Need some advice on getting my certification.

[DavidHickey]

I thought I had my mind made up about taking a class the 1st week of October to get certified but then another center called me and I'm debating whether to change. I live in Dayton Ohio. I have 3 main centers in the area I have talked to. My schedule due to work makes it hard to fit in evening classes. 1 center offers a Friday Saturday, Sunday training and the option of scheduling your required dives with them or just getting refferals. "they are saying the season here is about over and they cannot guarrantee I will get my dives in this year" the 2nd center I talked to, is probably the best but he was a little hard "safe" He said he would NEVER teach a weekend class. Says there are right ways and wrong ways to do things and learning in 2 days is not the right way. The 3rd center offers a 2 day class with all 4 certified dives for 435.00 They say if the weather is cold they have wet suits that will keep you warm. When I asked about the safety they assured me that as long as I take the time to do the home study and work before the weekend I would be fully prepared. And if your not prepared when you arrive you simply will not get your certification. My options are.

1. Center number 1 do the 3 day course and get referalls for 240.00 and do dives when weather improves or fly to warmer weather and do dives. "Any idea what referal dives will cost me?" Or do their course pay for dives and wait till next year to do the dives. They did not give me a cost including the dives.

2. Center number 2 sign up for a class that will not fit into my schedule "Its the farthest away, I work in Dayton he is in Cincinnati. And the trainer is very safety conscious and will not do a weekend class and wait till next year for dives.

3. Center 3 a Saturday and Sunday class with home study, and do my 4 dives in a northern gravel pit with a wet suit. "My fiancee did her dives there about 15 years ago and my neighbors just completed theirs. All say that although its do able it is cold murky and not much fun. But this way at least I will be ready next time we travel and we can all do some snorkeling and diving.

 

[ThatsMe]

referal dives will cost more cause i think you have to pay the boat and have to pay an instructor to go with you. Plus any hidden paperwork charges. Right?

Im in class now and I like the Idea of having six classes. I go tue and thur, for 3 hours for 3 weeks. Oh, and this is with alot of home study too. Gives you plenty of pool time so you can practice and practice till you are comfortable.

I chose SSI because they seem to be more strict about training. Be carefull with PADI they must let anyone teach without much supervision. The SSI instructor has to work threw a certified shop.

The padi shop here said " our instructor is leaving in 2 weeks but if we can get 6 or 8 people to take the class we can throw one togeather one weekend." I didnt like that idea.

 

[String]

I dont believe in 2 days ANYONE is qualified to dive full stop.

 

[RonFrank]

I am doing my OW certification as follows:

First I reviewed about a dozen dive shops in the area, and reviewed my options for course layout. They ran the gamut from two day crash courses with no required outside study, to evening and weekend classes split up over several weeks, or compressed on a weekend. I chose the dive shop I liked because (not in any order):

1. Flexible schedule.
2. AlaCarte payment plan allows me to do referrals, and not be bound to purchasing course materials/OW dives in one package price.
3. On site WARM pool. Many LDS's in the area use community pools. As they tend to cater to HS swim teams, community pools are COLD... 65F seems average. Community pools generally do NOT close for divers, and they are noisey, and distracting.
4. Limited class sizes, in this case six max per class.
5. Excellant training facilities.
6. Quailty Equipment. Zeagle Escape BCD's, Aeris Regulators, and a large selection of the latest fins, masks, snokels, wetsuits, etc., so you can try different fins (for example) in the confined classes.
7. Staff professional, friendly, and qualified.
8. Very flexible OW options (necessary in Denver), including an onsite Travel agency with discount OW certs to tropic destinations.

Next I got the course materials, and videos (PADI). I have been reviewing the classroom material for about a month. I've read everything twice, learned to do dive planning (beyond the OW cert level) using the wheel, and am now ready for the classes.

IMO there are two big keys in this process. First a good environment with good DM's. The second is YOU, and IMO the more time one takes to study and learn the course materials, the better off one will be when taking the class.

As for rates, the OW confined water and classroom for this place runs $135 without course materials. One bonus is this place does NOT require personal gear. While I have that, I've wanted very much to try Apollo biofins, TUSA splitfins, some Jets, etc... and they have it all. This IMO is a mark of a good LDS...

OW certification referral runs about $200 anywhere you go. I've looked at Mexico, Caymens (don't bother right now), and the Keys, and the referrals generally run about $200. This is actually about what it would run for me to do it within driving distance at the Blue Hole, or the Crater in UT.

IMO, doing the OW part of the class while on vacation is a nice way to go as referrals have 1 DM for a group of 4 (based on my research), you get four dives over two days, and the dives go beyond just certification requirements with time spent...well...diving and viewing marine life and habitat. One place in the keys advertised that they spend SI time discussing reef life identification, and planning the next dives with group parcipitation to maximize the dive experience while still getting the cert and doing to required tasks.

Hope this helps,
Ron

 

[RonFrank]

I don't have firsthand experience with other orginizations, however based on researching most EVERY dive shop in the Denver area, quality of instruction is not a magic byproduct of the certification agency.

PADI does NOT allow *anyone to teach without much supervision*. One must be PADI instructor certified, and EVERY PADI shop I visited had DM's with instructor certs.

As for a LDS that *throws together* classes based on demand, I guess in smaller markets that maybe a realistic way of doing business. But I doubt that any other cert agencies prevent that from happening, and I'd not blame PADI necessarily for your LDS's poor approach. :11:

Ron

 

[Walter]

If I lived in Dayton and wanted to take a class, I'd send a PM to Ber Rabbit and take whatever she had available. She knows her stuff and uses the best methods.

 

[SubMariner]

I chose SSI because they seem to be more strict about training. Be carefull with PADI they must let anyone teach without much supervision. The SSI instructor has to work threw a certified shop.

Just in case this WASN'T a troll, let me enlighten you: the only reason that SSI Instructors have to work through a shop is because that is part of their agency structure. That's it!

FYI, a fully-fledge Instructor does not require "supervision"; that's why they are Instructors, not Certified Assistants.

Good luck with your course.

 

[Allison Finch]

I can't agree with being able to certify people that quickly. It is just not safe. In the "old " days, I went to class three nights a week for several months=two hours of class and two hours in the pool each night. How the heck can they teach people acceptable skills that quickly????? Answer: THEY CANNOT! Oh, of course....to be a proficient diver you have to fork out more $$$$$ and take dozens of additional classes.

 

[String]

Being able to perform a skill once having practiced it previously is one thing.

Being able to recall that skill under real life high stress situations when you did it once and that was 12 months ago is totally different.

In 2 days you may be able to perform a skill youve just been taught from memory but that doesnt train your muscle memory or composure to do it when needed. The only way to do that is to repeat the skill many more times. Not possible in 2 days (or 3 imho)

 

[jbd]

I agree with Walter in regards to your situation. Contact Ber Rabbit via PM and see what you can work out with her. Do yourself a favor and forget about the two day courses. You won't learn to dive and when you do go on a trip somewhere you won't be able to dive well enough to enjoy it or get anything out of it other than an increased risk of injury.