I think it depends on how much you are willing to put in rather than the agency. Now we have an op and some of the least skilled divers might be 500+ but they have just been practicing the same poor skills and think they Posiden in his prime.
There are a lot of variables other than the agency—and maybe those Poseidon creatures are not open to learning new things. It is also possible that they were never taught properly and are poor at learning by watching others, and could benefit from better instruction, no?
And yet is the most accurate.
Agencies give guidelines (standards) to conduct the class, theoretically all the classes will be conducted to the same level. However, it is the instructor to decide how he conducts the class and how seriously he meets or exceeds the standards. Some do not even meet standards, and since there is no quality control, the agency has no idea how low a bar their classes are taught unless there is a complaint or casualty.
I appreciate the candor and honesty of the response. Some orgs do appear to have QC in their org chart though. And I think that the instructor’s choice of agency may reflect on their values and priorities as an instructor—so asking about the agencies I think it still relevant for a diver looking for training.
I tell students, first meeting, that certification means you should be able to plan, execute a dive with your buddy, without input from a dive pro. Anything else you are doing a "trust me dive" following a dive leader around on a dive.
Good advice. But for me, as one starts diving with no DM around, I start to ask myself, “Do I really know how to deal with anything that might go wrong on this dive?” I will concede there is room for opinion here, but if I am diving alone (with a buddy) and this makes up a significant number of my dives, rescue diver makes sense to me not because it is fun, but because it will hopefully make us more prepared for contingencies.
A class considered very solid is GUE Fundamentals, GUE has a reputation for ensuring the level of instruction. I have no connection, but am thinking of taking it. Being in control in the water, Buoyancy/Trim/Propulsion, is a base to operating safely. It is getting more emphasis, including in standards. But with an instructor that does not believe in them, it is entirely possible to do all of OW/AOW/Rescue with no clue of them. Teachers that also teach technical diving are more likely to provide this properly.
Some Master scuba diver rating are just recognition of some number of dives and classes. Others, NAUI, are a specific class.
Rescue is always a good idea. Right after AOW might be a bit soon, but 75 dives is amble experience and more than time that you should take it.
Solo/Self Reliant rated is likely a good mark of an independent diver (or dive pair). But the skills for it are not something you would learn in its few class dives. For control in the water, Buoyancy/Trim/Propulsion, an intro to tech or cavern class could be good. From a tech diver or cave diver, not just someone that 'can teach it'. Not to take them for any increase in depth, or actually cavern/cave diving, but for their attention to control.
Thanks for your perspective on more of my questions. I’ve been looking at GUE—It looks like if I were to do it, I might have to travel for it, but there is a course coming up in Virginia, Virginia. I’ll have to find out where that is.
They do seem very focused on gear—perhaps that’s not really emphasized until the tech courses they offer after the Fundamentals.
For rescue, do any courses stand out? The “DRAM course or equivalent” requirement for SEI is not entirely clear what that means. SEI also is one of the few agencies where the “master” level training seems to include actual training other than specialties. They say it is DM without the teaching.
That and UTD Essentials (I took fundies). I recommend whatever is closer. believe that of the mainstream agencies, only RAID and SNSI have objective standards like the DIR agencies. These are agencies I'm watching. I wish them both tremendous success.
I’ll check them out. Being in Washington, DC I may be limited in what I can find locally.
You're trained by the instructor and not the agency. The instructor chooses the agency while you choose the instructor. Choose your instructor wisely. They'll have already chosen the agency that serves them best.
I can choose both, within my means to travel, location, and other factors. Thanks for your honesty—It it good to know that there is high variability or instructors and no quality control in some agencies.