Padi Fees

[TMHeimer]

Another way to go to satisfy an operator may be to do a dive with an instructor friend, or even another experienced diver who could review some things and have him/her sign your log--now you have proof of a recent dive at least. That is, unless you know you really need a refresher course. Just logging a dive may be OK for someone with 1,000 dives but none in the last 2 years.

 

[teknitroxdiver]

Perhaps you should has asked if it was the only ADDITIONAL cost.

Landau stated that it includes the card blank, printer, printer ribbon, printer cleaning kits etc. They already have all the data on file. They do of course have to mail the card so add a couple dollars for that. Brings us up to what $6-10. Still a profit of over $40.

I had to get a replacement card for Costco on the week-end. Cost me a grand total of $0.00!
I also contacted SDI on the week-end asking if it was possible to transfer my certifications from Padi to SDI.

Any update as to what SDI said?

 

[ljpm]

Any update as to what SDI said?

They told me to talk to the LDS. I haven't been in to see them yet.

 

[Coelacanthic]

BSAC is a club oriented organisation with Britain as main focus. Use the national club in your country.
Unfortunately, the commercials have cut in to club membership but then you get cheque book divers now. You pay for all diving (am surprised that someone has asked a commercial to do the dive for them and gopro it!)
I did a proper apprenticeship through the club scene before commercial inundation.

 

[Bruno Genovese]

After reading several pages of that his thread I am amazed at the religious wars over the price of an expense that is very easy to avoid.

My method:

1) Receive card after a certification.

2) Scan card and store it in my favorite cloud storage. I can always access it through WiFi or even cellular data.

3) Place a copy of the scanned cards in my smartphone just in case I am truly somewhere with no connectivity.

4) If a dive shop that can't check with PADI rejects the digital copy and demands to see a physical or e-card... I tell them to take a leap off the nearest bridge and go dive with the competition.

Problem solved.

In summary, those overpriced replacement and e-cards are an easily avoidable "sucker tax".

And although I find the practice cheesy and that it devalues the respectability of the issuing agency... it doesn't bother me.

 

[TMHeimer]

Excellent procedure for most people. Unless you're like some of us dinosaurs who haven't bothered to learn to do some of that stuff and don't have a smart phone--no real reason to have something I'd almost never use --and pay for it. But as I said, great procedure for most people.

 

[MargaritaMike]

If I had know PADI stood for Put Another Dollar In I would have looked for a different agency for certification!

BINGO!!!!!!!! WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!!! It only took 82 posts before someone stated the slang definition of P.A.D.I.

I think the acronym fits and has since I became a DM in the late 80's. It's part of the reason that I stopped diving as a DM and only dive on my AOW card. I didn't and still don't understand why if I sent P.A.D.I. an annual renewal fee I was QUALIFIED as a DM. My qualification for another year had nothing to do with my ability to perform the functions and actions of a DM, but rather my ability to pay the renewal fee. There was at that time no skill requalification required (that I knew of), and I knew some DMs and Instructors who should have gone through a refresher skills course or two.

Just my two cents. I didn't have Another Dollar to Put In.

Cheers - M²

 

[oly5050user]

BINGO!!!!!!!! WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!!! It only took 82 posts before someone stated the slang definition of P.A.D.I.

I think the acronym fits and has since I became a DM in the late 80's. It's part of the reason that I stopped diving as a DM and only dive on my AOW card. I didn't and still don't understand why if I sent P.A.D.I. an annual renewal fee I was QUALIFIED as a DM. My qualification for another year had nothing to do with my ability to perform the functions and actions of a DM, but rather my ability to pay the renewal fee. There was at that time no skill requalification required (that I knew of), and I knew some DMs and Instructors who should have gone through a refresher skills course or two.

Just my two cents. I didn't have Another Dollar to Put In.

Cheers - M²

Reason for renewal fee every year is to stay current on any changes in standards. You did get the undersea journal ..Any standard changes are posted there and you are required to have read this. Fee paid for this. Fee also covered any updates being held in your area that you could of attended at no charge to you at all.Attending Updates are a good opportunity to network with other local professionals for contacts . We have done this and I now have full time job now being retired from corporate job I had for 30 years, teaching anywhere from 1 to 3 classes a week, refreshers every other day it seems. We also made contacts this way for movie and tv work as marine coordinators.

 

[Tug]

In regards to the yearly fees, even if you don't pay them PADI doesn't chop up your c card. All it means is that you're not able to work as a DM, you're still a certified and qualified DM. It's just like any other professions requiring yearly licensure.

 

[Diver0001]

BINGO!!!!!!!! WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!!! It only took 82 posts before someone stated the slang definition of P.A.D.I.

I think the acronym fits and has since I became a DM in the late 80's. It's part of the reason that I stopped diving as a DM and only dive on my AOW card. I didn't and still don't understand why if I sent P.A.D.I. an annual renewal fee I was QUALIFIED as a DM. My qualification for another year had nothing to do with my ability to perform the functions and actions of a DM, but rather my ability to pay the renewal fee. There was at that time no skill requalification required (that I knew of), and I knew some DMs and Instructors who should have gone through a refresher skills course or two.

Just my two cents. I didn't have Another Dollar to Put In.

Cheers - M²

There can be no doubt whatsoever that even for a certification agency they need to be financially healthy in order to survive and continue to offer the services they do. PADI is a business and as such they cannot avoid the reality of needing a business model in order to remain financially healthy. Part of that business model has to do with limiting membership to people who pay to be a member.

PADI is not the only business that does this. Subscription fees are paid for everything from professional associations for doctors and professional engineers (to name only two of many), to members who pay a BAR in order to practice law and so on and so on. This is a VERY common model among professional associations. PADI is not unique in this in the very least.

What PADI offers to members is not insignificant. As a DM you might not have profited much from it but as an instructor I have relatively often consulted PADI about my approach to teaching. Particularly when I was a new instructor and trying to develop more efficient techniques for teaching I had fairly frequent contact with them. That particular service is very responsive and the expertise they have is quite good. That's one example of several services PADI offers to members. So yes, you pay to be a member but it's not just pissing money into a black hole so someone at PADI can lay back and get rich while sleeping, which is what you seem to be suggesting. They actually have a quality vision in mind and support their members with useful services.

That's why you were paying membership fees. Does that mean that everything is perfect? No. Obviously not. All positive change comes from people who are critical of the status quo. There is, however, a line between being critical and being cynical and I think you crossed that line in your post. Cynical people do not cause positive change. Critical people do.

Obviously it won't be "worth it" for everyone to pay membership fees. If you're not working as a pro it's clearly not "worth it" to keep paying. That doesn't mean that PADI is out to squeeze its members, it just means that for you as one individual member, you weren't working enough to make it worth your while. That's fine.

Does this help put it in perspective a bit?

R..