SDI vs. PADI

[PaulSmithTek]

Well I am probably opening a huge can of worms, I sure hope not. I am intrested in becoming an Instructor. I am trying to Decide on SDI or PADI. I like the way the SDI requires you to have 4 Specialty courses before you can get your advanced. But the draw back is I dont know if there is a great demand for SDI instructors in the West. PADI for the most part has a great reputation. But on the other hand I am not sure about the price of classes. I heard it is expensive. I love my local TDI/SDI LDS, and I am partial to the two PADI LDS. I want to get into being a Technical Instructor.

Any suggestions. Please do not BASH, just the opions and PROs and CONs of both.

Thanks

 

[scubajcf]

I am a PADI instructor, and only surface level 'in the know' about SDI.

Without speaking badly about any agency, the one thing that continually impresses me about PADI is the high quality and on going improvement of their course materials.

In doing my limited 'mother in law' research of other agencies, I have not seen its equal.

There are pros and cons with every agency. You have to look for the agency that is going to suit your needs from a business perspective, from a curriculum perspective, from a support perspective and from an intellectual perspective.

The other suggestion I would give is find an Instructor Trainer or Course Director that you feel very comfortable with and will continue to grow your instructor skills with.

Good luck on your journey!

 

[TeddyDiver]

Being SDI instructor there wouldn't be a lot of competition? Anyway there's so much PADI OWSI's around (including myself) ´so I prefer diversity...

 

[xiSkiGuy]

I believe that SDI requires you to be associated with an SDI shop to teach, but PADI will let you freelance. You can usually crossover, too.

 

[gangrel441]

I believe that SDI requires you to be associated with an SDI shop to teach, but PADI will let you freelance. You can usually crossover, too.

You may know something I don't, but I think you may be confusing SDI (Scuba Diving International) with SSI (Scuba Schools International). SSI only allows courses to be run in conjunction with an SSI shop.

 

[xiSkiGuy]

I work at at an SDI/TDI shop. I'm not an instructor, however. The information is second hand from an friend who is both a PADI and SDI instructor. He could be mistaken.

 

[Diesel298]

yes SDI required the instructor to be attached to a sdi/tdi facility

 

[gangrel441]

Live and learn. Thanks for the info. SSI was the only agency I have heard that about until now.

 

[Quero]

I completely agree with scubajcf that good materials are enormously important. As an instructor, you want your students to have multiple means of gaining an understanding of the topics you will be covering. Good print materials, good videos, and good instruction all work together to provide these multiple means.

I am PADI affiliated, but at one point had a brief association with SDI/TDI. I have copies of some SDI manuals and nearly all TDI manuals. I have gone through them, and I can tell you that they are very readable. If going on to Tech training is a priority, TDI has been well regarded in this sphere this since before PADI jumped on the bandwagon with DSAT, and in my opinion (even though I have DSAT blender ratings), the dive training TDI provides is just a notch more demanding than that DSAT offers. One shop here in Phuket with both TDI and DSAT instructors sells both entry-level cert courses more or less simultaneously by adding an additional day to the DSAT course to "top up" for the TDI cert.

On the other hand, SDI was created after-the-fact to lead into TDI--sort of the opposite of what happened with PADI. (I suppose that once a diver gets used to the PADI system and is comfortable with it, s/he would tend to continue with PADI, so as a marketing strategy, it would make sense for TI (the SDI/TDI umbrella org) to create a recreational level so that their SDI students would remain with TI and go on to TDI tech training.)

Additionally, I did my intro tech training through IANTD, and had a very tough time understanding certain aspects of it, in large part due to the poor quality of the materials--both the manuals and the powerpoints. TDI materials are readable, at least. One thing is certain for me--if I go on to further tech training, it will not be through IANTD, partly because I don't want to be guessing what the materials are trying to communicate to me, and I'm the kind of person who learns by reading, not by listening to powerpoints.

Anyway, your instructor ratings are not like a citizenship--you are allowed to affiliate with more than one at a time, no problem. Pick one, and then cross over to gain the rating in the other one, if it makes good business sense to do so.