Looking to go from Advanced to Instructor

[Sheriff2]

Im looking to do my dive instructor courses, can people recommend any companies anywhere in the world. The cheaper the better!!

 

[Peter Guy]

Where do I start?

As is always true, I have no idea if the information on your profile is correct, but, assuming it is, you have no more than 24 dives spread over 3 years -- i.e., an avg of 8 dives for every year you have been certified.

With that background, why do you think you should become an instructor? What do you think you have to offer a student?

Before asking "Where is the cheapest ITC?" don't you think you should ask yourself the questions above? And if you have, what are your honest, and heartfelt, answers?

I don't want to be the hard a$$ person who may be interfering with your Dream of Sunshine, Pina Coladas and Scube Diving, but, the reality is that teaching people how to survive in the underwater environment is, in fact, a pretty serious occupation.

To sum it up, methinks you need to rethink this.

 

[AndyNZ]

Im looking to do my dive instructor courses, can people recommend any companies anywhere in the world. The cheaper the better!!

I suspect that you will at some stage find the cheaper in fact is not often the better.

You've got to look at this as the trade off triangle;

You are always going to be trading off between cost, time and quality. As a general rule, you may get two of those - but you will never get all three.

So you've fixed "cost" by saying that you want the cheapest course. What are you going to compromise, quality or time?

You can get a cheap, fast course - but it's not going to teach you how to teach scuba.

You can get a cheap, quality course - but you need to be prepared to endure months of subsistence living where you are are humping tanks around and doing other back-breaking labour for free in exchange for the tuition.

Take your pick.


Personally, I would recommend allowing your cheap constraints to float.... and find the right course for you. You may find it's the one offered by your local dive shop that will take a year or so to complete. But you'll get loads of diving in in that time, as opposed to carrying tanks.

 

[Crowley]

I don't want to be the hard a$$ person who may be interfering with your Dream of Sunshine, Pina Coladas and Scube Diving, but, the reality is that teaching people how to survive in the underwater environment is, in fact, a pretty serious occupation.

They have Pina Coladas?! :cool2:

Sherrif2 it is possible to go from Advanced to Instructor but you are looking at a minumim of 5 months' training. I used to work for a busy Career Development Centre which ran the sort of "zero to hero" course that has been debated at length - it was a minumim of 6 months training, usually 7.

Is is possible to become an instructor in that time? Yes.

Although people complain about these courses, if you pick the right place you will be working in a busy dive centre enviroment, clocking up more than 200 dives and assisting on courses which is invaluable training for life as an instructor. Many instructors take courses, do dives, become instructors on their own time, but actually doing an internship in a busy dive resort will put you on a good footing, assuming that is the sort of lifestyle you wish to lead.

As always - think very carefully about your decision, it is not something to be rushed into unless you are 100% sure. I live this life full time and I love it, but it has some very serious downsides so make sure you are prepared for what the life involves.

Cheap in the dive industry often means exactly that. Thailand is one of the best places to go for inexpensive training, simply because the cost of living there is inexpensive, however there are some cheap-ass shops out there that will take your money, tick some boxes and hey presto - you are an instructor. Thailand is also having some problems right now, which may affect your decision.

If you want to be a *good* instructor, prepare yourself for 6 - 8 months working as an intern somewhere. Do not take the cheapest course on offer. Research very carefully, ask questions of both the dive centre and its former students. Any training centre worth its salt will be happy to let you do that.

Have a look in the forums for the relevant countries - some of the CDCs advertise and are discussed in there.

It is possible to get quality instruction at a reasonable price, but plan for at least 6 months of diving pretty much every day. I went through that sort of course, and subsequently I trained others under the same program. I know for a fact that it works, but I also know that it often does not.

This is not a job for people who think it is about sun, sea, sex and potentially, pina coladas. It is hard work, and if you screw up, you might kill somebody, including yourself.

I am not going to tell anybody not to do this, because I am so passionate about what I do - but take a step back and make sure you know exactly what you are letting yourself in for before you do it.

Cheers

C.

 

[Sheriff2]

Thanks for the above replies, Maybe i should have worded my query a litle better.. But im willing to put in all the hours and hard work. The 6-8 months as an intern is a great idea, maybe get to a dive master and see how that goes before going ahead with the instructors. Possible places im looking to go are Honduras or Cambodia. Again thanks for the replies

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Full disclosure would be that it is entirely possible to go from OW diver with 10 dives to PADI OWSI with 210 dives in 2 months or less.

Check out Pro Dive in Fort Lauderdale and Ocean Divers in Key Largo. There are quite a few others in Florida but those two have the biggest reputations. You must be a certified diver for at least 6 months to qualify for Instructor certification from PADI.

As Andy's triangle suggests, quick costs! There are beneficial aspects to Instructor Factories; they specialize in training instructors, many of the Course Directors have been at it a long time and are very good at what they do and they usually have job placement services and other advantages. For instance, I can buy PADI training materials through OD at their lowest in the industry cost level, drop shipped to Hawaii, free shipping as long as I spend the minimum for free shipping.

In shape, intelligent, former competitive swimmers with extensive recent free diving experience and other adventure teaching experience, like ski/snowboard instruction, can hit the water finning

 

[Ex-Aquanaut]

Hi Sheriff,

With that "iron triangle" in mind, have a look at our programs at Aquanauts Dive Career Development Centre. Here you'll get the full months-long internship experiences AND a choice of programs to match any budget.

At the top-end you have our all-inclusive, full-featured Aquanauts Complete internship, which offers unlimited diving, a total of 14 courses from your level, a full set of equipment, private accommodations, job placement and more.

For those with smaller finances, we have the Aquanauts VALUE internship, which still runs 3 months, offers accommodations, equipment, all required courses and materials, lots of diving, 80 dives, job placement and more at 1/3 of the price of similar internships out there.

Finally we have the Aquanauts 4-Step program, a unique "pay as you go" program that let's you progress at your own pace and pay as you make each progressive level.

All the details are at the link below.

 

[wadedeeper]

Its nice to see you have a desire to want to learn more and even teach one day, but I would suggest you stay a divemaster for at least six months before transitioning into the fast track to instructor. During that time you should really DM on boats, classes, and take people on tours so you know and become familiar with experiences firsthand. Experience helps us all become better, so don't short yourself the value of of that experience by rushing through it. Take time and learn everything you can. It'll make you a better instructor in the long run.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

Im looking to do my dive instructor courses, can people recommend any companies anywhere in the world. The cheaper the better!!

Remember, you get what you pay for. Are you looking for a title or a career? An instructor takes somesone's life in their hands to teach them to dive. Do you want to train cheply to do that?

 

[jagfish]

Hi Sheriff,

With that "iron triangle" in mind, have a look at our programs at Aquanauts Dive Career Development Centre. Here you'll get the full months-long internship experiences AND a choice of programs to match any budget.

At the top-end you have our all-inclusive, full-featured Aquanauts Complete internship, which offers unlimited diving, a total of 14 courses from your level, a full set of equipment, private accommodations, job placement and more.

For those with smaller finances, we have the Aquanauts VALUE internship, which still runs 3 months, offers accommodations, equipment, all required courses and materials, lots of diving, 80 dives, job placement and more at 1/3 of the price of similar internships out there.

Finally we have the Aquanauts 4-Step program, a unique "pay as you go" program that let's you progress at your own pace and pay as you make each progressive level.

All the details are at the link below.

How are things on the ground in Thailand as a dive/training destination right now?