PADI AOW->OWSI and beyond. Is this a bad idea?

[JohnnyC]

You’re considering two DRASTICALLY different types of work, and really the only commonality between them is that they both take place underwater.

I’d suggest to take a hard look at what you want to do.

Ask around in the commercial forums about actual commercial diving, really get an idea of the work and timelines involved. It’s not just a simple career change into good money. I’m 35, I can weld, I can rig, I can fabricate, I understand the physiology involved, I know bailout and rebreathers and I have no doubt that there’s zero chance of me switching careers and making any money in commercial diving at this point. I’d probably be retirement age before I made half of what I make now.

You can realistically go from zero to teaching professional in the dive world in something like 6 months. How good of an instructor do you think you will be in that short period of time? That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with that. Just remember, it’s not all blowing bubbles for a living, and can really sour you to diving.

 

[Diving Dubai]

Here's the original quote to interpret as you wish:

"Your PADI family continues to grow with a record-breaking 6500 PADI Dive Centers and Resorts, plus more than 135,000 PADI Professionals around the globe."

Would be odd is the family including "135,000 PADI professionals" mentioned is really 13,500 with 10 pro certs each as you seen to be suggesting.

I may have butchered the meaning another way. That seems to be the TOTAL active pros and shops/resorts... The ratio for November (note it says members not certs) could be drawn from this:

I don't disagree with your original premise. Relying on the published figures from any agency will be misleading. After all it's in their interests as a business to show growth, and teh figure will have a healthy level of marketing spin

Take the "new dive centres" These won't be all new establishments, some may have crossed over from another agency or have finally decided to apply for 5 Star resort status (for example), Some will merely have had a name change and applied for a new centre number

It my understanding (from my Regional office off the record) that the number of Centers operating pretty much stays the same year in year out

Similarly with Pro certs, many many people take the cert for their own satisfaction without ever wanting to use it full time. I know lots of instructors who decide that teaching isn't really for them, it's not as fun as they first thought.

And much as we all criticise the "Pro factories" are they really any different from the colleges and universities that sell the dream of being an Actor or a Lawyer?

 

[Celt]

Have a chat with some commercial divers, do you really want to WORK underwater. There’s nothing nice about laying grout bags in a filthy harbor.