Going pro, Where?

[tomhorton1987]

Hi Everyone im currently in my final year at university and when I have finished I want to go pro and become an instructor. Im lookng for advice about a good school to do my DM and instructor from people who have actually been through them, also if you have had a bad experience with a dive school let me know that aswell. I currently live in England but am looking at getting away and doing my training somewhere warmer. Location is not important as long as it is a good school. I was hoping to do t as an internship kind of thing so I can get actual hands on experience with students. Thanks in advance,

Tom

 

[Doc]

What agency are you interested in?

 

[tomhorton1987]

I am looking to get my PADI instructor.

 

[Dufuzz54]

I will be going to Utila Dive Center for my IDC in February. Check back with me in March for my opinion

 

[Scottri]

Why not do it in the environment where you intend to teach? If you plan to teach in the UK you should do your training there. If you intend to teach in warm water do your training there.

 

[CDNScubaMoose]

I doubt that I'll be the only one to mention that with less then 50 dives, some more experience might not be a bad idea. I started my DM around 50 dives and then waited for about 4 years to get experience working with students - sound like you have the same idea with the internship approach.

But to answer your question - I did my IDC at Pro-dive in Ft. Lauderdale (Florida). You can check them out at www.prodiveusa.com. It was a pretty good experience - they definitely had us prepared for the IE but at the same time I would classify them as an instructor factory since you can do the zero to hero approach in a very short period of time. That said, they do have a job placement service afterwards that might be of some value.

 

[spectrum]

See posts 5 & 6

Pete

 

[rrjc5488]

I'm going to be going to aqunauts dive school in thailand sometime next year.

 

[WyCal]

It's all about the Course Director. Choose one who will show you how to instruct, not how to pass a test.

 

[dive_lover88]

stick to where you'll be diving alot...