Watergirl
I have been teaching diving for aboput 20 years and I have seen a lot.
I will try and help you with some answers to your questions
1 - What places would you recommend for instruction?
choose a place that is close to your home, but keep in mind some things I will point out below. when picking a shop ask them how long they have been there. dive shops basicly fall into two catagories
A - a divers dive shop - this is a shop run by a diver for divers, but the down side is that they generaly only want to talk to you if you come in there with sea weed hanging from your shorts. the upside is that they are probably the most up to date on the real world of diving
B - A retail dive shop - this one is interested in selling you stuff, they probably have the best selection of gear, and a wide variety of courses, but it can be like buying a used car. don't take just their advise on whats best, because their advise will reflect just what they sell. they are probley the ones offering the cheapest courses to get you in the door
both types have pros and cons you need to sort through them.
2. What questions should I ask the instructors to make sure that I will be safe during the classes and happy with my teaching?
first when you go to the shop ask to speak to the instructor who will be teaching the course, make sure there is personality compatability and also no language barrier.
Also ask the shop were the open water classes are taught and when they will be having the next one. the ods are that several shops all teach at the same site...go there and check things out walk around. when you are not in their stoe they tend not to be in sales mode but in dive mode. you can watch organization, and teaching skills of several shops at once.
ask the instructor a lot of questions, best done at the dive site away from the store. you will get more of the truth.
a couple of quick questions for the instructor.
1-how long have you been certified
2-how many dives do you have
3-what is your highest level of training
4-how many of those dives are courses and how many are fun
5-what is his student to instructor ratio
6-does he use a divemaster
the list could go on and on
3. How much does it cost to get just started into diving?
NOT MUCH!, this is were you need to be careful with your money
usauly the cheaper the course is the more gear you are required to own [buy from them]. or the more people in your class.
question for the dive shop
1-how much is your course
2-what does that include
3-what else do i need to provide
4-how much is that stuff
5-how long is the class [go through the details
you can actualy get certified with about one hour of class time.
do you want to be taught or do you want to read about it.
you will find several responses to these questions and remember the used car theory here.
if the course is small and personal from one of those shops by divers for divers you can expect to pay more than average but will probley get better training
retail shops will tend to make thjem more fun with larger groups but they will pay their instructors less and tend to get "fresh" instructors
both methods have advantages and disadvantages
The price should include everything, books, certification fees, all gear including mask snorkle and fins, air, any boat charters, pool fees, and of course instruction. the current thing now is to suggest a boat charter for dives 3 & 4 at an additional cost half way throught he course, boat charters are great you should just know about it up front
as a new diver you should not be required to buy gear or anything else from the shop just because you are signed up for the course. this is a big scam in the industry riught now.
finaly if they insist on you having your own stuff[say mask snorkle and fins] does the price of the course change if i buy them somewere else or borrow them.
4. What should I buy before my classes (or will it depend on where I go for classes?)
don't buy anything, you are about to learn a lot about gear selection types of equipment for your area. be patient and do a dive or two then buy gear.
this is why it should be part of the course and not required
5. Any other info you think I should know before starting classes? (No horror stories,
find an active dive shop that is about fun, check on dive clubs in your area and go to a meeting ask around, go to a popular dive site on the weekend and ask around. you will find a common denominator and opinions that will stear you in the right direction
as for what organization to get certified through. that is always a hot subject.
just make sure they are internationaly reconized, and well respected
PADI, SDI, NAUI are some of the biggest
I personaly recomend PADI because they have the best training materials, but it will certainly depend how the instructor aplies it. [as you can see by my bio i might be bias]
hope all this helps
I have been teaching diving for aboput 20 years and I have seen a lot.
I will try and help you with some answers to your questions
1 - What places would you recommend for instruction?
choose a place that is close to your home, but keep in mind some things I will point out below. when picking a shop ask them how long they have been there. dive shops basicly fall into two catagories
A - a divers dive shop - this is a shop run by a diver for divers, but the down side is that they generaly only want to talk to you if you come in there with sea weed hanging from your shorts. the upside is that they are probably the most up to date on the real world of diving
B - A retail dive shop - this one is interested in selling you stuff, they probably have the best selection of gear, and a wide variety of courses, but it can be like buying a used car. don't take just their advise on whats best, because their advise will reflect just what they sell. they are probley the ones offering the cheapest courses to get you in the door
both types have pros and cons you need to sort through them.
2. What questions should I ask the instructors to make sure that I will be safe during the classes and happy with my teaching?
first when you go to the shop ask to speak to the instructor who will be teaching the course, make sure there is personality compatability and also no language barrier.
Also ask the shop were the open water classes are taught and when they will be having the next one. the ods are that several shops all teach at the same site...go there and check things out walk around. when you are not in their stoe they tend not to be in sales mode but in dive mode. you can watch organization, and teaching skills of several shops at once.
ask the instructor a lot of questions, best done at the dive site away from the store. you will get more of the truth.
a couple of quick questions for the instructor.
1-how long have you been certified
2-how many dives do you have
3-what is your highest level of training
4-how many of those dives are courses and how many are fun
5-what is his student to instructor ratio
6-does he use a divemaster
the list could go on and on
3. How much does it cost to get just started into diving?
NOT MUCH!, this is were you need to be careful with your money
usauly the cheaper the course is the more gear you are required to own [buy from them]. or the more people in your class.
question for the dive shop
1-how much is your course
2-what does that include
3-what else do i need to provide
4-how much is that stuff
5-how long is the class [go through the details
you can actualy get certified with about one hour of class time.
do you want to be taught or do you want to read about it.
you will find several responses to these questions and remember the used car theory here.
if the course is small and personal from one of those shops by divers for divers you can expect to pay more than average but will probley get better training
retail shops will tend to make thjem more fun with larger groups but they will pay their instructors less and tend to get "fresh" instructors
both methods have advantages and disadvantages
The price should include everything, books, certification fees, all gear including mask snorkle and fins, air, any boat charters, pool fees, and of course instruction. the current thing now is to suggest a boat charter for dives 3 & 4 at an additional cost half way throught he course, boat charters are great you should just know about it up front
as a new diver you should not be required to buy gear or anything else from the shop just because you are signed up for the course. this is a big scam in the industry riught now.
finaly if they insist on you having your own stuff[say mask snorkle and fins] does the price of the course change if i buy them somewere else or borrow them.
4. What should I buy before my classes (or will it depend on where I go for classes?)
don't buy anything, you are about to learn a lot about gear selection types of equipment for your area. be patient and do a dive or two then buy gear.
this is why it should be part of the course and not required
5. Any other info you think I should know before starting classes? (No horror stories,
find an active dive shop that is about fun, check on dive clubs in your area and go to a meeting ask around, go to a popular dive site on the weekend and ask around. you will find a common denominator and opinions that will stear you in the right direction
as for what organization to get certified through. that is always a hot subject.
just make sure they are internationaly reconized, and well respected
PADI, SDI, NAUI are some of the biggest
I personaly recomend PADI because they have the best training materials, but it will certainly depend how the instructor aplies it. [as you can see by my bio i might be bias]
hope all this helps
