Hello! Am new here, and am relatively new to diving!

[Matthew_Bertram]

Hi! My name is Matthew and I'm fairly new to diving. I live in southwest Florida where diving isn't as popular as I thought it would be, but I still go every chance I get. I have 20 open water dives under my belt and looking to start getting into advanced open water.

Something fairly irrelevant that I've always wondered about is, why are there so many different organizations that teach? NAUI, PADI, SDI, etc. Which did you guys learn and get your certifications with? Is there a big difference between them?

 

[arkstorm]

why are there so many different organizations that teach? NAUI, PADI, SDI, etc.

Same reason why there's McDonald's and Burger King.

 

[Matthew_Bertram]

Same reason why there's McDonald's and Burger King.

But McDonald's and Burger King sell different products. At the end of the day you're still scuba diving, so is it just a matter of difference between how the classes are taught? Money? I'm not really sure.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Welcome to SB!

No, there is not a major difference between them. The differences are minor. I would say it has more to do with the pie being large enough to support multiple training agencies. Maybe at one time some agency's founder felt he could provide training that was better in some way than the existing agencies, such as better written materials, for example, but that shouldn't factor into a present-day diver's decision where to obtain training. Dive shops are generally affiliated with one agency, and when a student finds a dive shop (or person) they feel comfortable receiving instruction from, it follows that their certification will have that agency's name on it.

 

[arkstorm]

But McDonald's and Burger King sell different products. At the end of the day you're still scuba diving, so is it just a matter of difference between how the classes are taught? Money? I'm not really sure.

They both just sell burgers and french fries essentially, but they each have their own idea as to what makes a good burger and french fries.

Yes, at the end of the day, all the agencies certify you to scuba dive and each agency establishes a curriculum and minimum criteria as to what skills you must learn and demonstrate in order to be certified.

For the most part, no matter what agency you certify with, that certification will be honored by most dive operators.

The reality is that the quality of the instructor matters much more than which agency that instructor is affiliated with and a good instructor will teach you far more than the agency's minimum criteria. After all, by signing your certification card, that instructor is staking their own reputation on you being a competent diver.

 

[FreqFlier]

Same reason why there's McDonald's and Burger King

I'd say it's more like Toyota, Mercedes, Chrysler etc. comparison. Same stuff on 4 wheels, but drives somewhat differently.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I'd say it's more like Toyota, Mercedes, Chrysler etc. comparison. Same stuff on 4 wheels, but drives somewhat differently.

The problem I see with that analogy is that we as prospective car owners can test drive the different brands and models, and we can read reviews from experts, etc. Most of us train with only one agency, and we have no good way of discerning differences among agencies, or what we like or dislike about our training compared with what we might have received through a different agency. It's all opaque to us.

Maybe the analogy is more like rental cars? You know you want a "midsize" car, and you know the rental agency has several makes/models that they group under "midsize," and any of them that the agency has available when you show up will be as good enough for your purposes as any other.

 

[arkstorm]

The problem I see with that analogy is that we as prospective car owners can test drive the different brands and models, and we can read reviews from experts, etc. Most of us train with only one agency, and we have no good way of discerning differences among agencies, or what we like or dislike about our training compared with what we might have received through a different agency. It's all opaque to us.

Maybe the analogy is more like rental cars? You know you want a "midsize" car, and you know the rental agency has several makes/models that they group under "midsize," and any of them that the agency has available when you show up will be as good enough for your purposes as any other.

I have to respectfully disagree with that statement.

Most of us won't necessarily train with only one agency. Take for example my daughter who recently completed her PADI OW then did her Nitrox course with an instructor who is affiliated with NAUI.

I am a PADI DM but am doing my tech training with a TDI instructor.

Its all about choosing an instructor, not choosing a certification agency.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I have to respectfully disagree with that statement.

Most of us won't necessarily train with only one agency. Take for example my daughter who recently completed her PADI OW then did her Nitrox course with an instructor who is affiliated with NAUI.

I am a PADI DM but am doing my tech training with a TDI instructor.

Its all about choosing an instructor, not choosing a certification agency.

Well, I admit I based my comment that "most of us" train with only one agency on pure speculation. I'm not even sure who I meant when I referred to "us"--SB members, or the world of divers at large? I, too, have trained with several agencies, and many others on SB have as well. But it seems to me that out in the real world there are a whole lot of divers who take the OW course and nothing more, and then there are many who continue on with the AOW course and nothing after that. If they only take the basic OW course, they are exposed to only one agency. It would be interesting to know what percentage of divers train with more than one agency. One thing I am pretty sure of, and that is that we SB members are not very representative of all divers; we're a bunch of dive nerds!

 

[TMHeimer]

I went through PADI because it was the only shop for 100+ miles. That is PADI's one big advantage-- it has the most shops worldwide. From what I read there is little difference with most agencies (NAUI folks will point out how their agency is superior.....). It's all the same stuff, just presented a little differently. Like beginning method books for learning a musical instrument.