Choosing The Best Tech Diving Instructor
There are many things to consider when choosing the best technical diving instructor. Some of these things can be checked easily, while others are less tangible and easy to judge. Sometimes it is important just to meet with an instructor and talk, even for five or ten minutes, in order to find out whether they are someone from whom you will be able to learn.
You should make sure that an instructor you are considering taking a class with is fully qualified. They should be able to prove that they have been trained as a diver and as an instructor on a course accredited by a trustworthy organization such as PADI. You should also check what their highest level of qualification is, and make sure that it is higher than the course that you are about to take. You want your instructor to be as knowledgeable as possible, and certainly to know more than you will, even at the end of the course. It is also a good sign if they are continuing to train and take more professional level courses, as this shows that they are genuinely interested in being the best possible instructor and in keeping up to date with the latest developments in technical diving.
A good diving instructor should be experienced, both as a diver and as an instructor. Find out how long they have been diving and teaching others to dive. Talk to them about the sort of diving that they like to do, and look for someone who enjoys technical diving themselves as well as someone who has experience with teaching it in a controlled environment. The best instructors have a lot of personal experience of diving in different places, and of what can go wrong during a dive, and they are happy to help you to learn from their experiences.
There are several ways that you can check how well trained, knowledgeable and experienced an instructor is. The dive school where they work may describe their instructor’s backgrounds in promotional material and on their website. Your instructor may also have their own personal website where they talk about their training and about their personal dives. There should also be a database of their certificates, articles and book available to view at the diving center or in their classroom. You should be able to look at this before you sign up for the class.
As well as making sure that a technical diving instructor is qualified for the job, you should try to find out how good a teacher they are and whether you will find it easy to learn from them. It is important to find someone with whom you feel comfortable and from whose teaching style you will receive the maximum benefit. This is largely a personal choice, as different people will learn best in different ways, and the compatibility of students and instructors is dependent on personalities and interests.
You can find out more about an instructor’s personality and teaching style by checking whether they have a good reputation in the local dive community and what their students have said about them in the past. There may be quotes from students in the promotional material for the course, but remember this has been carefully selected to give a good impression. If you know someone or can contact someone who has previously taken a course with the instructor, you can get a truly unbiased view of their teaching style and ability. If you can meet the instructor before you commit to taking a course with them, you will also be able to judge whether you will be able to get along with them and learn well.
Once you have found the best technical diving instructor for you, it will be a good idea to build an ongoing relationship with them. If you enjoy the course and feel that you have a good teaching relationship with the instructor then you should try to come back to them when you want to take your next technical diving course.