IANTD has it's strength in the technical arena, although it has recreational courses as well. But at the end of the day, if you choose the right instructor, you'll learn the same thing regardless of which badge they decide to teach under on that day. (That's a long winded way of saying, choose your instructor, not the course )
I am interested in Nitrox, and a few other things which PADI and IANTD both offer. I have the opportunity to go out to Rhodes Greece this summer, and I have 2 offers.. I can work for a 5 star PADI Dive Center, or I could possibly work for an IANTD Dive Center to do my DM and maybe more.. I really don't mind about crossing over. what do you think?
Depends on what you want to do with it. If its Holiday Dive mastering then may be the PADI option might be better, I say this because PADI centres out number IANTD centers at least 20:1 so gaining work might be easier, some PADI centres will only want PADI dive masters its all in the sales pitches (a whole chapter in the manual) IANTD is more of a Technical agency so you might actually learn more without the whole PADI sales pitch but might be restricted by the number of centres you can DM at. Bottlefish will probably know more about it as he's a PADI and IANTD instructor, PM him. BK
I think you've pretty much summed it up BK, it all depends on what the end game is I'd also say, try and get out to see them both, do a bit of diving with them before you make a decision or any commitments.
Thanks for the info. I will go check them out. If I were to go for the IANTD DM how easy is the Crossover to PADI DM? Would I have to take another Exam? or would I be able to cross over with paying the PADI fee..?
You would need to complete the course in it's entirety. PADI DM teaches you how to assist on PADI courses and assist a PADI instructor, so the IANTD course wouldn't be all that useful. As BK says, what's the end game, where do you want to go with the diving? If you want to head down the Pro Instructor route, then I'd say PADI would be the better choice. However if you just want to expand your diving, then I would be more inclined to suggest the tech route, or saving your money and simply spending time in the water.
I would kind of like both.. HaHa.. I think I will go down the PADI route but do some extra courses when I can afford it.
