Dive Instructor Training Abroad

[Bronson]

take a look at Scuba Diving Holiday in Phuket, Thailand as you will get away with great instruction for a freacion of the cost you mention in your note. I am not connected to these guys in any way but saw their operation when i took the IE in Phuket in December.

 

[johnl45]

A friend is training at IDC Koh Tao | PADI IDC Diving Instructor Course - Diving Instructor Internships Thailand say its going good.

 

[Bronson]

Toyour specific query check out Scuba Diving Holiday in Phuket, Thailand in Kata Beach Thailand (near Phuket). You will not spend US$10,000 and get a good education. Shop is run by an American/Vietnamese (Tien) from San Fran area. I used his shop when i was in Phuket area. Good instruction and accomodations included. You will have lots of money left over for entertainment. A nice way to spend a "gap" year between school.

 

[jonathon50]

well, all i have seen so far is instructor training bashing! come to Northampton, (UK), and i can promise you will get bashed until you are an excellent instructor, AI, DM, rescue Diver, AOW, OW etc etc! The guy who owns the club can be an arse at times, but when PADI say..WOW! you can see where he's coming form!

 

[ff1diver]

ScubaRambo -
If you want to work your way on becoming a scuba professional...do your research, don't make any hasty decisions and remember...No matter how fast you achieve your professional certification you still lack practical experience...Practice, dive, practice, dive, read, study, watch the best, learn what you can from them...then take all that knowledge and experience, and make it your own...become the best scuba professional you can be.

We are all still learning...at least I hope so.

 

[bracko]

for $USD10k you can come to Australia and go from AOW to IDC in sydney and/or Cairns and (if you're cheap) not work as well.

I wanted (and still will to a lesser extent) get to IDC as quickly as possible after i finished my AOW but many talks later with other divers (some of whom are my LDS employees/owners and stand to profit from my egger attitude) have calmed me down and urged me to take the steady as she goes approach.

i am planning to be IDC accredited roughly 18months after doing my OW and so far have dived in 5 distinctly different locations which has taught me if nothing, how to be more cautious about how to proceed.

what has been suggested to me is to be certified (or at least do the coursework and work on the internship) as a DM for a summer locally, see how you like being a "professional diver" and then either proceed with the IDC or simply go back to enjoying your diving as a punter.

Maybe spend a bit more time with your LDS, i found that when i relaxed a bit around them and just went with the flow, they opened up a bit more and became a lot easier to talk to... probably the thing that got me offside at the start was the cost... but when I looked around, they're not trying to rip you off to high heaven (which is what i thought they were trying to do) but it's just that diving is a high cost sport...

either that or shop around and find a better one.

RE: Thailand dive shops, a friend of mine did his rescue at Koh Tao and loved it, I'll try and get the name from him, but they boast about being the highest quality IDC centre on Koh Tao and have their own course director. they weren't that cheap though, more expensive actually than the team rates at my (Australian) LDS.

 

[mobilefanz]

check out bali scuba

 

[kaerius]

I did a package at Crystal dive resort | PADI 5 Star CDC | Koh Tao

Very highly recommended, superb course directors, and they won't rush you through, you can go at your own pace(except for the IDC/IE), they're also a bit stricter than PADI requires, and will turn you out knowing your stuff.

And it will cost significantly less than $10,000. Do note that they're not really a zero to hero center, so you will need to have been a certified diver for at least a year(IIRC) before you do the IDC. I did the rescue+DM package, and followed up with the IDC/IE, for about ~$5,800.

 

[marinediva]

Hi Brako,
I have just started to work with an organisation in Sydney and we teach you to divemaster free.
You simply pay for your course material and Padi Certifications.
PM me and I will give my mobile no.
I can highly recommend a good CD in the Gong if you want to continue to IDC and IE.
Save your money, and do your Staff Instructor at a big school in Thailand or Bali where they run lots of IDC's.

 

[RU4SKUBA]

Check out Rainbow Reef in Key Largo. Although they have some fundamental problems with their logistics and organizational methods, they provide decent training and accommodations for six months of interning work.

It will certainly cost you less than $10K and the training isn't bad. In fact, I think they take you all the way to MSDT.

Disclaimer: You will lack diving experience and depth of knowledge... there is no doubt about that.