Going Pro. What certifications do you recommend?

[twestphall]

Hello All,

I am going to be doing my advanced to MSDT certifications starting in December.

What specialties would you recommend so I can have the best chance of getting hired after my training?

Here are the recommendations made by the dive center where I will be doing my training. There are six and I get to choose 5.

Enriched Air

Wreck

Gas Blender Nitrox (and Trimix)

Emergency 02 provider

Equipment

Digital Photography


Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Hawkwood]

Ask yourself the question..."What are the most requested specialties where I plan to teach?".

The other question to ask yourself..."Even if I earn my Specialty Instructor certifications, do I feel qualified to teach those Specialties?"

Do you have the dive experience in those specialties to teach your students based on your own experience and not just by rote from an instructor manual or the "tricks and tips" your CD will teach you? If not, you are not doing your students any favours, nor providing any value.

For example, I wreck dive, I am a reasonable U/W photographer, and I can deal with some of my equipment. However, there is no way I feel that I am capable or ready to teach those. Others have more experience that would provide quality instruction and provide value.

Pick your Specialties based on what you know you have experience in and can teach, and what students want where you plan to teach. Earning a Specialty Instructor certification from a CD is really only learning how to teach the Specialty.

Bill

 

[DevonDiver]

Hi,

You may want to consider joining the Instructor-2-Instructor forum.

As Hawkwood said; apply for those specialities that are also your speciality areas of diving.

It's odd that you are only offered 2 in-water speciality courses?!?

 

[Hawkwood]

Yeah, and two of those can be taught at the DM level anyway.

 

[twestphall]

Thanks for the information. There were more in water specialties, but these 6 were what was recommended to me by the CD.

 

[Ste Wart]

It's odd that you are only offered 2 in-water speciality courses?!?

Thanks for the information. There were more in water specialties, but these 6 were what was recommended to me by the CD.

Normally this because the CD doesn't have to any training dives in order to certify you.

I'd go with Deep, Wreck , Nitrox and 2 personal choices.

Gas blender isn't a specialty per se. So anyone on the Master Scuba Diver route cannot use it to gain the certification.

 

[Cave Diver]

You may want to consider joining the Instructor-2-Instructor forum.

IIRC, someone has to be a dive professional in order to join I2I.

If his stated dive total is correct, he can't even be a DM yet and thus not eligible to join.

 

[DevonDiver]

IIRC, someone has to be a dive professional in order to join I2I.

If his stated dive total is correct, he can't even be a DM yet and thus not eligible to join.

Doh!..I had neglected to read his post fully... I didn't spot that he was AOW level.

Normally this because the CD doesn't have to any training dives in order to certify you.

Yep... they're cheap to run. Which is fair... if the savings are passed on/shared with the student.

I'd go with Deep, Wreck , Nitrox and 2 personal choices.

Yeah, I've learned to look at qualification from an ROI (return on investment) perspective. That means I only do instructor qualifications if I feel that I'll make money from having them.

Deep, Wreck and Nitrox are the obvious choices from that perspective - there's high demand for those specialities.

Just make sure you have a real passion for those areas, if you want to teach them.

Digital Underwater Photographer (not the old Photo course) and PPB are close runners-up.

O2 Provider sells sometimes... if you do a lot of EFR courses and offer them as a combo package.

Equipment and Gas Blending are very low demand amongst divers. Unless you imagine training a lot of DMTs, then you won't get much interest in these. Gas Blending is useful at diver level, but not so much as a teaching certification and a service technician course is more valuable to a working diver than the equipment speciality.

Other courses like Boat Diver, Fish ID or Multi-Level are a bit pointless - I think it's better to write a distinctive speciality that specifically targets local diving practices, advanced skills or particular regional diving themes (like the Lionfish, Whaleshark, Nudibranch etc distinctives that are written).

Gas blender isn't a specialty per se. So anyone on the Master Scuba Diver route cannot use it to gain the certification.[/QUOTE]