Continuing this month’s theme of diving career opportunities, today will focus on the Instructor Development Course Staff Instructor, IDCS.

A Staff Instructor is like an assistant instructor for a Course Director. A PADI Course Director conducts PADI instructor-level training: Instructor Development Course (IDC) or it’s two sub courses, Assistant Instructor and Open Water Scuba Instructor and Specialty Instructor training. An IDC Staff Instructor can conduct almost all portions of an Instructor Development Course, under the supervison of a Course Director. Also, an IDC Staff Instructor can independently conduct the PADI Assistant Instructor course.

PADI Continuing Education is key to staying at the top of your game

IDCS fits between the Master Scuba Diver Trainer and Master Instructor ratings in the PADI certification hierarchy. If you want to become a Master Instructor, you need to become a Staff Instructor first.

So, why become a PADI IDC Staff Instructor? For me, initially it was just the next step to become a Master Instructor (more on Master Instructor in a future post). What I found out, though, as I progressed through the IDCS program is that I really enjoyed teaching new instructors. It became the logical next step: I’ve taught divers, now I start training the next generation of Instructors. Not what I’d intended, but like almost all other scuba training I’ve taken, it changed my life. I knew I was going to have to become a Course Director.

What was it that was so life-changing? Two things spring to mind. First, working with a higher caliber of students. These were people whose lives had been changed and they were headed towards being an instructor. That’s still one of the many things that keeps me in the instructor-development business. Second, it was a complete refresh of my instructor knowledge with plenty of updates. Since part of the IDC Staff Instructor course is auditing a complete Instructor Development Course, I saw how the process had changed since I had become an instructor and I updated my knowledge of standards and how to teach.

What goes into the IDC Staff Instructor course?

• An orientation to what a Staff Instructor does & can do

• Standards, Procedures and the curriculum for Instructor Development Courses

• How to teach the Assistant Instructor Course

• Learning how to evaluate and develop instructor candidates

• Auditing a complete IDC

• Upping your game

  • Teach a classroom presentation, but it has to score higher than the minimum for new instructors.

  • Teach a confined water presentation, also with a raised bar

  • Take the same Dive Theory exam (Physics, Physiology, Equipment, RDP and Dive Skills & Environment), but with a higher minimum score

  • Take the same PADI Systems, Standards & Procedures exam, and pass with a higher minimum score.

  • Perform a skill circuit, same as instructors & divemasters, but with more polish & higher scores.

  • Evaluate classroom, pool and open water presentations

What I realized during my IDCS course is that I had to role model the complete PADI system. I had to know it inside-out, so I could explain not just the “how” but also the “why.” behind what we do. I’d been teaching for many years as an Instructor before I started down the road of Instructor Development. Revisiting the training, I saw it through different eyes. I remembered being stressed during my Instructor Development Course, I could empathize with the candidates. During my IDCS course, though, I wasn’t under that stress, so I could pick up on some of the details I’d missed or forgotten.

If you’re headed towards Master Instructor or are eyeing Course Director, IDC Staff Instructor is a necessary step. Once you’re there, though, you will need to practice what you’ve learned. You need to actually staff Instructor Development Courses and/or train Assistant Instructors. Much like becoming an Instructor, the training prepares you, but you’ve a lot more to learn and you’ll learn it when you’re out teaching. After I became a Staff Instructor, I staffed three IDC’s, with three different Course Directors. I saw three different ways to approach the programs. I found things I liked, stuff I didn’t, and stuff I found I could tweek and make my own. That experience and stuff I continue to learn when I train new instructors helps me to continue to become a better instructor.

So, are you ready to up your game? IDC Staff Instructor is calling for you, will you answer the call?

Dive Careers – Dive shop operations

A friend of mine once told me that many scuba instructors have another job.   He said even he had another job.   He ran the dive shop, so how could that be?   Other than scuba, his other job was in retail—that’d be the shop.

Do you need to be a dive instructor to work in a dive shop?   Do you need to be a divemaster?   Nope, but it does help.   On the flip side, if you’re looking for a job as a dive instructor, being able to work retail definitely helps.   But instruction and retail are only part of the picture.   What else goes on in a dive shop?   Let’s take a look.

In the Business of Diving presentations I use for the PADI Instructor Development Course, we talk about the four “E”’s of scuba: Education, Experience, Equipment and Environment.   These are the four essential parts of a career in dive shop operations.

* Education:  divers need, at a minimum, some level of training to be able to dive safely.   Even for a Discover Scuba experience in a pool, there is a minimum of a thorough briefing and some basic skills. For divers that want to go beyond that, certification is required.  This is where being both part of the instructional staff and the shop staff are key.

* Experience: with the exception of scuba instructors, most divers don’t live to dive in a pool.   A major appeal for scuba is the adventure factor, so good experiences in a variety of locations, seeing cool stuff and exploring are essential.  Successful dive shops run trips for their divers.   Beyond that, as shop staff, divers will ask you about where to go, what to see and things to do.

* Equipment: Scuba is an equipment-intensive sport.   To get the most out of it, you need to have the right toys.   While renting is a great way to start, and is good for some things when you travel, having your own kit can make you a better & safer diver.   How’s that?   Equipment you select, use often and maintain translates into equipment you’re familiar with.   That familiarity eliminates the fumbling, can’t-find-it frustration that you encounter with rental gear.   In a dive shop, we have the equipment for people to purchase.   As a member of the shop team, you’re job isn’t to sell everyone the $10K rebreather.   Rather, it’s to find out what the diver needs and help them make a good choice on gear.

* Environment:   If our dive environment is threatened, there goes our playground.  Don’t dump your trash in my office.  Dive professionals (educators, retail, etc) are on the front lines to educate divers and to help maintain our aquatic playground.

So there’s some of the high-level stuff.  Let’s drill-down to the nitty-gritty with an example day.

* Arrive at the shop before opening hours.   Check that the facilities are clean and clean what isn’t.   In the winter, you might also need to shovel snow.

* Start the compressor and start filling the tanks that were used the night before.

* Make sure any equipment used in the pool is hung-up or put away.

* Once everything is ship-shape, unlock the door and flip on the OPEN sign.

* Check through notes and emails.   Do you need to place any special orders for gear?

* The phone rings.   Someone wants to take the Open Water Diver course.   You ask them a few questions and give them some options for scheduling.   They opt for the weekend class and will come in later that afternoon to pick up books.

* Customer walks in, looking for a new dive light.   You direct them to the display and start asking them a few questions.   Is it for night diving, or just a bit of extra light during the day?   Are they looking for a primary or backup light?   Do they need a backup light, too?   After assessing what they need, you show them a few options to choose from.   Head back to the counter and ring up the sale.

* Things get quiet, so you head back to fill a few more tanks.   On your way back to the sales floor, you check the stock room to see if you’re low on anything.

* You’ve some paperwork to take care of and some certifications to process, so you sit at the desk and work on the computer for a bit.

* Another phone call.   Any upcoming trips?

* Customer walks in—the one that called earlier about Open Water.   You take a deposit and, while they wait, you login to your computer and send them the links for the PADI Open Water Touch app for their iPad’s.   They check their email on their iPhone and see that it’s there.   Satisfied, you shake their hand and remind them to be to class early Saturday morning.

* A handful of people come in over the next couple of hours.   Questions on gear, travel and classes abound.

* Things quiet down enough you can start placing orders for more equipment from your suppliers.   Then you move on and do a bit of work on your website—making sure the latest trip is posted and polishing off a blog entry about the last trip.

* As things wind down in the later afternoon, you start getting ready for your evening Rescue Diver class tonight.   You grab some rescue equipment, like ropes and floats, to discuss in class.

* The evening shop staff start to come in.   You tell them how the day has gone and turn over the sales floor.   Time to make sure the classroom is ready to go.

* Your students start to arrive.   You greet them and usher them towards the classroom.

A lot goes on in a day at a dive shop.   Being able to transition between customers and the behind-the-scenes shop operations is the name of the game.

Here’s a short list of skills that can really feed your diving career:

* computer skills: working the sales system as well as doing website updates, inventory management, etc.

* customer relationship management: this can be a specialized computer system to help you track your customers and their interests or it can just be stuff stuck in your head.   Mary Joe likes to visit Bonaire every year.   Sam hates cold water.   Bob likes live aboard boats and just finished his Master Scuba Diver rating.

* fill station operations: being able to safely fill scuba cylinders

* scuba cylinder inspection: formal training here can be a great benefit, both for your career and dive safety.

* instructional experience: Specialty Instructors can teach courses beyond the core of Open Water, Advanced, Rescue and Divemaster.  Being able to teach a diverse range of courses also helps you stay fresh and avoid burnout.

* inventory control, compressor maintenance, basic carpentry, cleaning skills

* If you’re at a resort or just if your shop owns a boat, having a boat captain’s license can be a tremendous asset.

In a nutshell, there’s a lot you can do to advance your scuba career.   Don’t be overwhelmed, though.   It’s like eating an elephant: you do it one bite at a time.   Pick one thing and focus on it.  Once mastered, move on to something else.

Want to learn more?   Walk into your favorite PADI Dive Center and watch what goes on.

Best of Success!

PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer

“Master Scuba Diver Trainer” The title alone sounds impressive. [Much more impressive than Course Director in many cases.] What does it mean and why should you aim for Master Scuba Diver Trainer? Let’s take a look.

PADI Continuing Education is key to staying at the top of your game

Back in March, I wrote a post on Master Scuba Diver. A PADI Master Scuba Diver has completed Open Water, Advanced, Rescue, five specialties and logged fifty logged dives. You don’t have to be a Master Scuba Diver Trainer to certify a Master Scuba Diver, but it sure helps. New PADI Open Water Scuba Instructors can teach the Peak Performance Buoyancy, Project AWARE and Project AWARE-Coral Reef Conservation specialties right off. They only need to add a couple of more specialties before they can certify Master Scuba Divers, so what makes a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer special?

 What can a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer do?

A PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer (MSDT) can teach five specialties (beyond the three a new Instructor can teach) and has certified at least 25 divers. So, MSDT denotes both experience in teaching and depth in your professional diving education. You’ll recall from my post last week that I highly suggest you train with a PADI Course Director to earn those Specialty Instructor ratings. It’s better for your customers and it’s better for you in the long run, even if it might cost you a bit more for the training. And, if you’re tracking towards IDC Staff Instructor and/or PADI Master Instructor, the additional training with a Course Director will help you better prepare to achieve those goals.

Let’s take a look at some of the most popular specialties and why you should be prepared to teach them.

• Enriched Air
• Dry Suit
• Deep
• Wreck
• Peak Performance Buoyancy (Hey, as a new Instructor, you can teach this!)
• Night Diver
• Rebreather
• Sidemount

Enriched air can extend your bottom time, and we all want to spend more time diving, right? Since most of the work with enriched air diving is pre-dive planning, you can do this without dives. But who wants to do that? We’re divers, so we dive, and with enriched air we can stay down longer to enjoy the aquatic life.

It’s not cold water that’s bad, it’s getting cold. Diving with a Dry Suit keeps you warm so you can enjoy diving in unique places you might otherwise avoid. Staying warm also helps you reduce how much breathing gas (air or enriched air) you use.

Diving is an Adventure! Diving below 60 feet has a unique appeal in that we’re exploring further from our terrestrial home and there are unique things to see down there.

Diving opens up a unique historical perspective with Wreck Diving. Wrecks range from traditional ships to airplanes and even flooded towns, but diving on wrecks or penetrating wrecks requires special training to do it safely. You should be able to offer that training.

Every diver should have good buoyancy control. It’s the number one tip in Project AWARE’s ten tips for divers because it’s one of the best ways to protect the aquatic environment. [And it also protects us and our equipment from scratches, scrapes, dents, etc.] Good buoyancy control also helps you with your breathing gas consumption, as you won’t be working as hard and you can better enjoy the dive.

Night Divers explore the dark. Much like Deep Diving, Night Divers are on an extreme adventure. You can only see what your light shows, which means your buoyancy control better be tip-top.

Take only photos, leave only bubbles. What if you didn’t even have to do that? With a rebreather, it chemically scrubs your exhaled breath so you can re-breathe the gas mixture. Buoyancy control is different from what you may be used to and there are many technical aspects to rebreather training, but you’ll be diving in stealth mode. The fish won’t hear your bubbles.

What’s new in scuba gear? Sidemount! This is probably one of my favorite programs because it feels much more comfortable to me. Rather than having a single (or double) tank on your back, your tanks are slung at your sides. You have a completely redundant life support system: a second tank and regulator system. You can outfit with a pair of AL80’s, doubling a typical air supply. Or you can go with a pair of slightly smaller cylinders (steel 50’s or my favorite, a pair of AL40’s). You can also go with just a single tank slung on one side. The flexibility and redundancy make it one of my favorite programs.

There are the top Specialties being taught. Why aren’t you teaching them as a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer?

Today we’ll look at some of the steps for planning a scuba trip.   Where do you start?

First, do you just want to go diving, want to go to a specific place, want to dive with a specific buddy or group or all of the above?

If you just want to go diving, perhaps the easiest is a place close to home, perhaps within driving distance.   Or maybe you want to go to someplace like Roatan and really want to dive the El Aguila wreck in Sandy Bay, so you need to plan to get there.   If it’s with a specific buddy or group, are there any special considerations?   Does your buddy get seasick easily and maybe you should make shore dives?

Need some help deciding on a destination?   Ask your dive buddies or at your favorite dive shop.   Your favorite PADI Dive Center can get you hooked up with the PADI Travel Network, an excellent resource for dive trips.

Now that you’ve chosen a destination, what next?   If it’s foreign travel, make sure your passport is up-to-date.  Is it a destination that requires vaccinations or that you might need to pack emergency medications?   Check with your Doctor on the medications.   Are there security issues?   Check the US State Department’s website for travel advisories.  Also, a benefit of having a DAN membership is access to the Worldcue Planner, which provides detailed information about locations, including security issues.

DAN is your partner for dive safety

Book your travel.   Your PADI dive center and the PADI Travel Network can streamline this for you.

There are several other steps for planning a scuba trip.   Let’s take a look.

• Let your bank and/or credit card company know where and when you’ll be traveling.   There’s nothing worse that getting ready to leave and pay your bill and your credit card company flags that transaction as fraudulent.
• Bring some cash.   You’ll want to tip the dive operators and resort staff.   You might need to convert money into the local currency.   Be careful that you’re getting an accurate exchange rate.  If you need to get cash while you’re traveling, go to a bank or use a known, safe ATM.   Expect bank fees.
• Check on any entry/exit fees, and know how they can be paid.   For example, there is an exit fee to be paid when you leave Roatan.   A few years ago, they only took cash.   Now, there is a bank office in the airport that can process credit cards to take the fee.   There are additional fees for this, though.
• Check with your airline about baggage fees.   Some allow over-weight sporting good luggage, others may not.   In some cases, traveling first- or business-class with the additional bags & weight allowance can make the extra cost worthwhile, but do your homework.

Okay, you’re all set for your trip.   Is there anything we missed for planning a scuba trip?   Yup–insurance.   Insurance comes in many different flavors.   Here are a few types to consider:

• Medical insurance (in case you’re injured on the trip)
• Evacuation insurance (to get you home)
• Trip cancellation (weather, illness, etc)
• Equipment insurance

Medical insurance can be difficult.   You may have insurance at home, but when you’re traveling abroad, it may be difficult to use.   You may have to pay out-of-pocket and then get reimbursed.   Keep your receipts.   Also, some medical insurance may not cover you when traveling or cover you for scuba-specific injuries and treatment (e.g., hyperbaric treatment for decompression illness).

Evacuation insurance or assistance can be essential.   If you’re injured and need to get back home for top-notch medical care, you will probably need this to help you get home.   Guess what, if you’re a DAN member, evacuation assistance is included as part of your membership for anytime you’re more than 50 miles away from home.   [There have been reports of people using this even for non-diving accidents.]

Trip’s get cancelled.   People get sick.   The weather changes.   Trip cancellation insurance should be part of your steps for planning a scuba trip.  Scuba trips aren’t always cheap, so having a way to get some of that back if your trip is cancelled is good financial sense.

Equipment sometimes get lost or broken.   Think about a flooded camera housing.   Equipment insurance can be used to repair and/or replace your damaged gear.   Again, good financial sense.

Now, where do you go for these services?   I use DAN for my scuba trip travel insurance.   They’re easy to work with and the rates are reasonable.   Everyone I know that has needed them has had a good experience.   Just remember, just dive accident insurance won’t cover trip cancellation or equipment problems.    Make sure you have all the coverage you really need.

Make sure your next scuba adventure is a success.   Planning a scuba trip isn’t trivial, but there are many resources to help.   Good luck and enjoy your adventure!

PADI Specialty Instructor Training

This month will focus on professional opportunities, careers and training.  Today’s post is about Specialty Instructor Training. It is primarily targeted for new PADI Open Water Scuba Instructors who want to learn more about teaching PADI Specialty Diver courses. For you divers that are either considering going Pro or just taking a Specialty Diver course, you’ll probably also find useful information here, too.

PADI Continuing Education is key to staying at the top of your game

What are PADI Specialty Diver courses?

Specialty Diver courses are designed to help divers learn about and experience a specialty area of diving. Specialties go into more depth than the associated Adventure Dive in the PADI Adventures in Diving Program (PADI Adventure Diver and PADI Advanced Open Water). Think of them as a way to fast-track learning about a specialty area of diving, minimizing the potential pitfalls and maximizing the fun. After all, most dive shops probably will sell an underwater light to any diver, regardless of experience, but if you make that first night dive without some training and guidance it might be a really bad diving experience. Specialty training as a diver makes your life easier as a diver.

Three ways to become a PADI Specialty Instructor:

Route #1: a PADI Instructor trains with a PADI Course Director in the specialty area. The PADI Course Director needs to be a Specialty Instructor Trainer in that Specialty, denoting they’ve experience in training instructors and are qualified to train instructors in that specialty diving area. Since this is a training program, new instructors don’t need as much teaching experience or diving experience in the specialty area. Typically, a new PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor can take a Specialty Instructor Course and only needs to document ten(10) logged dives in the specialty area.

Route #2: Apply directly to PADI for a Standardized Specialty. This applies to Specialties that PADI has standardized course outlines for, such as AWARE FishID or Emergency Oxygen Provider. For this route, you have to document that you’ve teaching experience (certified 25 divers) and have diving experience in that specialty (typically 20 logged dives). The application fee is a bit higher than option #1, but you don’t have any course tuition or fees for training. There’s one really, really BIG gotcha here: You’re going to learn to teach these specialties by teaching them. You won’t have the benefit of guidance and suggestions received through option #1. As a new instructor, I chose this route for several specialties, and I think my students suffered from it. They were learning the specialty while I was trying to figure out how to teach it. It wasn’t until years later that I took training from a PADI Course Director and Specialty Instructor Trainer that I realized how much better life would have been had I done that when I was a new instructor.

Route #3: Apply directly to PADI and write your own course outline. This is probably the most intense route. You have to write a course outline and have it approved by the Education team at PADI. Not only that, you need to document proof of teaching experience and diving in the specialty area, as well as document any other training or education you have in that area. For new instructors, I’d suggest you think long and hard about this. It’s not a trivial projected to design a Specialty. I suggest this route for experience instructors, particularly after completing the Instructor Development Staff Instructor course, because you’ll have a better grasp of the PADI educational methodology and PADI system of diver education.

What goes into a PADI Specialty Instructor Course?

Here are the topics covered in a Specialty Instructor course:

• Review the philosophy and purpose of PADI Specialty Diver courses
• Review & discuss the Instructor Outline for the Specialty Course
• Review & discuss equipment requirements for the Specialty
• Review of PADI General Standards and Procedures related to Specialties
• Review & discuss the relationship of the Specialty to the associated Adventure Dive
• Review Master Scuba Diver and Master Scuba Diver Trainer requirements
• Workshop how to price and schedule the Specialty diver course.

Specialty Instructor Candidates must:

• Demonstrate mastery of the skills in the Specialty Diver program
• Present a knowledge development presentation out of the Specialty Diver Course for evaluation by the Specialty Instructor Trainer
• Conduct an open water teaching assignment for one of the skills in the Specialty course for evaluation by the Specialty Instructor Trainer

Since there is potentially overlap if you’re doing many Specialty Instructor Courses, your PADI Course Director may streamline the course layout and not repeat common topics (e.g., review of General Standards). This can be done as part of a Master Scuba Diver Trainer prep course.

From a diver point of view, a Specialty Instructor that has received training in the Specialty is probably the better instructor. Mastery of skills, knowledge and teaching ability had to have been demonstrated to a PADI Course Director. So, ask your instructor how they were trained in that specialty.

After earning some specialty instructor ratings, you might be eligible to be a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer (MSDT). More about that next week. Stay tuned!