dive inst.

Question
QUESTION: I am interested in going to a dive school anywhere from South FL to Brazil. I want to build myself up from the bottom, all the way to Master Scuba Diver. Are there schools that teach mainly scuba diving amongsy other college courses? And if so, how do I find the best one? Thanks for your help.

ANSWER: Hello:  I'm glad to hear you would like to pursue your diving education.  There was not quite information here to be specific in my answer so I will give you several thoughts.

It was not clear if you plan to pursue a career in scuba diving.  The Master Scuba Diver rating is not an instructor level or Dive Master level rating.  It is an advanced level rating achieved when you have about 50 dives, CPR and FA certification, stress and rescue certification, and training in four or five specialties. You can achieve that level of rating through any local dive shop without the need for a special school.

Universities commonly teach the entry level open water scuba course as a PE course.  Some also teach advanced level courses.  I am unaware of any accredited university that teaches scuba as even a certificate level course however.

There are some schools in the geographic areas you mentioned that do focus on teaching divers to become instructors and dive masters of the course of a few weeks.  It was not clear to me if that is what you wanted though.  Along the way, you would become a Master Scuba Diver.

I can't give you any specific recommendations here.  An Internet search should help you find them.  I know there are some in Florida.  You can use resources like ScubaBoard.com to ask questions or read about others experiences on the posts.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the answer. I am actually looking to start a career in diving. I just need to know the best route to take to start from the bottom and work my way up to the top. Hopefully I could work as some sort of assistant or something, learn along the way, and eventually become an instructor, and or Dive Master. Being from MT I don't really have a lot of knowledge on the subject since there isn't a lot of diving in the area. Thanks for your time. Jesse

Answer
OK, this is much clearer.  A career in diving will involve any one or combination of the following:

- working in the retail part of a dive store operation; or being the owner of the store
- being an instructor or dive master for a dive shop or resort operation
- being a captain or captain's mate on a dive boat
- working on scuba equipment as a certified technician
- filling scuba tanks with air or becoming a gas blender (where you fill with something besides normal air)

There are also commercial career routes as well as working for government funded agencies such as NOAA.

In nearly every case, there is a degree of apprenticeship that goes along with the job.  Many instructors are affiliated with dive shops although some are able to make a living independently.

Traditionally, it would be expected that certified divers knowledgeable of diving equipment work in retail.  An instructor requires certification and training.  A boat captain requires training, certification, and experience.  A technician requires manufacturer certification.  Tank operations, filling, and inspections also require training and sometimes certifications.

Clearly, location is going to be a consideration.  As you are likely going to need to be working with an active dive shop, you will want to consider locating yourself where there are busy dive shops.

There are 'schools' that cater to folks that want to fast track to an instructor rating such as ProDive or Hall's Diving Center in Florida.  This is probably a good start to begin your inquiry.