How Much Should Certification Cost?

[soxgirl45]

To answer all your questions:
Unfortunately price is a huge issue for me, so I am looking for the most economical certification.
And I want to get PADI-certified because I've been told by several people that PADI is the most internationally recognized certification...Is that an accurate assumption?
And my school did offer a course, but unfortunately it wasn't discounted.

 

[fisherdvm]

I would not judge a class by the "number of pool sessions". Have them guarantee that you will spend X amount of hours in the pool. I've seen pool sessions barely 1.5 hours long, to marathon sessions that are 4 to 5 hours. The more cumulative pool session hours together the better. There are classes that are ran by one instructor to 5 or 6 students, while others might have 2 instructor, plus one or two divemaster to the same number of students. You might get what you paid for in a discount class.

The local YMCA here has a certification course for $169 for 10 sessions (5 classes, plus 5 pools), based on the schedule, the pool sessions are supposed to be 3 hours. My guess is that if all goes well, you'd be out of the pool in 2 hours. The you have to pay about $100 for 5 shore dives at the local quarry.

My guess is for most OW classes, it is likely about $250 to $450. The low end tends to be for shore dives, and equipment not included. The high end tends to be for boat dives, and maybe equipment needed. Private lessons might be well worth the extra $100 or more bucks, if your instructor will guarantee that he will not rush you through the class.

If you have a university level course, it is probably well worth the extra time, or extra money spent. Don't short change your diving instruction.

 

[SlowRain]

To answer all your questions:
Unfortunately price is a huge issue for me, so I am looking for the most economical certification.
And I want to get PADI-certified because I've been told by several people that PADI is the most internationally recognized certification...
And my school did offer a course, but unfortunately it wasn't discounted.

Ummm well...at the risk of creating an agency war here...PADI certainly is very well recognized, but then so is NAUI and SSI. I guess at the risk of generalizing...those are the "big three" and all of them are certainly well known around the world. I doubt you would have any issues diving anywhere in the world with credentials from any of those agencies.

Being quite frank...I really think emphasis should be placed on the instructor rather than what agency they are with. You can have the best course materials in the world, but if the instructor is lacking...it doesn't matter. On the flip side a good instructor can be worth their weight in gold.

 

[Papa_Bear]

All the card gets you is air! The agency doesn't matter in the long run! The instructor does! So, like the Space shuttle, go find the lowest bidder and remember you get what you pay for! Harsh? Maybe, true yes! But remember the Burger Kid gets Minimum wage as well and the order doesn't always come out right! Now who are you going to trust your life to?

 

[Walter]

And I want to get PADI-certified because I've been told by several people that PADI is the most internationally recognized certification...Is that an accurate assumption?

No. It is not at all accurate. PADI is the largest agency. It is more well known by non-divers, but as far as allowing you to dive, it is no more recognized than any other agency. YMCA, NAUI, SSI, BSAC, CMAS, PDIC and many, many others will be as readily accepted as PADI's around the world.

 

[Reno1979]

My girlfriend and I just signed up for OW at an SSI facility and the total for both of us with a small discount for only getting one book and one dvd was $817.00. That includes 6 training sessions (class and pool) and the two day of checkout dives (but we must each pay the quarry fee each day - $15 per diver, per day), and two log books, mine with 5 sections to log dives and hers with only 2.

We are in the MD/DC area. Hope that helps.

 

[SlowRain]

All the card gets you is air! The agency doesn't matter in the long run! The instructor does! So, like the Space shuttle, go find the lowest bidder and remember you get what you pay for! Harsh? Maybe, true yes! But remember the Burger Kid gets Minimum wage as well and the order doesn't always come out right! Now who are you going to trust your life to?

Sorry...I don't agree with your reasoning...while it might be a safe statement "overall" I was diving with a friend once, and there was an open water class between their first and second open water dives. Call it professional interest at the time, but I hung close enough to listen to the instructor long enough to realize he was really very good. He ran in my mind a first-rate session.

I talked to him for about 30 minutes and he was YMCA, and had actually transistioned over from one of the "big three" because he wanted to teach people diving at a price that was affordable. Where he was teaching offered the entire course for 200, including all books...and using mask, fins, snorkel, etc. Literally all the students needed to show up with was a towel and a swimsuit.

Sorry...after having taught for years...and having seen some instructors who were unbelievable (at both ends of the spectrum) I stand on "it isn't the agency...it isn't the price"...it's the instructor and how they relate themselves and their material to the student. Your statement about the instructor being critical is correct...but remember that is not always based on what the course costs.

As far as minimum wage...unless things have changed dramatically since I taught...dive instructors, once you throw in the time you spend prepping for class, paying your yearly liability insurance costs, taking out and putting away gear for class, working with a challenged student outside of regular class, and all the other things that actually go into running a class are probably making less than minimum wage when you figure money made versus time invested. You teach because you love it....you certainly don't do it for the money.

 

[cinder4320]

I had also already dove before getting my certification (resort courses). This definitely puts you ahead of the curve as you know its something you can physically do and the breathing underwater doesn't present any obstacle.

My OW class was only my husband and I and the pool sessions were kept short. They were only as long as we required to get the skills. I LOVED it this way and with a class of two I was never sitting in line waiting on someone who couldn't get a skill. IMO the length of the sessions shouldn't be determined beforehand and should be geared to the individuals taking the courses.

We had private instruction for OW (October in Indiana isn't too busy) and did not pay $400 each. My OW was with PADI, AOW with NAUI, and since then I've been with IANTD (cave). I would say choose your instructor NOT your agency.

Miranda

 

[PvtStash]

to keep the initial costs down for the interested potential diver...

I think a basic OW course that was $500 or more would turn me off to diving altogether; it doesnt have to cost that much. The idea should be to get me wet and interested cheap and then let me spend incrementally as I get more into the sport. You scare me away before I even get a chance to start with a teaching fee of $500 (+gear? really?).

I understand the logic behind "its not the certing agency its the teacher" and I agree, but I dont Need Sheck Exeley for a teacher either... I've done Alot of reading/self instruction on my own in preparation for my classes and I feel as if I could almost go in and take the test Sans classes and still do fine, thus I dont wish to Pay Big Bucks for Super Instructor when Anyone who can sign thier name to my card will do.

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

Classes these days are way too cheap.