Best Certification Agency?

[Boiler_81]

Walter:

Thanks for posting this. Like Cheetah223, I have been looking to further my dive education. I had looked at the NAUI, PADI and SSI AOW course descriptions and was not impressed with what I saw. Since I am in MI the LA County Advanced Diver Program is out.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good YMCA instructor in Southeast MI?

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.

 

[Cacia]

I am going to say NAUI and TDI. NAUI from experience and TDI from asking around and just listening to divers explain why.

But, it usually comes down to the Instructor and what you have access to.

 

[Walter]

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good YMCA instructor in Southeast MI?

Look here, give some folks a call and talk to them about their Silver Advanced class and how it relates to what you want to accomplish.

 

[ScubaKimmie]

ABC ....XYZ

Doesn't matter, talk to your instructor in advance and see what they offer.

 

[CuriousRambler]

Thanks for all the info everyone, definitely gave me a new perspective on how I was going about this whole process.

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.

I was reading around, and have every intention of earning my RD, but only in time. I'm pretty inexperienced, and before I even consider taking a class like that I plan to gain as much experience as I can locally.

What would you like to accomplish with your advanced training?

After looking at the various AOW courses available, and talking to people who've attended them, I realize that it's not really an "advanced" course as much as a title. I figure that by taking the basic navigation and deep dive introductions, as well as the electives (such as altitude diver, since I live right around 3,000') will give me a better understanding and just make me a safer diver. Sometimes things happen that you didn't anticipate, and as far as I'm concerned, more advanced training, along side plenty of experience, is the best way to prepare for and avoid those situations.

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.

This sounds really interesting, do you have any information on it to give me an idea of what goes on and is taught through the course? I think more importantly, is it possible to condense the course into a couple solid weeks of training, rather than spreading it out to weekends only?

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

Thanks for the link! Much appreciated.

Edited: Caught a couple typo's...

 

[Walter]

Their website is a tad out of date, but you can write to them to see if you can do such a course.

 

[Hoyden]

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.

PADI's version of Tec classes are taught through DSAT. They offer a full range of advanced nitrox/trimix classes.

Jackie Cooper

 

[Fred R.]

As has been said ad nauseam, at entry level, any agency will do, it is the instructor.

All the lower course levels are equivalent and interchangeable, so you can mix, match and continue with whatever instructor is either in your area, or recommended for each course.

What hasn’t been discussed, is that at some point as you continue up the certification chain, you MUST choose an agency. When you choose that agency, it is kind of like a Las Vegas marriage, cheaper to get into than get out of, and changing agencies can be ruinously expensive.

At this point there is definitely a difference between agencies, and you can’t go ‘with the better instructor’, cause your instructor is going to have a title like ‘National Director of Training’, or ‘Vice President of Educational Development’, and your choice is agency, not teacher.

If you are silly, and who hasn’t been at some point, you can certify through multiple agencies. It gets you lots of certificates, puffs out your chest, and you find out you have about a thousand dollars in annual dues as well as all sorts of headaches about who accepts whose insurance.

I can tell you there are BIG differences between the agencies. This is coming from someone who has been with a few, stayed away from more. I can also tell you that just because an agency is ‘recognized’ all around the world, it does not mean that as an instructor through that agency you will be able to make a living wage anywhere in the world.

 

[Walter]

As has been said ad nauseam, at entry level, any agency will do, it is the instructor.

It gets said all the time, but it's still not true.

All the lower course levels are equivalent and interchangeable, so you can mix, match and continue with whatever instructor is either in your area, or recommended for each course.

Have you ever looked at them? If you do, you'll find big differences.

 

[Fred R.]

Yes, Walter, I have looked at them. I've taught them.

I've been an instructor trainer for SSI (so you can add NASDS), I am an instructor trainer for SDI, and TDI. I've been with PADI, dive master and Resort Association Member, been with BSAC, worked with CMAS. I've looked at and decided not to join PDIC, MDEA, and IDEA, though I happily work with instructors affiliated with them. I used to be a DAN O2 trainer. I was also a NAUI member, and still get ballots to vote on their board of directors. I've worked with several YMCA instructors.

Who you do business with, at my level, makes a big difference with whether or not you manage to be successful in the scuba business.

You can all nit pick about this course and that agency, but the agencies pretty much all agree on standards under the acronym RSTC, and the fact is diving is about having fun, those with the interest and the drive will seek out more and better training, but most divers will just let a DM lead them around on vacation once or twice a year. Those who would like to learn a lot more about diving, from someone who really knows what they are doing are welcome to come train with me. And quite frankly, those divers who just want a DM to show them all the pretty stuff are very welcome to come dive with me too.