Am looking into obtaining OWSI certification and am trying to figure out which way to go. Can someone please educate me?? Thank you in advance.
Hello Robert ... here are some things to consider ...
Perhaps the most important question to ask yourself ... and the logical place to start ... is why do you want to become an instructor? If it is to teach locally, then your choice of agencies will depend on where and how you want to teach. If at a local dive shop, then the agency will be determined by what the shop offers. If you are looking to teach as an independent, then I think NAUI offers better options. Although PADI allows independent instruction, they don't support them quite as well as NAUI does.
One of the major considerations is that NAUI doesn't offer OWSI certifications like PADI does. When you become a NAUI instructor, you are certified to teach up to the Divemaster level ... as well as quite a number of specialty programs ... as soon as you become certified to teach. This approach has both advantages and drawbacks, as it gives you more options to teach more types of classes ... but it also means you will have to work harder to become proficient in those classes if you want to teach them at a quality level. PADI's approach is to limit the number of classes you can teach initially, and allow you to achieve some proficiency at those classes by teaching them before adding more qualifications to teach additional classes.
If you are considering the possibility of heading off someplace warm and tropical to live and teach for a while, consider that PADI offers quite a lot more opportunities than NAUI ... PADI pretty much owns the Caribbean destinations, for example. So if that's your goal, I would definitely go the PADI route, as it'll make it much easier to find work.
Please know that the notion of living large off what a scuba instructor can earn is a pipe dream for most instructors. The vast majority of instructors will burn out after a few years and move on to something else. Go into it with your eyes open. The best instructors I've met ... and the ones who have offered the most to their students ... are people who weren't in it for the money, but rather for the love of diving and a desire to help others learn how to dive well. It takes a certain type of person to do that ... and often it means you will need an additional source of income. Those who can support themselves through scuba instruction are more the exception than the rule.
EDIT: Ah, I should've read the rest of the thread first ... given that you are planning to move around and teach military personnel ... which implies doing it as an independent ... I think NAUI will offer you more options than PADI. This has nothing to do with quality. Some of the above statements about the quality of each program are just silly ... quality will depend more on how much effort you choose to put into teaching than it will the agency you teach for.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
