When I was 17, I wanted to buy my first car, I had saved up around £2,000 and was searching through newspapers and Auto Trader (before the internet was a “thing”) then one day a car came up for £500, it looked smart and saved me a load of cash that I could spend on insurance ☹ (plus it was black and I really wanted a black car)
And against the advice from my Dad (who was a mechanic and actually knew what he was talking about), I bought it – I was saving money, why did it matter?
So off I went and got the car, I was super proud of myself, I’d managed to buy my own car, saved money and I was loving life.
The car had some “quirks” for sure – When I pulled the handbrake on, the volume of the radio went up!??!?
The “Check Engine” light, kept flickering on and off like some 80’s trance disco….
And the window kept getting stuck halfway down (which isn’t great when raining and it rains a LOT in the UK) ….
Anyway… I was still happy it was my little car and I had freedom!!
Until a week later and I went round a sharp corner at around 40mph and one of the front wheels fell off…… Literally fell off?!
I cashed into a lamp post and watched as the wheel continued at 40mph down the street, causing mayhem and knocking old ladies and their shopping over.
Luckily, I was ok, but the car was a complete right off, the axel had snapped, and the front of the car looked like a crumpled crisp packet.
£500 and the rest, gone… and now because I had spent the money that I had saved on the car and insurance. I couldn’t afford to buy another one.
So how does this little story relate to choosing your PADI Instructor Development Course?
I think you can probably see where I am going with it……………
Being a PADI Scuba Diving Instructor, is an amazing job, I don’t even see it as a job weirdly, I am just thankful to both myself and the universe that I somehow get paid to teach people Scuba Diving… I still have moments of “honestly, how is this possible?”
However it has a really really serious side, how many jobs are there in the world, that you LITERALLY have someone’s life in your hands, where there is just you and your customer underwater and you are responsible for getting everyone back on land safely.
So when choosing your PADI Instructor Development Course, please don’t choose your Course Director and Dive Centre, based on Price or Location alone.
WHO is teaching you, is much more important…
If you are currently a PADI Divemaster, you get a copy of the Undersea Journal every quarter, in there you can find “Frequent Trainer Worldwide Course Directors” where it names Platinum, Gold and Silver Course Directors all over the world and rewards them for their contribution to Professional Diver Education.
Obviously, this is not the only factor to look at, it’s a tool though.
Do your research, find out who will be teaching you how to do this amazing, yet responsible job.
How many IDC’s are they running, what connections do they have?
Your Course Director is your Course Director for the rest of your Career. I know that I could call my Course Director who taught me today and say “I am looking for a job in Phi Phi, Phuket, Koh Phangan etc, who do you know?” and he would be able to give me a list of people to contact. (if my boss reads this, I am not doing that though)
On the other side, as a Dive Centre Manager when I receive applications for work from Instructors, what’s the first thing I look at? You guessed it, who taught their IDC.
Don’t let your heart rule your head on this one, you are spending a lot of time and money and are about to change your life, why would you look for the cheapest way of doing it?
Cheap, is just that…. Cheap…..
You need quality, proper mentorship, experience, professionalism but most of all, you need solid foundations to go off into the world as a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor.
Don’t let the wheels fall off on your future.
We have 2 PADI Instructor Courses left of 2023, we are extremely open and transparent about Course Structure, fees and our TEAM of Multi Award Winning PLATINUM Course Directors are always available for a chat about any queries, questions, or advice you need.
If you are interested in Joining our IDC’S please email gopro@pktdiving.com and we would be more than happy to help you shape your future.
Check our website for course fees at www.pktdiving.com
PADI Instructor Development Course Dates;.
📅 August 2023
🌐 Online 15th August
🏖️ Here on Phi Phi Island 1st September
📅 November 2023
🌐 Online 15th November
🏝️ Here on Phi Phi Island 1st December
We can't wait to help you on your journey :-)
Emma Hudson
Dive Centre Manager - PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer
PKT Diving
PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Centre
129 Moo.7, Phi Phi Island, Krabi 81000
Mobile - +66 96 949 3934