Top tips for choosing your MSDT Specialty Instructor Courses

So you’re doing your MSDT and you need 5 specialty Instructor courses, but the big question is which specs to choose?!  I was in the same position when selecting my Specialty Instructor Courses as an MSDT intern at Blue Season Bali.  Read on for my 3 top tips for selecting which Specialties could be right for you.

1. What areas of diving are you passionate about?  It is so important to choose specialty courses that you will be excited to teach and able to promote with enthusiasm to your students.  So take some time to think about what areas of diving get you fired up, what is that one thing on a dive that really excites you; are you a passionate wreck diver?  Do you love discovering the names of fish or plant species?  Are you keen on navigation skills?  Or is equipment knowledge an area you excel in?

2. Play to your strengths.  It isn’t just about passion for a topic; you may be really keen on deep diving but if you get narked at 20m perhaps focusing on deep dives as a specialty isn’t for you.  So consider what your strengths are as a diver and help that to guide you as to which specialty to choose.

3.  Consider marketing.  It is worth thinking about what will be a sensible choice to sell in your area.  For example if you work in a tropical island then ice diver specialty will not be the right choice, on the other hand if you work in a colder environment then considering a dry suit specialty course may be a popular course chosen by many of your customers.  If you work somewhere with strong currents then drift diver specialty would be an excellent option to promote.  Remember to think about the dives you offer as part of the Advanced Open Water Course and consider how that could influence student choices for specialty course upgrades.

Those would be the key points I recommend you consider as you make your selections for your Specialty Instructor Courses, but most importantly remember that every diver and every instructor is different and the selections you make have to be right for you.  Once you have chosen your courses do some research and find a Course Director who is passionate in similar areas and will be able to inspire you as you become an instructor in your chosen areas.

Good luck in your MSDT journey, please post below any tips you have for an MSDT intern, or let us know your experiences instructing different specs.  Click here to get more information on MSDT internships with Blue Season Bali.