Open Water Diver is your first step to beginning your adventures in exploring the underwater environment.  There are many options out there and it can be very confusing on just how to get started off on the right foot.  Here are some tips.

When selecting where you're going to do your training, here are some questions to ask:

1) Are the classes going to provide the PADI Open Water Certification?  If not, then your not getting the certification from the largest recognized dive training agency in the world.  PADI has put the money into their training programs, and it shows.  Just look at the materials that they provide (books, DVD's etc) compared to others.  Heck...just look at their website compared to other training agencies.  It doesn't mean that you can't get good training that's not PADI, but it does mean that your not comparing apples to apples.  It costs a facility or an instructor much less money to train you as something other than PADI, so it should cost you less as well.

2) Is the instructor that's going to conduct your classes able to teach follow on specialty classes like wreck diving, deep diving, nitrox diver, u/w video, or others?  If not, then not only will you have to go elsewhere to continue your education, but this might also tell you about the experience level of the instructor that your considering.  It's important that one understands that there are MANY different levels within the instructor ranks.  "Open Water Instructor" other wise known as just a "scuba instructor" is just the beginning.  After that (at least in the PADI system) we have Master Scuba Diver Trainer, then IDC Staff Instructor, then Master Instructor, then finally comes Course Director.  These additional ratings require gaining certifications, additional training, and additional experience.  If the instructor you've found can teach specialties, how many specialties can they teach?  How well rounded and experienced are they?

3) Is the instructor certified to teach other related courses like Emergency First Response CPR and First Aid? That's pretty standard for new instructors but now how about Diver Alert Network (DAN) oxygen first aid courses?  Are they a DAN Diving Emergency Management Provider Instructor?  What about a Diving Emergency Specialist?  These are all ratings that you should expect a seasoned dive professional to attain.  Is your instructor certified to teach any "distinctive" specialties?  This will tell you what kind of continuing education that the instructor has undergone besides just getting their instructor rating.  Has the instructor taken any rescue or emergency medical type courses outside of the standard PADI courses? Like maybe those offered by Wilderness Medical Associates, Divers Alert Network, Dive Rescue International, or Rescue 3.

4) Does the course fee include all materials?  For example, PADI REQUIRES the following:

•         Open Water Manual and DVD or Open Water CDROM
•         Dive Tables, Electronic Recreational Dive Planner (ERDP), or Multi Level ERDP.
  
•         Divers log book

This doesn't mean that it's ok for them to let you "borrow" one or more of these items during class.  It means that you should have your own copy of all of the above for you to keep.  A dive certification doesn't expire, and part of being able to keep diving without having to "re-certify" is refreshing yourself.  How is a student to do that if the materials are returned to the dive shop or instructor after the class is over?  Don't be fooled, it's not ok to not be able to keep all of your class materials after the class is over. (and not at additional cost either)

5) Does the course include all Scuba gear and air fills? Sometimes the air fills for the pool sessions are included, but not for the open water dives, this could cost an additional $30-40. Is the exposure protection included, or will you need to rent it?  Here in the NW a 7MM suit for a weekend is around $25-$35.  In addition when looking at course cost, often times the fee for the course depends on the student purchasing their personal snorkeling equipment from the shop where the course is conducted (markup included).  So sure the course is $250, and sounds like a great deal, but when you go and buy your "basic" package from them that includes mask, snorkel, fins, boots, and gloves, you get to the register and your now paying $400 for the gear and $200 for the class.  Hmmm.  You should be able to get that "basic" gear for around $200-250, so suddenly it's not such a great deal.  Ask ahead of time how all that works.

6) How about the equipment that is used? Is it 10 year old dive gear that has been beat up by student after student?  Is the gear the latest models, still available, something that you would want to own as a current diver, or is it older style "class equipment" often placed into class service because no one else wants it?  This is a common practice as a way of saving money.  After all "...why waste new gear on open water students?" HiTek Scuba says, "WRONG ANSWER!" and you should to.  New students are going to be the most unfamiliar with their gear (obviously) and that also means that they will have the least amount of skills to deal with a piece of malfunctioning equipment.  That sticky inflation button that an experienced diver just handles while mumbling under their breath, can be life threatening for someone with less experience.

7) More questions to ask are: How many hours of classroom instruction? How many hours of pool time?  How large is the class size?  You might be surprised at the answers to some of these.  In addition, more and more "scuba schools" are going to completely online training.  That's great for learning math, but we've conducted little experiments with online learning and online classes for use with scuba.  We've found that the student that attends an actual in person class with his/her instructor retained more of the information presented than the student that "learned" entirely on line.  The difference was staggering.  It doesn't mean that you can't home study, but Q and A face time with a good instructor will make a big difference.  In addition, HiTek Scuba has found that more than 6 students in a class in the NW leads to a lower learning level for the students, as does less than 10 hours of classroom, or less than 10 hours of pool work.  When it comes to your life, (and make no mistake people can and do die from scuba diving accidents) more time with your instructor instead of less should be your goal as a student.  If you don't have the time to take out of your schedule to dedicate to learning this stuff well, then you should probably wait until you do.

8) Is the course approved by the Academic Council on Education (ACE) for college credit?  PADI/HiTek Scuba courses are.  Is the class conducted in an optimum learning environment such as a college classroom or other dedicated classrom type facility,  or in the back of a noisy, busy dive store somewhere, or even worse?  I've heard of actual scuba class room sessions being held in coffee shops like Starbucks, restaurants, book stores and the like.  For anything other than a first meeting or some form of informal orientation, this is very problematic.  The noisy distracting environment of those types of locations is absolutely not conducive to learning.  You would never hold your college level physics class at a coffee shop, nor would you want to take a mathematics exam someplace like that, at least not if you cared about your grade.  Yet somehow when it comes to scuba certification courses we don't think of it as anything but "recreation".  This is a horrible trend, "dumbing it down", will lead to more accidents and more injuries.  It should be taken just as seriously as your college education would be.

9) Finally, where are the open water dives conducted?  True NW divers need to be certified in the cold water environment with conditions equal to where the diver will be diving after certification.  This means a trip to the Puget Sound or the Oregon Coast which incurs extra cost at least for Oregon and Vancouver residents.  A lake just doesn't cut it.  It is not appropriate for a diver who is planning on diving in the NW waters to have their open water training in a local NW lake.  PADI standards specifically state that the open water dives need to be conducted at a dive site similiar to where the diver plans to dive.  A NW lake is not in any way similiar to the Puget Sound or the Oregon Coast.  It's also really not appropriate for a diver planning on traveling to tropical locations.  In Truth, if tropical is where the diver is planning on doing their diving then that's where they should do their open water training by use of the referal program.  Anything else is not only just plain wrong, but it actually could violate PADI standards.

So these are some tips that you might want to consider when you're thinking about getting scuba certified.  As long as you, the student, knows what questions to ask, you're going to be better equipped to make a good selection.

We hope to see you out there safely enjoying your diving adventures soon.