I have used a dpv and love them. I went to rent one a couple of years ago and they said they needed my C card which I didn't even know existed. After me saying that was rediculous, the shop told me that because of the amount of people getting injured from coming up too fast from like 100 feet or so or going down too low without checking their depth the dive insurance companies now require it. That really does make sense.
Some shops are starting to do it but many don’t. I see their point though these divers being irresponsible will be the reason that becomes universal. Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan, Blake
I’m a big fan of advanced buoyancy classes, so many different uses. For open water students, I think it’s a great time to work on trimming out your personal gear if you rented in class, for photographers, how to get super close to an object then back away disturbing nothing, cleaning up an ow student that took open water from someone else and has zero time neutral and is crazy over weighted, someone prepping for tec where they haven’t put in the time and want some drills to practice… Dpv for liability reasons I see more and more asking for it. Cave dpv or cave ccr dpv is definitely a good one. A good foundation and time in ow with the recreational or tech ow dpv can translate well.
BSAC's Buoyancy and Trim workshop is assessed and you get a grade at the end of it. A sufficiently good grade is a prerequisite for accelerated deco and any technical courses, so the course/workshop is required to prove that you're sufficiently proficient to take courses where not being good enough can get you injured.
Blake, Well, Where do I start with this one???? Every agency has BullShit classes. For the record, I am an SSI (38+ years) and SDI/TDI (30+ years) instructor. I am not going to bash any agency. The names are/may be different but the content is about the same. Blake is generally right that they will never ask you if you have that specialty rating card. the most important cards you need are a C-card (Not a Padi card), a Nitrox card, and your Visa/Master Card. 1) Perfect Buoyancy (SSI) -- We have a sad state as an industry that we have to have this class. Part is the fact our OW classes are such a "Fast food" teaching style. In that, you have approximately 12-16 hours to get through the Pool and Lecture part of the class and you can only devote X number of minutes to each skill (and then there are the problem students) - (Thank god the industry as a whole as gotten way from just add weight to the buoyancy problem). So we needed to develop a class to teach proper weighting - it is an art. 2) Boat diving - This is more about the etiquette of diving around boats and the do's and don'ts. It is kind of a BS class. 3) Computer class - It is more of an overview and kind of what to look for in a computer, and planning on how to use one or buy one. It makes you ask a few questions about the type of diver you think you want to be. There is no reason to buy a Tec computer if you are going on 1 dive trip per year and may or may not use Nitrox. (A class that time has passed by and is no longer really relevant 4) Project AWARE (PADI) Classes... How to pick up trash on the bottom of the ocean -- Complete BS. Although, teaching about the issues started well - still a BS class 5) Drift Diver (SDI & PADI) / - Kind of stupid - If the students listen in the original class and listen to Dive briefings they will tell you how to dive in a drift 6) Shore/Beach diving - see above -- 7) Waves & Tides and Currents (SSI) - See above - This class would be good and needs a major rewrite (Materials have not changed since the 1990s. 8) Delayed Surface marker Buoy class --- Practice it is the pool a couple dozen times - learn to see what it does with your buoyancy. 9) kind of disagree with Blake - Photo/video classes --- I think that having the knowledge and the expertise about lighting, F-stop, aperture, and housings, set-up is crucial. (do you need the card - no) paying an experienced Photo/video instructor is worth it. (I will say don't take a photo class from me either) Just my 2 cents from Denver Colorado usa ray
Dang Ray, wasn't expecting a novel lol. But your input is always valued and appreciated! Thanks for being a part of the channel from the beginning! Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan, Blake
I use the buoyancy course to teach swimming techniques. heli turn, back kick etc. The course is a great opportunity to learn/teach your students whatever movement/trim/buoyancy skills they want to improve under direct supervision of a professional.
Or... you could do what I do and just simply charge for a couple of hours of diving and teach them all of the things you just mentioned. There's absolutely no need for a certification. Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan, Blake
"certification"...sure. But some of these can still be super useful courses to you to advance your knowledge further. Whether or not someone will "ask for certification" or not.
@@TampaBayDiving It's called "learn by doing". Some people understand things better when physically doing them. Some people may benefit from some of these courses.
I mean most of them are just ways to get more focused training on something you’re struggling with. Very not necessary but can be helpful to have someone with experience and knowledge to coach you.
I did more than ten dives with a GUI instructor (says the cert card), and I must admit she is different. No maintenance to the gear, not a clue on navigation, nor buoyancy, not interested on the position of the buddy. But boy she is convinced on long hose configuration!🤣 but not able to tell what the advantages are…. Dive organisations all have 1 in common……money! All the rest is BS. You decide on what kind of diver you will become, not the organisation. I take from everybody that can teach me anything no matter the organisation. In the end it is all about the fun. And if I can make fun of those who are convinced that they are the best……even more fun! 🤣🤣
Number 1a: ALL students should be taught all skills from day one in the pool from a horizontally trimmed, neutrally buoyant position. Absolutely NO KNEES. PERIOD. EVER. Buoyancy SHOULD be taught during Open Water, and students should have a pretty good handle on it by graduation. THEN they should NOT be allowed to attend an Advanced Open Water course until AFTER they have had at least a MINIMUM of 9 cumulative hours underwater time spent practicing and internalizing all their basic core fundamental skills. At which point, they should reasonably be expected to have an estimated 90% mastery level development of buoyancy and CORRECT "trim" by the time they complete their Advanced course. Teaching "buoyancy" correctly involves the instructor having a VERY good knowledge about proper breathing and the biology and physics of breathing, minimum weighting, the psychology behind panic development and natural nervousness (and the physical behaviors exhibited by students caused by these things), a REAL education of learning psychology, curriculum development, and methods and principles of instruction (your development course as a qualified instructor should be 8 months to a year long, not some b.s. week long "ITC"... You're NOT a real educator at that point, you're a glorified checklist reader...), putting them in GOOD equipment (not a jacket BC and cheap fins), and being able to effectively convey all of these concepts to students in a simple and supportive manner. Number 1b: The "card collector" mentality is indeed a problem. It is associated with a psychological frame of mind that is typical of individuals who have increased risk for inherently dangerous activities--exactly like diving. I've seen these people countless times over 23 years both as a flight instructor and dive instructor. They typically want every certification for one of two reasons: a) they are a braggart, and they want to show off, which is a terrible trait for divers to have; or b) they have a false belief that "certifications" directly equal skill development and expertise. Both of which are wrong, and both of which are a red flag for a student to have. On the other hand, students that spend a significant time after any course they take simply practicing all the skills they learned during the actual course tend to become highly knowledgable, highly skilled, highly capable, safe divers, and will find they don't "need" any other course unless such course actually provides them with new relevant KSA's outside of the core pipeline. Number 2: "Boat Diver" is absolute b.s. as a specialty. You do it during your Advanced course, and all it takes is a few briefings on procedures in order to do safely. Number 3: ALL divers these days MUST learn BOTH decompression theory using dive tables (and be proficient at using dive tables for repetitive dive planning) AND dive computers. There's no excuse for not showing a diver how to use a computer during their Basic course, and virtually EVERY computer out there is self-explanatory and comes with a manual. Number 4: Now... I completely disagree with DPV being b.s. DPV's can kill you, and it is not only essential for divers to learn how to use them CORRECTLY, but also the finer details in controlling them properly in the water so you don't mistakenly alter your profile without knowing or realizing you did so. Just like Full-Face Mask, Drysuit, Altitude, Nitrox, etc., DPV's are a type of diving and a tool used for diving that exists OUTSIDE the standard core progression pathway. They present new knowledge not actually covered or taught in any standard course, and their participation/use can result in serious injury or death. So a course is absolutely necessary for these things. Number 5: I completely agree with Hunter/Collector being an absolute b.s. course, and the same for the other two you put in group A, UNLESS, the diver is in a university program that leads to an actual Scientific Diver qualification (typically with follow-on membership in a scientific diving organization, such as AAUS). THEN I would say the other two courses are good as they SHOULD teach the skills necessary to perform underwater surveys and studies correctly. Number 6: Unless your intent is to become a published underwater photographer or videographer, then this course is: a) 99% of the time not taught by anyone who actually knows anything about quality techniques for doing these things; and/or b) is not going to help you actually become good at these things. Photography and videography is difficult enough as it is when you're planted on the ground, have full control over your body, and have solid reference points, but underwater, it is far more difficult, and even MORE so if you're a diver who has not yet master perfect neutral buoyancy, correct and proper breathing, proper finning techniques, minimum weighting, correct and proper trim positioning, and spatial awareness. Photography is exactly like shooting firearms, and uses the exact same fundamentals of marksmanship: Steady and Stable position; front sight focus; breathing control; and trigger squeeze... All of which are vastly more difficult underwater, let along the science behind both (white balance, focal points, aperture, shutter speed, framing, etc.). Very few individuals out there have ANY business teaching this course, and unless your goal is to seek them out and learn from them so you too can pursue a career doing the same, it's simply a waste of your time. NOTE: I would add to this list "wreck diving" (the recreational level course, not the technical penetration version), and the overwhelming majority of all PADI "specialty" courses as MOST of them are simply made up garbage money grabs that neither provide any real skills or new relevant knowledge for divers.
My apologies, I wasn’t even diving 19 years ago. At least we can try to help the new divers coming in. Thanks for tuning into the channel! Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan, Blake
My local dive charter operator teaches you how to boat dive -"It's really simple folks, Take one giant step - if you're now wet you've successfully entered the water, otherwise take another step". Still diving my OW C-Card 40 years later, most dive instructors get a giggle when they look at the photo - then they see the certification date.....
Ohhh boy. My Instructor told me Padi had a special course for chinese tourists who only dove in a resort pool. Resort diver. They actually get a plastic card.
Some people need extra buoyancy/trim training, after open water they might have only ever had 4 or 5 dives. First dive I did after passing my open water was an embarrassment. Sure I could just dive more with my buddy but why does it hurt to get an extra couple of dives with instruction focussing on that skill. I was an inexperienced diver in dry suit and 4 metre visibility. Sometimes people might need extra help, wetsuit in Florida with 20 metre vis and more experience, maybe less valuable course. But useful for some people's circumstances.
All students need to work on perfecting their buoyancy but there's no need to overcharge for a certification when they could simply pay a divemaster or instructor for a couple of hours of diving to sharpen their skills. Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan, Blake
i took the Peak Performance Buoyancy when i had 30 dives. I truly believed it was going to help me but it didnt. Pure GARBAGE I wish someone had told me about taking workshops with TEC/CAVE Instructors to have decent buoyancy.
Those are great sources to learn from! Then when you go through ccr training you learn buoyancy all over again. Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan, Blake
Good information, but I’d reduce the volume of the background music when you are talking. Make what you say the focus and save the music for intro, ending and sidebars
Mr. Stockwell, I understand that I will not change your mind about SSI. But here are some thoughts and information on SSI. First, I have been an SSI instructor for 38+ Years, and I also am an SDI/TDI instructor for 30+ years. In Denver, Colorado, USA (I do not work for SSI and I am not a Dive shop owner). I am a part-time instructor. (My real career is as a Realtor) You are correct, in that in order to be an SSI Instructor you have to be associated with an SSI-associated retail store. It has been that way since 1970. SSI does that for a couple of reasons - to support the retail dive shop. It helps the consumer in many ways. 1) access to good quality equipment. It will be an authorized service center for the equipment they sell. (They are not required to sell certain brands). 2) good training - (we adhere to more consistent training quality. We have to SSI monitor at the shop - Usually one of the owners. (Yes, Other agencies have good quality instructors and standards). 3) because of that our insurance is generally lower than independent instructors. 4) A retail store will have Air/Nitrox fills. 5) Training records are kept at the store. 6) I don't have to go out and secure and promote getting students - I can and I do. not to mention securing classroom and pool time and places. 7) then you setting up travel headaches. 8) SSI also teaches in their Pro-development courses and their ownership information how to acquire, develop, comminent, and retain, customers. and pro-leadership. In my opinion, that is the best way - it allows me to focus on teaching students to be safe and dive. ( I do know of some independent instructors who if they don't like a skill don't teach it. ) there is no accountability. look at their website -- www.divessi.com/en/home just my 2 cents ray Ray Brienza (SSI IT 4612) (SDI/TDI 1712) Cell: 303-910-5854 Email: raybrienza@gmail.com
It's actually wonderful because you have a shop that supports the instructor with proper gear. Lots of "independent" instructors out there using bad equipment and sharing certain agency books to keep costs down... Also allows instructors pro fees to decrease with every certification taught, lots of pros over cons with SSI.
I have used a dpv and love them. I went to rent one a couple of years ago and they said they needed my C card which I didn't even know existed. After me saying that was rediculous, the shop told me that because of the amount of people getting injured from coming up too fast from like 100 feet or so or going down too low without checking their depth the dive insurance companies now require it. That really does make sense.
Some shops are starting to do it but many don’t. I see their point though these divers being irresponsible will be the reason that becomes universal.
Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan,
Blake
I’m a big fan of advanced buoyancy classes, so many different uses. For open water students, I think it’s a great time to work on trimming out your personal gear if you rented in class, for photographers, how to get super close to an object then back away disturbing nothing, cleaning up an ow student that took open water from someone else and has zero time neutral and is crazy over weighted, someone prepping for tec where they haven’t put in the time and want some drills to practice…
Dpv for liability reasons I see more and more asking for it. Cave dpv or cave ccr dpv is definitely a good one. A good foundation and time in ow with the recreational or tech ow dpv can translate well.
BSAC's Buoyancy and Trim workshop is assessed and you get a grade at the end of it. A sufficiently good grade is a prerequisite for accelerated deco and any technical courses, so the course/workshop is required to prove that you're sufficiently proficient to take courses where not being good enough can get you injured.
Save your money and use that money to dive more. More experience is the best training.
Blake, Well, Where do I start with this one????
Every agency has BullShit classes. For the record, I am an SSI (38+ years) and SDI/TDI (30+ years) instructor. I am not going to bash any agency.
The names are/may be different but the content is about the same. Blake is generally right that they will never ask you if you have that specialty rating card. the most important cards you need are a C-card (Not a Padi card), a Nitrox card, and your Visa/Master Card.
1) Perfect Buoyancy (SSI) -- We have a sad state as an industry that we have to have this class. Part is the fact our OW classes are such a "Fast food" teaching style. In that, you have approximately 12-16 hours to get through the Pool and Lecture part of the class and you can only devote X number of minutes to each skill (and then there are the problem students) - (Thank god the industry as a whole as gotten way from just add weight to the buoyancy problem). So we needed to develop a class to teach proper weighting - it is an art.
2) Boat diving - This is more about the etiquette of diving around boats and the do's and don'ts. It is kind of a BS class.
3) Computer class - It is more of an overview and kind of what to look for in a computer, and planning on how to use one or buy one. It makes you ask a few questions about the type of diver you think you want to be. There is no reason to buy a Tec computer if you are going on 1 dive trip per year and may or may not use Nitrox. (A class that time has passed by and is no longer really relevant
4) Project AWARE (PADI) Classes... How to pick up trash on the bottom of the ocean -- Complete BS. Although, teaching about the issues started well - still a BS class
5) Drift Diver (SDI & PADI) / - Kind of stupid - If the students listen in the original class and listen to Dive briefings they will tell you how to dive in a drift
6) Shore/Beach diving - see above --
7) Waves & Tides and Currents (SSI) - See above - This class would be good and needs a major rewrite (Materials have not changed since the 1990s.
8) Delayed Surface marker Buoy class --- Practice it is the pool a couple dozen times - learn to see what it does with your buoyancy.
9) kind of disagree with Blake - Photo/video classes --- I think that having the knowledge and the expertise about lighting, F-stop, aperture, and housings, set-up is crucial. (do you need the card - no) paying an experienced Photo/video instructor is worth it. (I will say don't take a photo class from me either)
Just my 2 cents from Denver Colorado usa
ray
Dang Ray, wasn't expecting a novel lol. But your input is always valued and appreciated! Thanks for being a part of the channel from the beginning!
Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan,
Blake
I use the buoyancy course to teach swimming techniques. heli turn, back kick etc. The course is a great opportunity to learn/teach your students whatever movement/trim/buoyancy skills they want to improve under direct supervision of a professional.
Or... you could do what I do and just simply charge for a couple of hours of diving and teach them all of the things you just mentioned. There's absolutely no need for a certification.
Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan,
Blake
"certification"...sure. But some of these can still be super useful courses to you to advance your knowledge further. Whether or not someone will "ask for certification" or not.
You can learn everything from a DM without paying for a course.
Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan,
Blake
@@TampaBayDiving It's called "learn by doing". Some people understand things better when physically doing them. Some people may benefit from some of these courses.
I mean most of them are just ways to get more focused training on something you’re struggling with. Very not necessary but can be helpful to have someone with experience and knowledge to coach you.
LOL... this is awesome!
@SpencerPhotography Glad you enjoyed the content. What type of photography are you interested in?
Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan,
Blake
If you ever see a GUE Fundamental Course, you know why PADI and SSI are just for zhe big mass. The most of the Instructors would fail.
@LordF100 thanks for the tip!
Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan,
Blake
I did more than ten dives with a GUI instructor (says the cert card), and I must admit she is different. No maintenance to the gear, not a clue on navigation, nor buoyancy, not interested on the position of the buddy. But boy she is convinced on long hose configuration!🤣 but not able to tell what the advantages are….
Dive organisations all have 1 in common……money! All the rest is BS. You decide on what kind of diver you will become, not the organisation.
I take from everybody that can teach me anything no matter the organisation. In the end it is all about the fun. And if I can make fun of those who are convinced that they are the best……even more fun! 🤣🤣
I've got OW certified with Naui 32 years ago. I'm good.
@jodeci888 you’ve probably seen it all lol! Please share with new divers if you have the chance!
Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan,
Blake
@@TampaBayDiving Passing it along to my 16 year old daughter.
@jodeci888 👍🏻💪🏻
Be sure to share some pics of you guys enjoying your dives together!
Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan,
Blake
Number 1a: ALL students should be taught all skills from day one in the pool from a horizontally trimmed, neutrally buoyant position. Absolutely NO KNEES. PERIOD. EVER. Buoyancy SHOULD be taught during Open Water, and students should have a pretty good handle on it by graduation. THEN they should NOT be allowed to attend an Advanced Open Water course until AFTER they have had at least a MINIMUM of 9 cumulative hours underwater time spent practicing and internalizing all their basic core fundamental skills. At which point, they should reasonably be expected to have an estimated 90% mastery level development of buoyancy and CORRECT "trim" by the time they complete their Advanced course. Teaching "buoyancy" correctly involves the instructor having a VERY good knowledge about proper breathing and the biology and physics of breathing, minimum weighting, the psychology behind panic development and natural nervousness (and the physical behaviors exhibited by students caused by these things), a REAL education of learning psychology, curriculum development, and methods and principles of instruction (your development course as a qualified instructor should be 8 months to a year long, not some b.s. week long "ITC"... You're NOT a real educator at that point, you're a glorified checklist reader...), putting them in GOOD equipment (not a jacket BC and cheap fins), and being able to effectively convey all of these concepts to students in a simple and supportive manner.
Number 1b: The "card collector" mentality is indeed a problem. It is associated with a psychological frame of mind that is typical of individuals who have increased risk for inherently dangerous activities--exactly like diving. I've seen these people countless times over 23 years both as a flight instructor and dive instructor. They typically want every certification for one of two reasons: a) they are a braggart, and they want to show off, which is a terrible trait for divers to have; or b) they have a false belief that "certifications" directly equal skill development and expertise. Both of which are wrong, and both of which are a red flag for a student to have. On the other hand, students that spend a significant time after any course they take simply practicing all the skills they learned during the actual course tend to become highly knowledgable, highly skilled, highly capable, safe divers, and will find they don't "need" any other course unless such course actually provides them with new relevant KSA's outside of the core pipeline.
Number 2: "Boat Diver" is absolute b.s. as a specialty. You do it during your Advanced course, and all it takes is a few briefings on procedures in order to do safely.
Number 3: ALL divers these days MUST learn BOTH decompression theory using dive tables (and be proficient at using dive tables for repetitive dive planning) AND dive computers. There's no excuse for not showing a diver how to use a computer during their Basic course, and virtually EVERY computer out there is self-explanatory and comes with a manual.
Number 4: Now... I completely disagree with DPV being b.s. DPV's can kill you, and it is not only essential for divers to learn how to use them CORRECTLY, but also the finer details in controlling them properly in the water so you don't mistakenly alter your profile without knowing or realizing you did so. Just like Full-Face Mask, Drysuit, Altitude, Nitrox, etc., DPV's are a type of diving and a tool used for diving that exists OUTSIDE the standard core progression pathway. They present new knowledge not actually covered or taught in any standard course, and their participation/use can result in serious injury or death. So a course is absolutely necessary for these things.
Number 5: I completely agree with Hunter/Collector being an absolute b.s. course, and the same for the other two you put in group A, UNLESS, the diver is in a university program that leads to an actual Scientific Diver qualification (typically with follow-on membership in a scientific diving organization, such as AAUS). THEN I would say the other two courses are good as they SHOULD teach the skills necessary to perform underwater surveys and studies correctly.
Number 6: Unless your intent is to become a published underwater photographer or videographer, then this course is: a) 99% of the time not taught by anyone who actually knows anything about quality techniques for doing these things; and/or b) is not going to help you actually become good at these things. Photography and videography is difficult enough as it is when you're planted on the ground, have full control over your body, and have solid reference points, but underwater, it is far more difficult, and even MORE so if you're a diver who has not yet master perfect neutral buoyancy, correct and proper breathing, proper finning techniques, minimum weighting, correct and proper trim positioning, and spatial awareness. Photography is exactly like shooting firearms, and uses the exact same fundamentals of marksmanship: Steady and Stable position; front sight focus; breathing control; and trigger squeeze... All of which are vastly more difficult underwater, let along the science behind both (white balance, focal points, aperture, shutter speed, framing, etc.). Very few individuals out there have ANY business teaching this course, and unless your goal is to seek them out and learn from them so you too can pursue a career doing the same, it's simply a waste of your time.
NOTE: I would add to this list "wreck diving" (the recreational level course, not the technical penetration version), and the overwhelming majority of all PADI "specialty" courses as MOST of them are simply made up garbage money grabs that neither provide any real skills or new relevant knowledge for divers.
👌🏻
I needed this video 19 years ago.
I took boat diver bc I thought itd be useful because i mostly dive from boats. What the fuck!
My apologies, I wasn’t even diving 19 years ago. At least we can try to help the new divers coming in. Thanks for tuning into the channel!
Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan,
Blake
My local dive charter operator teaches you how to boat dive -"It's really simple folks, Take one giant step - if you're now wet you've successfully entered the water, otherwise take another step". Still diving my OW C-Card 40 years later, most dive instructors get a giggle when they look at the photo - then they see the certification date.....
Gotta watch those agencies. Glad you’re still diving after all this time!
Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan,
Blake
Great that they teach boat diving, could you mention name and location...
Ohhh boy. My Instructor told me Padi had a special course for chinese tourists who only dove in a resort pool. Resort diver. They actually get a plastic card.
🤦♂️ Don’t even get me started on padi.
Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan,
Blake
Some people need extra buoyancy/trim training, after open water they might have only ever had 4 or 5 dives. First dive I did after passing my open water was an embarrassment. Sure I could just dive more with my buddy but why does it hurt to get an extra couple of dives with instruction focussing on that skill. I was an inexperienced diver in dry suit and 4 metre visibility. Sometimes people might need extra help, wetsuit in Florida with 20 metre vis and more experience, maybe less valuable course. But useful for some people's circumstances.
All students need to work on perfecting their buoyancy but there's no need to overcharge for a certification when they could simply pay a divemaster or instructor for a couple of hours of diving to sharpen their skills.
Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan,
Blake
i took the Peak Performance Buoyancy when i had 30 dives. I truly believed it was going to help me but it didnt.
Pure GARBAGE
I wish someone had told me about taking workshops with TEC/CAVE Instructors to have decent buoyancy.
Those are great sources to learn from! Then when you go through ccr training you learn buoyancy all over again.
Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan,
Blake
Try the Ratio IX3M2 gps tech+ gps
Good information, but I’d reduce the volume of the background music when you are talking. Make what you say the focus and save the music for intro, ending and sidebars
👌🏼
I will disagree about DPV Course. Many rental places will not rent DPV unless cert is shown.
👌🏼
👍😎🤿🇵🇭!!!!
🫡
SSI sucks! By joining this agency you cannot be a independent Instructor. That's right. You can only teach through a shop thats in you're town.
I don’t know anything about SSI for that . Maybe it will change one day.
Plan Your Dive and Dive Your Plan,
Blake
Mr. Stockwell,
I understand that I will not change your mind about SSI. But here are some thoughts and information on SSI.
First, I have been an SSI instructor for 38+ Years, and I also am an SDI/TDI instructor for 30+ years. In Denver, Colorado, USA (I do not work for SSI and I am not a Dive shop owner). I am a part-time instructor. (My real career is as a Realtor)
You are correct, in that in order to be an SSI Instructor you have to be associated with an SSI-associated retail store. It has been that way since 1970. SSI does that for a couple of reasons - to support the retail dive shop. It helps the consumer in many ways. 1) access to good quality equipment. It will be an authorized service center for the equipment they sell. (They are not required to sell certain brands). 2) good training - (we adhere to more consistent training quality. We have to SSI monitor at the shop - Usually one of the owners. (Yes, Other agencies have good quality instructors and standards). 3) because of that our insurance is generally lower than independent instructors. 4) A retail store will have Air/Nitrox fills. 5) Training records are kept at the store. 6) I don't have to go out and secure and promote getting students - I can and I do. not to mention securing classroom and pool time and places. 7) then you setting up travel headaches. 8) SSI also teaches in their Pro-development courses and their ownership information how to acquire, develop, comminent, and retain, customers. and pro-leadership.
In my opinion, that is the best way - it allows me to focus on teaching students to be safe and dive.
( I do know of some independent instructors who if they don't like a skill don't teach it. ) there is no accountability.
look at their website -- www.divessi.com/en/home
just my 2 cents
ray
Ray Brienza (SSI IT 4612) (SDI/TDI 1712)
Cell: 303-910-5854
Email: raybrienza@gmail.com
It's actually wonderful because you have a shop that supports the instructor with proper gear. Lots of "independent" instructors out there using bad equipment and sharing certain agency books to keep costs down... Also allows instructors pro fees to decrease with every certification taught, lots of pros over cons with SSI.