Dive Guide Questions regarding PADi to SSI transition

[justmyluck]

I am a PADI Rescue Diver (also, Nitrox, Advanced if that matters), and I have SSI Science of Diving Cert. I Decided to get my Dive Guide cert though SSI to get my Divemaster and begin helping with classes.

What from PADI transfers to SSI? Do I need the Night, Nav, and Deep SSI certifications?

 

[rick00001967]

i'm sorry. i may be misunderstanding what you are asking. if you are wondering if ssi DM is considered to be equivalent to padi DM then the answer is yes.

 

[justmyluck]

Sure. let me see if I can be more clear. I am not a PADI DM. My highest cert is a PADI Rescue diver. My goal is to become a SSI Dive Guide.

I keep seeing conflicting requirements online for transitioning from PADI to SSI. Some say I need to have the physical SSI Night, Nav, and Deep certification cards and 50 dives. Some say I do not need the actual cards, and need 5 recorded night dives, 5 of Nav, and 5 of Deep in addition to the 50 dives to fulfill the pre-requirements.

 

[rick00001967]

once you complete the ssi dive guide program you will automatically receive your DM rating from ssi seeing as you have the science of diving already.

once you are an ssi DM, if you choose, you can then "crossover" to padi. the ssi DM is equivalent as padi DM. you would need to contact padi for exactly how that process works, and costs etc.

if you wanted to become a padi instr for example, you could attend any padi instr training course as a DM because padi will recognize the ssi DM as equivalent.

make sense ?

if you want the prerequisites for the ssi dive guide program i can send you those as well

 

[Lake Hickory Scuba]

I am a PADI Rescue Diver (also, Nitrox, Advanced if that matters), and I have SSI Science of Diving Cert. I Decided to get my Dive Guide cert though SSI to get my Divemaster and begin helping with classes.

What from PADI transfers to SSI? Do I need the Night, Nav, and Deep SSI certifications?

As an instructor for SSI and PADI, I will answer it this way. Everything you have through PADI, on a non professional level is equivalent to SSI. It will transfer. And yes to meet training standards you will need to have Deep, Night, and Navigation as prerequisites to earn the Dive Guide / Dive Master Certification. Now for the bad news. There are shops out there that hold the authority to make you take the SSI versions of those specialties and do not have to accept the PADI versions. In this case, my suggestion is to run, run, run, as fast as you can, because they care more about the money than the diver. If you have any further questions, you can always contact SSI directly, 1-800-874-3236 for verification to what anybody tells you, including me. Hope this helps.

 

[rick00001967]

the following is from the SSI standards:

quote
"IV. CANDIDATE PREREQUISITES
Minimum age: 15 years old (Must be 18 years old to work as an active status Professional Dive Guide).
Must have completed the Advanced Adventurer program or higher or hold an equivalent rating from a recognized
agency.
Have a Diver Stress and Rescue certication or equivalent.
Must have logged at least 40 open water dives totaling 25 hours or more.
Have completed the following specialty programs or provide proof of experience by showing a minimum of ve (5) logged
experience dives in each of the following areas: Navigation, Night/Limited Visibility and Deep Diving.
NOTE: The candidate is not required to be certified in the applicable specialty if they provide proof of the experience dives and the instructor can verify the candidate's ability to exhibit mastery of the skills required by the specialty.
RECOMMENDATION: SSI recommends all SSI Dive Professional candidates become certified in Enriched Air Nitrox""
end quote

i agree with the above post.....if a shop demands you pay for courses even though you have met the SSI standards i would look elsewhere. you may even consider reporting them to SSI. the standards i posted above are pretty clear and all facilities are bound to follow these.
that being said, it is up to the shop to determine whether or not to accept your "proof of experience". it is also their responsibility to "verify" your skills are up to par