How Much Should Certification Cost?

[soxgirl45]

Hi! I went diving for the first time in Costa Rica, and I loved it, so now I want to get certified with PADI. I split my time between DC and RI (college student), and looking at dive shops in both areas, it seems like certification is about $400. Some of my already-certified friends told me that those prices are absurd, and it should be more like $250-$350 for the course and dives. Does anyone know how much PADI certification should cost? Also, any recommendations for dive shops in either RI or DC?

 

[mkutyna]

My NAUI certification was $250 plus basic gear such as mask, fins, snorkel, booties.

 

[SlowRain]

I honestly haven't looked at what the going rate for open water certification is in a loonnngggg time...but I do remember when I taught that cost seems to be sort of regional type thing, and specific within a market area...say for example all dive shops in Austin Texas (just as an example) you will find the rates are probably pretty close to the same amount of money (in other words you aren't going to see Shop A training for 150 and Shop B offering the same training for 300). I would suspect it is probably the same everywhere in that market price is similar between dive shops in a given geographical area, but that what it costs could be different between say Seattle, Washington and Chicago, Illinois.

 

[deepblueme]

Depends on what is included.

Shore dives vs boat dives would add to the cost.

 

[Windwalker]

I think certification is dependent on where you get it. Here in Oregon, you can pay $65 to get certified at one of the community colleges (That would be the 1 credit course cost for Mount Hood Community College). The Same shop that runs the college course also charges about $275 for a 1 day of Classroom 2 days of pool and 2 days Open water certification. The Costs seem to be consistent with the time of year. (I have not noticed its cheaper in winter vs summer) There are costs over and above the class costs. In the College Courses, you have to pay for the OW portion (Which costs travel, Hotel and Equipment rental) and Books the Shop classes include equipment rental and books but you still have to pay for travel costs for the OW certification. Long story short. IF you can get into a college course, I would recommend it. We had 10 3 Hour pool sessions with 8 hours of classroom. It took longer to get certified but we were able to really drill the basics which I do not feel the 16 hours of pool in two days gets you.

The Certification agency does not mean much. The Instructor does. Make sure you have a good instructor (How do you know what a good instructor is? Poke around the board some more, there is lots of info)

One last thing.. Most the courses I have seen (school or shop) requires you to have your basic equipment (Mask, Snorkel, Fins) Don't go cheap in this area.

 

[Walter]

Certifications should not be for sale at any price. Instruction, OTOH, is another story. Any high quality class should run well over $500 not including check out dives.

Why do you want PADI?

 

[DiverBizz]

What is being offered for the course? Your class, books, pool sessions, rental gear, open water dives (shore or boat), is the boat included in the price, does that include your mask, booties, snorkel, fins, do you also have to purchase the books, eRDP, (etc.), is the price of the pic. card included? Find these items out and then check with going prices. Many LDS have a price list broken down so that before you enter into the class you know what you are getting into (price wise).

 

[DiverBizz]

But I must say that I agree with Walter that the instructor is what you should be seeking. If you get someone who is the type of high quality professional instructor that you can really learn from...the difference of a $100.00 could be a matter of life or death after you are certified.

 

["The" Dive Shop]

Welcome Sox Girl!
Our shop is in Northern Virginia, just outside DC and easily accessible from Metro. We offer everything from snorkeling through advanced technical diving and closed circuit rebreather. Have a look at our website and let us know if you have any questions.

"The" Dive Shop
3013 Nutley Street
Fairfax VA 22031
707-698-7220

The Dive Shop, Northern Virginia Scuba Training, Travel, Service & Equipment for the DC Metro Area

 

[jbmooney]

I split my time between DC and RI (college student), and looking at dive shops in both areas, it seems like certification is about $400. Some of my already-certified friends told me that those prices are absurd, and it should be more like $250-$350 for the course and dives.

My OW course (on Long Island) was $265, IIRC, but I would have gladly paid more to get a more thorough course. As a percentage of what you're going to end up paying for the sport, the cost is minimal, and considering the importance of what you’re learning, it shouldn’t be how you look for a class, even though I understand that as a college student, you’re not exactly rolling in cash.

Windwalker’s suggestion to see if you can take a college PE diving course may be a good solution, since they tend to be more thorough, as I understand it – does your school offer one? Also, Walter has a great list of questions to ask of any instructor (wish I’d seen it before I got certified, it would have saved me the process of trying to make up later for what I didn’t get in my OW course). I tried to find it, but couldn’t – Walter???