Dive Guide Specialty leaves me scratching me head

[yarik83]

I have been scuba certified since 2007 and currently hold a master diver certification with SSI. Naturally with all the diving to get to this point I have done anything from wreck diving to limited vis, navigation, stress and rescue just to name a few. And that is exactly where I left it for a very long time, certainly drew a line at master diver. Skip ahead 2 or 3 years and my local dive shop is pushing me to obtain a dive guide specialty which "allegedly" (a word that I will be using a lot henceforth) near darn guarantees that rest of my diving experience will be nothing but roses and petals, diving for free etc etc.

I have browsed to no avail trying to find documentation for dive guide and there is virtually nothing out there. With PADI, at the very least they have this 2 page long detailed explanation of what each certification does. Padi, from looks of it does not have a dive guide, rather a dive master. A position with all the skills of a dive guide + science of diving + dive master ssi specialty for the price of 1.

Is SSI really trying to stick it to me so bad that they want me to pay $402 to obtain a dive guide, then whatever it costs to get liability insurance so that I could then start spending hours and hours of my time to save virtually nothing on my diving trips? The way it was pitched to me was that I would have to develop a rapport, something that is local diving and engaging people to dive the spots they dove a million times before so that at some long distant point in the future I could organize a group and sit on phone for hours herding the cats with dive shop taking on responsibility of collecting money. At best, I was told, I would dive for free but most likely still have to pay my own airfare.

Now I am completely puzzled folks. What is preventing your average person to book their own dives, their own trips, their own vacations, their own local dives. I mean we live in day and age where you can be done booking in a jiffy. Last time I booked a trip to Roatan I called 1800 number, got my frequent visitor discount, plus a promo discount, clicked on travelocity all before my coffee was done brewing.

I am a little confused as to why someone would invest in dive guide specialty when clearly there is very little benefit to it. For amount of worrying about other people and being proactive knocking on everyone's door... I may be saving me a few hundred bucks every year after spending weeks organizing things.

It would seem to me that dive guide certification with SSI was not clearly thought through. It should have been a dive master with all the accolades, not split into 3 but 1 solid class that can actually start my career, if I so choose. And the cost is insane.

Has anyone here actually gained benefit from obtaining this certification?

 

[tursiops]

I lead dive trips and also go on trips that other people lead. My wife and I also go on trips just by ourselves...no group, no leader, we are on our own on the boat, or at the resort, or wherever. A good dive leader is an asset: social director, problem solver, equipment fixer, role model diver, source of both knowledge and wisdom, and may even lead some dives. Traveling with a group is often more fun for the divers, a way to always have a buddy or two, and a good chance to learn some new skills. If the leader is an instructor, then that is even better....classes, specific help, tailored activities are possible.

Guiding is the least of the things that make a trip good....and on most trips a guide is provided anyway by the resort or the boat.

What you seem to be describing is a very limited activity, for local diving with local divers. The way you describe it makes it clear you have no interest in doing it. so why are you even thinking about it?

By the way, all those "divemasters" you meet on boats and at resorts are usually instructors....so imagine how far down the totem pole a "guide" is.

 

[yarik83]

Well to be honest I had no aspirations of being a dive professional but I think what prompted this whole conversation is that LDS is looking to "diversify their portfolio". Son of instructor is going through with his scuba things. I think he just got his dive con or something of the sort. They also have a sidekick who came by the way of padi to kick start a dive club of sorts. Now to me it may look like beating a dead horse but at the very least because I routinely travel to caribbean, I had to perk up my ears a little.

I personally prefer traveling alone because as a part time videographer I do not have to coordinate with other people as to who is doing what and when. I traveled both with and without a group and both have their own perks like I feel a lot safer diving with my dive team knowing their diving style and prompt service of diving gear. On my last trip to Roatan my insta buddies with whom I dove all week apparently had a broken octo and a missing octo between the two. And yet there was certain peace on that vacation knowing that 12 other people from my group would give me peace and quiet. It is a catch 22 really.

From looks of it that specialty does not really fit my dive aspirations.

 

[Skulmoski]

I have not had positive dealings with SSI; buyer beware.

That said, just about any diving related training is a good thing in my opinion even if you might not directly use the skills or rely on the knowledge gained. For example,I have read about technical diving even though I do not intend to pursue that form of diving. However, I am influenced by the technical diving mindset regarding risk management (e.g. risk assessment, planning, contingency, and mitigation) and apply it to my recreational diving. Therefore, my self-directed learning in peripheral areas has been beneficial to me.

It comes down to disposable income and how much you want to devote to diving vs training (or self-directed learning).

GJS

 

[oly5050user]

Sounds like a greedy SSI store owner looking for free labor.
Takes time and effort to get people together for a trip. Let me get this straight...So the store owner wants you to pay for the training and insurance, (which I understand and can agree with), set up a trip, sell the trip, go on it and deal with any problems that can occur, pay your own airfare. Store collects the money.
What you get is the "free" spot that the resort offers for the group, and the privilege of paying your own airfare. Do I have it all right?
Not such a good deal if you ask me.
PM me if you need to know what I think someone who assumes the responsibility should get paid to take a group of competent and perhaps not so competent divers on a trip that can be have all kinds of issues from people who may complain about their room accommdations or roommates to a possible fatal accident.
I have led many group trips , usually 2 a year, to places like Cozumel,Bonaire,Cayman brac,Grand Cayman, Roatan, list can go on and on. Some groups no problems at all, other trips all kind of problems. You can never know when or where any problem will occur.

 

[rick00001967]

first....just to make sure you understand......the ssi dive guide program is a stand alone course. it is the first level of the ssi pro courses. once completed you simply need to pass your science of diving specialty and that automatically will make you a divemaster. so it is not 3 separate courses.
i can tell you that my pro level training was "free". with a catch. i had to purchase my own materials and ended up doing a very long internship. it took aprox one year to reach DM. another 6 mths for dive con and another 6 mths to instructor. was the cost significantly less than traveling somewhere and paying full cost ? yes......but i paid for it in time spent. if i had been given an option to simply pay the full price and do it in 3 months instead of 2 years, i would def have paid the full price.
all that said, i dont think my story would be typical.
if you decide being a pro and being responsible for others is something you do want to try, i would say to make sure that however you are "paying" for the training, that it is worth it to you. i would also make sure you and the store owner have a concrete understanding of the total costs involved and the amount of time it will take to complete the requirements.
finally, pls pls pls do not work for free once certified at the pro level. this only hurts the profession. it is a job no different than any other. being offered "free diving" is NOT compensation. the sooner we stop undervaluing ourselves the better for all of us.

 

[tstormdiver]

In FL there may be a (albeit small) market for guides... For those that are brand new divers or not familiar with the area. To be honest, here in the Mid West,... it is useless. I have yet to see anyone want to hire anyone to guide a dive in an enclosed quarry or lake.

 

[kcprofessor]

If you enjoy teaching others about the sport, then go for your instructor rating. It isn't easy and it is NOT a way to make a living. I can look at the dive guide rating as " divemaster lite" and can't see any use for it. SSI put in the Divemaster rating to have the same professional ladder as PADI, since the DiveCon rating is essentially an Assistant Instructor rating.
That being said, if YOU do not have the desire to teach the sport, just have fun with what you do. If you want to go the dive professional route it should be because you want to, not because somebody is trying to sell you on it.
By the way, I agree with the previous post in that no dive professional should work for free. The dive shops charge for the courses they teach and the instructor should get a fair portion of the fee.

 

[guruboy]

In NAUI an assistant instructor is lower than a Divemaster.

 

[kmurray719]

Either you were given a lot of misinformation or you misunderstood what you were told. The SSI dive guide course is not a "specialty" like the ones you've already taken, and it's not some kind of scam to get you to take a course, it's a professional level course. It certifies you to lead certified divers in the water. If you add the science of diving course you obtain the "divemaster" rating and can do a few additional things. Neither have anything to do with planning trips, that's just the shop telling you what you can do through the as a dive pro. The shop I work for uses guides to lead their weekly group shore dives, as well as private guiding of dives. There is a decent market for both, and while you won't make millions, it is decent money (usually ends up being along the lines of $20/hr when you break it down) for doing something you enjoy. There are also plenty of people who will pay a premium to have someone else plan trips and deal with any issues that come up, and enjoy that kind of worry free travel. Leading trips is not for everyone, but it can be a great way to get to travel without any cost if you're a dive pro.

I have no idea where you looked for information about the dive guide course, but it's pretty easy to find on the SSI website:
SSI Scuba Schools International
It's not a 2 page summary, but it gives plenty of information about what dive guides are qualified to do. Look locally at the cost for a PADI DM course vs SSI dive guide and science of diving and I'd bet they're about equal. SSI has just broken down their path to being an instructor a bit differently than PADI, it doesn't mean it's any less legitimate, or that they're trying to scam you.