Challenging Poll Concept

[MauiScubaSteve]

I'm looking for suggestions with my idea concerning a poll on dive pro training. I would like it to be in Basic Scuba, as I think there are quite a few instructors who do not participate in I2I. Also, this info would be good for the Basic Divers to see, IMHO.

The top level questions would be regarding where dive pro's did their recreational pro training (major agency basic scuba instructor). Their might be three or four main options; Instructor Factory/CDC, non-Instructor Factory/CDC, non-Instructor Factory/IDC, LDS/IDC (suggestions welcome). The poll would have to be anonymous to both viewers and participants, but verifiable in some way. I for one am not going to hold it against members who chose the first option, as I did the first option, but I am not saying I need to be or should be the verifier; just that I would take it upon myself if need be.

Possible mid-level question concerning did you actually go to work as a dive pro; within first year of cert, a year or more after cert, never worked.

The next level questions would be regarding since actually starting work as a pro. Something along the lines of; working mostly full or regular part time ever since, working enough to still continue membership and insurance annually but kind of just a hobby, renewed and insured at least the next year after starting work but eventually went inactive. That seems like it would be pretty much non-verifiable AFAIS, but your suggestions are again invited. Would be nice to have some follow-up (1-2 years, 2-5, 5-10, more than 10).

Finally, to further convolute the issue, if it was done with the intention to work as a pro, was the pro training done; locally to work locally, locally to work somewhere else, somewhere else to work locally, somewhere else to work somewhere else?

My example; did my pro training at a Factory/CDC, started working within one year of OWSI, have been working mostly full or regular part time ever since (9 years), went somewhere else to work locally.

Probably not a do-able thing, but it would be pretty interesting to companion the occasional nasty posts like this;

I agree that if you are dealing with a "fast buck" course the students are not going to get a good deal. I do know several instructors who are training Instructors full time at their Career Development Centers and they are very good and very thorough at what they do. They have to be because all the statistics say that by far their best form of advertising is word of mouth. Also, if they do not turn out a quality product the word gets out pretty quickly and no one will hire their students.

If what you consider to be very good and very through is the ability to get a candidate to toe the PADI line, without either imagination or creativity for the year or so that they will survive in the business before they burn out and are replaced by a similar starry-eyed newcomer, I'd have to agree. I do not see that as resposible or honest behavior, nor do I see that as being very good at doing anything but separating a person from his cash by using his dreams as a lever.

There are some points where some of the ZTH courses do outshine the regular IDC's. That is in the area of business. The standard IDC teaches the candidates nothing about sales, working in a shop, working on a dive boat, etc. Many of the CDC's (Career Development Centers) do add modules which help with this. Dive employeers really are crying for this type of training also in their new employees.

Those have nothing what-so-ever to do with teaching diving. I taught diving for more than forty years and I am rather proud of the fact that I have never sold a student piece of diving gear, yet I suspect that on average each of my students has bought more gear than those of any other instructor that you have ever met (we require a full set of owned gear for class). What dive employers, in my observation want, is someone who will do what they want, the way that they want it, when they want it and will accept pay at about the level of a fast food worker, without any benefits, and be thankful for that.

It's all a balance.

Not much of one from what I have seen.