Where can I get certified?
- Thread starter lougotzz
- Start date
fishybudguy
Member
not to bash you mr gold fish but ssi or sdi are great padi will take your money and not teach you anything......well maybe just bare bones stuff but hey ask your local scuba shop and they will point you in the right direction...padi is old school and behind in tech ssi and sdi are awesome and wil explain new stuff like dive computers good luck.....you will love it
tgreene
Reefer
Not to bash YOU, but in regards to PADI (or any agency for that matter) it depends greatly upon the instructors... If you want the best of the best, go GUE!
I'm PADI certified, but I also chose to pay more for 1-on-1 training for my OW, and have since done AOW, EAN, NIGHT, EFR and am in the process of DEEP, DPV and RESCUE. Once I have MASTER DIVER knocked out, I'm going to SSI for SOLO and then GUE for FUNDIES and TECH1 then CAVE.
I just received my OW cert the last weekend of March of this year, and already have 92 logged dives and am diving commercially thanks to SeaJay. In fact, we just spent the entire past week working at the Georgia Aquarium and logged probably close to 30 hours under water!
From my perspective, getting your OW cert is only the beginning, because if you really want to become a highly skilled diver you will seek out a top-shelf mentor such as SeaJay (like I did), and then you will focus on receiving as much additional training both professionally and by diving with elite divers (ie: SeaJay) as much as you can. My skills have increased 10-fold over the 19 days I spent on the road, where I logged 45 dives, with all but 5 of them being commercial dives while working with & learning from SeaJay.
The advanced level skills that I feel that I am just now beginning to posess (though certainly need lots more refining), I owe solely to SeaJay's guidance rather than some diving certification agency. However, it was my PADI instructors that provided me with the initial skillset and desire to want to achieve more!
BTW: If anyone here is interested in a like new Cressi S116 BC I'll make you a great deal, because after just spending the last 7 days diving a Halcyon BP/W, I feel that I can no longer dive a jacket style BC... Especially since my desire is to become a Tech diver anyway!
-Tim
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Yes, perhaps, maybe, someday, eventually, the great GUE will finally roll out their O/W class :lol: Until then we get to listen to them complain about how crummy everyone else's program is :hmm2:
tgreene
Reefer
It varies some, but most places I've seen will cost you roughly $400 when you take into account that you generally have to purchase Mask, Fins, Snorkel and Booties from the shop doing the instructing... Depending upon which gear you choose to purchase, it can cost a lot more!
For example, our LDS (Local Dive Shop) charges $100 for classroom and pool sessions for your OW cert (Open Water = basic) and then has an additional fee for the actual OW check dives. When I did my OW dives, we went to Vortex Spring in Florida and it cost me $450 + meals and my share of fuel.
I also elected to do private 1-on-1 instruction which cost me about double the usual classroom fee, but was well worth it in my opinion since I was the sole focus of my 2 instructors.
After it was all said and done, I ended up roughly spending the following:
- $200 for classroom & pool.
- $65 for PADI OW packet.
- $450 for check dives with included entry fees, air and lodging for 3 days.
- $400 for essential gear because I seriously upgraded and also have a mask w/ corrective lenses.
BTW: I have a like new Cressi S116 BC for sale for super cheap, because it has to go so that I can buy the best of the best in stupidly expensive gear so that I can take more classes!
-Tim
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SeaJayInSC
New member
Hhahahahaaa!!! That's freakin' funny...
The best divers I know say exactly the same thing. Congrats, Tim, you're in great company!Yikes!
I dunno, bud... When I tried that I went broke. For me, trying to afford all of the cool gear gave me a different mindset the first time someone offered me $100 to go find something they'd lost underwater. Next thing I knew, I had others offering me to work underwater for pay.
...Then I had two customers. Then five. Then ten.
I quit my full-time job at 30, 'cause that's when my diving income exceeded my "regular job" income. Now there's 271, plus the "big" jobs like the Georgia Aquarium, underwater work for the government, trenching and splicing fiber, cable, telcom and water utilities, and the like.Hey, man... If you love it, you'll do it. And if you do it best, the money will follow.
Next thing you know, you'll own trucks and boats and compressors and enough gear to bring small armies with you when diving.
...And my company is only 5 years old.
Imagine what it'll be like at 10 or 20. Right now, our growth is only about 125% annually because we're in the middle of a recession. Diving? I wouldn't do anything else for a living.
Wish I'd done it from the outset instead of spending 15 years in middle management as a computer guy. Do what you love, and the money will follow.
tgreene
Reefer
It has been for years! :thumbsup:
To be honest, I've pretty much always been blessed to be able to do what I love and love what I do. From becoming a wilderness guide after simply hanging out with the right people for awhile, then a photo journalist for AP, then a graphic designer/programmer working in fields where I have lots of interest, to becoming a professional reefkeeper with top $helf clients, to now dabbling with the commercial diving... LIFE IS GOOD!
It was Lee Iacocca that wrote the book "Work Is My Play", and I honestly believe that to ever be successful in life one must follow their dreams wherever they may lead. While I don't know what tomorrow will bring, I do know that I'll strive to get the most out of whatever it is.
-Tim
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SeaJayInSC
New member
I couldn't agree with you more, Tim. We're very lucky people, aren't we?
We're very lucky people, aren't we?
tgreene
Reefer
"I feel better than James Brown..."
When we were in love I pretended you didn't exist
That way I loved you more
You suggested we get married and move into a house
I suggested that we jump overboard
And live underwater in the lost city of Atlantis
Where mermaids sing
And tuxedoed dolphins bring you breakfast
One year later I was transfered to the moon
Worse pay, better hours
I was transfered to the moon
Worse pay, better fellow workers
I built our love out of blood
I went to the dentist and told him "take out my heart"
I feel better than James Brown
I feel better now
I feel better than James Brown
I was attending Mardi Gras with Fidel Castro
Bucksome cross dressers threw fake gold coins at our feet
As we discussed the fate of the revolution
Suddenly, CIA men dressed in bikinis
Tried to stab us with fountain pens
Fidel blew mustard gas from his cigar
And immobalized the lot of them
19 tequilas later we had a deal
Havana goes back to the mob
And Fidel and I open a chain of Kentucky Fried Chicken shops
Ain't life sweet? I feel good
I feel better than James Brown
I feel better now
I feel better than James Brown
I feel better now, how do you feel?
I feel better than James Brown
I feel better now
I feel better than James Brown
I feel better now
I feel better than James Brown
I feel better now, how do you feel
http://popup.lala.com/popup/576742240406619513 <-- Crank up your speakers!
When we were in love I pretended you didn't exist
That way I loved you more
You suggested we get married and move into a house
I suggested that we jump overboard
And live underwater in the lost city of Atlantis
Where mermaids sing
And tuxedoed dolphins bring you breakfast
One year later I was transfered to the moon
Worse pay, better hours
I was transfered to the moon
Worse pay, better fellow workers
I built our love out of blood
I went to the dentist and told him "take out my heart"
I feel better than James Brown
I feel better now
I feel better than James Brown
I was attending Mardi Gras with Fidel Castro
Bucksome cross dressers threw fake gold coins at our feet
As we discussed the fate of the revolution
Suddenly, CIA men dressed in bikinis
Tried to stab us with fountain pens
Fidel blew mustard gas from his cigar
And immobalized the lot of them
19 tequilas later we had a deal
Havana goes back to the mob
And Fidel and I open a chain of Kentucky Fried Chicken shops
Ain't life sweet? I feel good
I feel better than James Brown
I feel better now
I feel better than James Brown
I feel better now, how do you feel?
I feel better than James Brown
I feel better now
I feel better than James Brown
I feel better now
I feel better than James Brown
I feel better now, how do you feel
http://popup.lala.com/popup/576742240406619513 <-- Crank up your speakers!
SeaJayInSC
New member
Was, Not Was... Didn't they have a couple of hits in the '80's?
Love that punchy sound. Very cool song.
You know, now that you mention it, I DO remember you saying that. Didn't get the reference at the time. Makes sense now.
My turn:
http://www.deepsouthdivers.org/old/songs/drowninthenow.mp3
Love that punchy sound.
Very cool song.You know, now that you mention it, I DO remember you saying that. Didn't get the reference at the time.
Makes sense now.My turn:
http://www.deepsouthdivers.org/old/songs/drowninthenow.mp3
tgreene
Reefer
tgreene
Reefer
I'm not familiar with it, but I think I should be listening to from atop a parking garage somewhere...
Speaking of parking garages; I just so happen to have had some very quality garage time with the "The Dead Milkmen" back in '85... Not just 1 of 2 of the guys, but the entire band for a couple of hours! :smokin:
SeaJayInSC
New member
What?! No way! Are you serious? I LOVED the Dead Milkmen...
Wow... In '85... Too cool! Just as their stuff was starting to get big...
How 'bout this one? http://www.deepsouthdivers.org/old/songs/bent.mp3
Wow... In '85... Too cool! Just as their stuff was starting to get big...
How 'bout this one? http://www.deepsouthdivers.org/old/songs/bent.mp3
tgreene
Reefer
It was actually the night that they had signed their first big contract, July 4th 1985, and it was at the top of the parking deck at the Krannert building at Purdue... Do you remember the song "Stuart"..? Well, they were playing at the small trailor park that Stuart owned and lived in, and I worked with a close friend of Stuarts at the time, so I was there all day for the BBQ and uber party that ensued.
Their old website archives you to have a blurb dated 7-4-85 about just this occassion and there was a pic of me sitting with my back to the camera. I had long curly hair and was wearing a grey t-shirt as I recall. Yes, I was immortalized on the Dead Milkmens official website.
Oh yeah, I know where the Tarantula lives!
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SeaJayInSC
New member
No way... Holy smokes, bud, that's cool.
