Where to start off?

[TheGnome]

Okay, i've been wanting to get into diving alot more then I have in the past couple of years. I've been diving since I was 12 years old, now 18 almost 19 OMGZ... Haha, but i have no idea on where to start off, I wanna become an instrustor however I dont know were to get the training. Let me start off by saying what all dives i have and what I've tried befor.

Things I've Done:
* Over 20 different wrecks
* Deepest dive 135 feet ( Not that deep, but deeper then needed in a lake)
* Took Equipment rebuilding class
* Over 50 dives (Not all logged) What can i ask i was 12?
* Worked in a dive shop for all the summer filled Normal Air tanks, and Nitrox tanks.
* Done a couple decompression dives

What to do:

*Anything not on the list above.. =)


I've been trying for years to figure out where to start, however I have not really been able to get started. I'm tried of not doing anything about it, and not having everything i set out to do. I finally have the money and the job. I wanna know where I start. Should i go to a local dive shop and get what I can or is their a local private trainer in Ausin Tx?

Thanks for anything that takes the time to read my bad grammer. English was never my strong suit it was always math.

 

[ronbeau]

Okay, i've been wanting to get into diving alot more then I have in the past couple of years. I've been diving since I was 12 years old, now 18 almost 19 OMGZ... Haha, but i have no idea on where to start off, I wanna become an instrustor however I dont know were to get the training. Let me start off by saying what all dives i have and what I've tried befor.

Things I've Done:
* Over 20 different wrecks
* Deepest dive 135 feet ( Not that deep, but deeper then needed in a lake)
* Took Equipment rebuilding class
* Over 50 dives (Not all logged) What can i ask i was 12?
* Worked in a dive shop for all the summer filled Normal Air tanks, and Nitrox tanks.
* Done a couple decompression dives

What to do:

*Anything not on the list above.. =)


I've been trying for years to figure out where to start, however I have not really been able to get started. I'm tried of not doing anything about it, and not having everything i set out to do. I finally have the money and the job. I wanna know where I start. Should i go to a local dive shop and get what I can or is their a local private trainer in Ausin Tx?

Thanks for anything that takes the time to read my bad grammer. English was never my strong suit it was always math.

I think the first thing you need to consider is whether you can make a living as a Scuba instructor and whether you will be happy with the income level.

You might want to consider aiming for a parallel career path. Get both traditional formal education/training and work on your Scuba instructorship as a secondary parallel career path.

Doing so might allow to have a career iwth good benefits and the joy of teaching students about the wonderful world of Scuba diving.

Most of the instructors I know have full time jobs in addition to being Scuba instructors. The same is true of all the dive masters I know.

 

[TheGnome]

I'm happy to make little money. As long as I can get though life getting to dive in the ocean I think i would be just happy. My other cereer path was C++ Programming however I just still dont know where to get start on this. Any ideas?

 

[CharlieSierra]

Is there a way to answer this without sounding like a parent??

I'll try not to sound 'parental', but I gotta say Ronbeau has good advice. I've been dirt poor, and I've had more money than I should. I've had jobs I disliked and jobs that I still tell stories about to anyone that will listen. A constant in my ability to rebound during bad times and excel through good times was my level of education. Unless you are in a highly skilled profession a degree is a degree is a degree. Get one.... quickly. Long gone are the days that a person worked for the same company from the day they entered it until retirement. You need to be prepared at all times for layoffs, mergers, moves, etc.. Whatever your situation, falling back onto a position that requires a degree in tough times, in my experience, is way better than not having one. It's not about making little money, it's about living and not starving - been there, done that, just trust me on this one. Did I mention that getting a degree is a good thing?

Remember, action drives results. Identify people that are currently in the position you have interest in (Dive Instructor, Programmer, etc.) and simply call/e-mail and ask them what advice they may have for you once you complete your degree. Be sure to have some questions ready (pay, advancement potential, and the big companies to work for are typcial questions). I got a call like this once. Impressed the heck out of me, and was happy to give the person on the other end more than my $0.02 worth of insight.

Hopefully some of the instructors, DM's, and forum members from the IT world will chime in for you and provide a snapshot of what it is like to work in that field once you have your degree. Good luck!

Chris

PS: Get your degree!

 

[billyf]

It depends on what agency you are going to teach for.

First you need to get too Dive Master.

Get with your LDS and map out a path to Dive Master.

After you get to DM then you just take the IDC and your set. It’s a lot of work and money to get there, may take a year or two, depends on how much you want to spend and how fast you want to spend it.

 

[Spectre]

My other cereer path was C++ Programming however I just still dont know where to get start on this. Any ideas?

Go to school for a CS degree [Math could work too.. that's what I have]. Keep your eyes and ears open for internship jobs while you're in school to get real world experience as well as resume' fodder.

I did a summer internship in one company, did a semester co-op with another company and upon graduation I had full time offers from both. Went for the company I did my summer internship with... and I've been with them for almost 14 years now.

 

[Meng_Tze]

Can't argue with that................even if you do nothing with the degree (like myself), it gives you two things:

Shows employers you are capable of working and thinking at a certain level (that is all a degree tells me, the rest is a benefit and can be learned)
Is a definite fall back in difficult times...

These two will allow for always having food on the table and a clean set of clothes

Hence go for a field that has wider potential.... studying anthropology gives less opportunity (less need for this and the need usually is already filled) than say, applied physics or mathematics.

 

[ianr33]

Are you wanting to be a Technical Instructor? (this is in Technical Diving Specialities)

 

[Scared Silly]

Your young ... figure out how to become a DiveMaster. Seems like Utila and Roatan are good places to do that. Make enough money to keep a roof over your head, food in your belly, and a beer in your hand. See what you think of that for a while. Then see where you might want go with that. Who knows.

To a certain degree (pun intended)- I am going to disagree with folks about the degree thing - when "get your degree" is said it is implied that they are speaking of a 4 year college degree. A 4 year degree shows you can learn but you may not have a skill. And in many case is a waste. On the other hand there are 2 year programs that are very much skill oriented. Most times there are degrees associated with them. These are just as valuable as a 4 year program.

 

[Fat]

I have over 300 dives and now just doing my DM but i have some numbers for you to think about most DI i know make 100 to 150 a day after there cost. Thats a trimix fill not even the bout trip to the wreck. Now my tec instrustor makes more then that and i haft to pay his cost on top of that but your a 19 year old with 50 dives you cant ask for any of that. Go to school work on your dive resume so when your are set up in life your can start to work on your DI more and then youll have the resume to ask for more money.