]

Most people have hit the proverbial "nail on the head". It's your instructor that makes all of the difference. Certifying agencies are really secondary. Walter asked a very important question - what do you want out of your advanced training? If you like continuity then PADI is the biggest (imho) certifying agency and you'll find them in more countries/places then any other agency. So the chance to continue your training in the same system is greater. That being said, PADI's technical side is in its infancy. Perhaps explaining their lack of an "Advanced Nitrox" class. If you're planning on choosing a more technical side to your diving then perhaps you'd do better with TDI or IANTD.

Good luck with all your endeavors.