again, thanks for the advise and information. i could not agree more that 'just' having the paper(certification) can be meaningless. Too many times I have dived with "advanced" divers who couldn't maintain proper position or bounced like crazy while attempting a safty stop.
I too pick people that work for me based on the known skills, not just their 'degree'. I just feel that maybe i am miscommunitcating.
I'm not sure how 'greed' worked its way into the conversation.
For context, I am looking at a possible early retirement. I've aready taking care of the greed thing. As a traveling vagabon, I was just looking to where I would have the greatest opportunities to teach, to share, to film etc. Example, I get a DM with SDI. Then I go for instructor. There are very few SDI shops in the Carribbean...that's why my question is about options, and portability...not will I make a living, be an indentured servant, or satisfy my greed.
JC,
I had really great DM training with PDIC because my instructor was the president of the agency and was one of the first YMCA and NAUI instructors back in the early days of the sport. My girlfriend had really great PADI DM training in Aruba because her instructors had been divers in the Dutch Navy. Our instructors had something special to offer because they had known a world of rigorous diver training and did their best to incorporate and balance difficult challenges with motivation and fun.
Because I was at an agency HQ, I was trained to assist and run exacting programs that conformed to the highest standards of training and demonstration quality. My girlfriend was prepared for working on dive boats in a busy resort environment. Her instructors emphasized a rescue mentality. My instructors emphasized a preventative rescue mentality.
When I moved to Miami and sought a diving instructor job. No one wanted to hire me because I wasn't PADI. It didn't matter that I knew more about the diving industry from working at a headquarters than those they hired and it didn't matter that I knew more about education from teaching headquarters' programs. It also didn't matter that I had experience. What mattered was PADI.
No problem. I sought work as a lifeguard and was welcomed with open arms by Dade County. I wanted to be on the sand at Crandon Beach, but they wanted to put me at the atoll pool. I thought it was because I was a rookie there and that is where the rookies started. I was wrong. The most experienced lifeguards were there. I asked my captain what the deal was and he told me that because I had lots of experience as a pool and lake lifeguard, he needed experienced guards to do "preventative lifeguarding" of all the toddlers and infants that frequented the pool. He believed that preventing problems was an art, but running into the surf and rescuing a victim was a failure to prevent and the most lifeguards are good rescuers, but less were good preventors.
As a headquarters trained DM and instructor, I know that we can prevent rescues through high standards and rigorous training. I see the job of a DM slightly differently than my girlfriend.
Her experience as a DM was plucking divers out of the drink and leading large groups on reef tours in which head counts were important.
I worked for various dive ops over the years and I was always in trouble for figuring out ways to improve safety because that is what we do at HQ. I got in trouble for making a suggestion that female instructors who are taking divers on cavern tours be allowed to request a male "safety" diver if they felt uncomfortable being in the forest alone with one or more clients. I also got into trouble for suggesting that radios be installed in the trucks to better communicate with the dive shop or EMS and for suggesting that backboards be sent in the trucks in case of a diving accident as they would help a female instructor manage a heavy male victim better during diving or medical emergencies. No one had ever suggested such things.
As a lifeguard, I worked in a remote area where I had to operate independently of rapid response. If I were the manager of that dive center, I would have run wilderness first aid courses, self-defense courses, and do in-service training of emergency accident management in remote areas for those dives. Of course, it's unlikely that I will ever be in such a position because I'm not PADI ... although SDI/TDI is catching on big time.
With the right instructor teaching you, you can become an excellent DM no matter what agency you choose. That's why it is more important to choose the instructor and not the agency.
Some will tell you that it is easier to cross from PADI to another agency, than move into PADI, but the hardest thing is to find an experienced, knowledgeable instructor who can make you into a DM that has more to offer than others. You want someone who will make you swim hard and do lots of rescues in the water over and over again and encourage you to increase your fitness and stamina for swimming rescues. You want someone who knows equipment inside and out who can tell you how to make field repairs on gear. You want an instructor who will be able to educate you on the business of diving, retail sales, and this education should come from a thriving dive center not one that is struggling. When you get the tools you need for the job, then if you ever need to take a course to become PADI, that's easy. You may be able to find all this at a PADI facility. My intent wasn't to bash PADI, but to make a point that true education is priceless and that should be your goal and not the C-card.
If you want to take a good PADI DM course in a busy resort diving environment to prepare you for that, I recommend Cristina Zenato at UNEXSO on Grand Bahama. She is a tech and cave instructor, does shark dives, and she is tough, skilled and fair. She can balance "fast food" with quality.
