There are more than 128,000 PADI professional members around the globe. There are 6,600 PADI Dive Centers and Resorts worldwide. PADI operates in 186 countries and territories.
The PADI Platinum Course Director is the highest accolade awarded to only a few Course Directors worldwide each year, for their instructional achievements and commitment to professional-level educational excellence. “We constantly strive to give the best possible training to our instructor candidates.
Course Directors teach PADI Instructor Development Courses (IDCs) and other instructor-level training, and thus are the scuba diving industry's most influential leaders and role models. This rating is the highest and most respected professional rating in recreational scuba diving.
PADI Sold For $700 million USD.
Course Director shall be defined as an individual assigned sole principal responsibility for the design and/or presentation of a course (except where the course is a 1000-level College Course) or an individual assigned these responsibilities in a team-taught course.
In conclusion, there is very little difference between PADI and SSI. As a recreational diver, the differences are so small that if you aren't completing a course, you probably won't notice. Both maintain high standards of training around the world. Both are globally acknowledged as diving qualifications.
A modern and properly cared for steel tank lasts up to 50 years. Considering the number above that sounds like less time. Steel tanks require more maintenance and are more susceptible to corrosive damage.
Your PADI certification does not expire. Participation in PADI ReActivate™ is not mandatory, but recommended as an easy way to refresh your foundational scuba safety knowledge and skills if you haven't been diving in a while.
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As a privately held company, the PADI organization does not release detailed statistics or personal information related to PADI Divers or PADI Members. The most frequently requested global statistics are available in this statistic report.
PADI Course Directors are PADI Master Instructors who have taken the next step and joined an elite group of instructor trainers. Course Directors teach PADI Instructor Development Courses (IDCs) and other instructor-level training, and thus are the scuba diving industry's most influential leaders and role models.
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I have been evaluating some local dive shops around me for taking continuing education classes, and came across one shop that advertised its "platinum" course director.
PADI is a lot about awards that mean little to anyone but PADI. They give awards for the most students taught, which is dubious at best, there is no award for the BEST students taught, because that would be a hard metric to count, and PADI is all about making it easy.
Platinum Course Directors issued a minimum of 100 professional-level certifications in 2014, at least 30 of which were at the Open Water or IDC Staff Instructor level, and an overall 70 percent or higher professional-level continuing education ratio.
Platinum Course Directors issued a minimum of 100 professional-level certifications in 2014, at least 30 of which were at the Open Water or IDC Staff Instructor level, and an overall 70 percent or higher professional-level continuing education ratio.
I wonder if the quantity indicator of being a platinum course director is almost an inverse indicator of quality. Sure, at some point you want a CD who trains more than two people a year... but do you want someone who pumps out two new instructors a week on average? And at a 70% professional con-ed ratio?
If their instructor students are passing the IE at a high rate than it would seem that whatever they are milling out knows and can do what PADI wants them to know and do.
A few years ago (2010 I think) there were 63 worldwide. I know (knew?--not sure if once you get it you keep it or if it's a yearly thing) one of them. She has certified 4 or 5,000 divers I think, and a whole whack of Instructors. She co-owns an LDS that also got the "best PADI" shop in NA or all of PADI Americas (?).
To make (some) money, you will have to be actively involved in recruiting instructor candidates. You would have to start by being very active at teaching rescue divers and divemasters. The flip side of the discussion, here, is: I've seen instructors become Course Directors and then expect the local dive shop to do all the recruiting and marketing for them, while they sit at home and wait for an IDC to be scheduled. That doesn't work.
The Course Director actually has to be 'available' when the IDC Staff is teaching. But, ya... The IDC Staff can do most of everything.
Actually a IDC staff instructor can do this as I understand. Only the first presentation must be done by a CD .
It used to be that dive instructors were dime a dozen and being a Course Director was something special. Nowadays, Course Directors are also dime a dozen. There's one every corner. Therefore, expect the pay to be as low as it is for dive instructors, especially since they can easily be replaced by an IDC Staff instructor who will most likely do it for free to 'gain experience' for his/her Course Director Training Course (CDTC) application.