Certification courses abroad promising Open Water to DM or Instructor?

[scubadiver888]

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

If you get trained in Thailand and try to find work in North Carolina you will probably have a harder time then if you were trained in NC. The dive conditions can be quite different. I know that the shop I am with would not hire me as an instructor if I got my certification in the Caribbean. Basically, being a new instructor with little practical experience would make it hard enough to find work if there are plenty of solid instructors with years of experience. Getting trained outside the local environment is just one more negative.

On the other hand, there are places were there is more demand than good instructors. If you live in such an area, where you were trained would not matter.

You could talk to local dive shops and feel them out for their opinion on instructors from Asia coming to work for them. If they think there is no way they'd hire an instructor trained in Asia then you have your answer.

 

[otterdive]

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

I was just suggesting a very good dive school in Thailand to geodanm. The one I suggested does not offer an OWD-Instructor per se, and they really don't suggest people do it that way. geordanm mentioned that he might want to travel in SE Asia. Did he share my link with you? There may be good "zero-to-hero" programs out there, I'm just not aware of them. It's purely my opinion, but I think it would be pretty rare to see a truly qualified Instructor emerge from those programs after doing the bare minimum numbers of dives. Some of the DM programs in Thailand just have the candidates do as many 20 minute dives as possible just to get the candidate up to the required 60 dives. It's pretty shocking, Someone is qualified to be a DM with only 60 total dives?!?! That's not thorough training IMO.

Sounds like you care a great deal about getting the best training. You are correct that there are loads of choices out there. Send Nick and Michael an email and talk it over with them. info@chaloklum-diving.com Chaloklum Diving - Koh Phangan They will give some good advice, with no sales pressure, no matter where you decide to go.

Enjoy the adventure!

 

[pir8]

I would recommend doing your training where ever you plan on doing your teaching. Then you are more familiar with your working environment

 

[CamG]

Greetings geordanm and welcome to Scuba Board! It sounds very interesting your plans to travel abroad. And I would like to commend you on your interest in diving. I think you will find what you are looking for with a few contacts but be very careful to check references here on Scuba Board. I would be very hesitant to pay ahead any more than air fair. I am just a believe it when I see it kind of guy.
Are you confident in your 18 basic skills? This is a very important consideration when considering a trip like this. There could be times and probably would be when you will need to be confident and able to handle issues on your own. This is very important when traveling abroad. I am not trying to discourage you by any means just offering advice, self examination is a good tool to determine what our abilities actually are and what they should be.
As far as training is concerned when I became interested in diving or assisting dive training I went to my OW instructor for advice. His words led me to choose a quite different coarse of action. I chose to take my time and gain valuable experience in the water and progressing at a good pace. Then when the assisting began I really took time to learn the ropes. Good and bad, I learned more in this dive season than I ever dreamed. About myself, about others and most of all how to help students!
It totally changed my direction as a evolving diver and lead me into areas of diving that I never dreamed of.
Find your balance and and move forward! Life is to short to never step out and try something. Just be well prepared and safe. Common sense is still around if we look hard enough for it!
You can earn college credit for some programs you might want to explore those options. Your year off could be a credit earning time of diving and personal growth.
Good luck and keep us posted. If you have any further questions please ask or PM me.
CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!