insight from the experienced

[sjmueller61990]

So i've been trying to do some research in regards to a commercial diving school to attend. I was hoping to get some insight from the people that have attended these school and maybe can tell me which places are good or are bad. I know some of the sites have like alumni reviews and what not but I never pay attention to those because the bad ones are never posted.

ive looked at:
The Commercial Dive Academy in Florida
Divers Academy International in Jersey
Divers Institute of Technology in Washington
Minnesota Commercial Diving Training Center obviously in Minnesota
Ocean Corporation in Texas
there was also a community college in Lousiana I believe


if you guys have other school that aren't listed, please by all means let me know whether their good or bad. Any information is helpful, i'm pretty new to the idea of commercial diving. I do understand the possibility to be away for a very long time, long hours crappy shifts and manual labor.

 

[Darol]

Try the Offshore Diver Site.
My advice to you would be join the U.S. Navy. I can speak for no one but myself. I'am NOT an Expert.
Schools can be very very expensive, and may not be a good investment in all cases. There's so much
more than just diving. You need experiance rigging, burning, welding, risk assessment, safety, and so
much more. Good luck to you.

 

[muddiver]

The number one school in the US is Santa Barbara City College (community college). They offer a full two year Associates of Science degree along with a commercial diver certificate. Some of the more successful divers have graduate from there.

What you need to look for is an accredidation from a reputable organization, like the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. If the diving school does not have an accreddation you are taking your chances at getting an acceptable certification. I have only heard of Divers Academy, DIT, The Ocean Corp and Youngs Memorial of the schools on your list. Do the checking and make sure the place is ligit.