801 Seabreeze Blvd. Ft. Lauderdale, FL (954) 770-DIVE (3483)
 

Welcome to Sea Experience PADI Career Development Center (CDC) and the Bahia Mar Resort, on the beach in Sunny Fort Lauderdale, FL. If you are serious about a career in scuba diving, there is no need to look any further. Let me explain why.

My name is Bill Cole and I, along with several of my staff, have been training people for careers in diving for well over 35 years at the Bahia Mar Resort in Fort Lauderdale, FL. It is no wonder that this location is considered the home of PADI career Instructor training. Greg Mackay (RIP) and I co-founded Pro Dive back in the 1980’s and would still be going under that name to this day but due to a tragic accident. Some things had to change, including the name.

If you are looking for the cheapest, quickest way to become an instructor, we are not for you. We have always understood that a high-quality program costs a little more and this is reflected in the pricing. We are more expensive than our competitors. If you are looking for the highest quality scuba career training out there, you’ve come to the right place.

We pride ourselves on a true career curriculum that have launched thousands of people on their life changing careers in scuba. Here are just a few positions and industry firsts that our former staff and alumni have achieved.

  • Numerous PADI Examiners. Regional Managers. International Marketing Managers. Instructor Training Managers. PADI HQ staff around the world.
  • DAN Director of Training. National Field Services Manager.
  • SSI Director of Training. International Sales Manager.
  • The first to introduce the ECO PRO program to spearhead the protection and repair of our underwater environment.
  • ECO PRO Developer, Dr. Alex Brylske, Educational developer of PADI Instructor development and student manuals (The man who wrote the book).
  • Owners of hundreds of dive businesses and resorts around the world.
  • Numerous Captains of Live Aboard dive boats.
  • Hundreds of PADI Course Directors.
  • Numerous PADI Platinum Course Directors.
  • Thousands of PADI IDC Staff Instructors.
  • Most of our competitors will have at least one former employee or student of ours on their staff – this is a great honor for us to see our curriculum living on in the scuba industry.

Without these great people, we could not have achieved the industry status we have. Along with these tremendous people come numerous accolades and advantages. Here are just a few of those.

  • All our facilities are in one convenient location, on the beach at the Bahia Mar Resort, Fort Lauderdale, FL.
  • 10 minutes from Fort Lauderdale international Airport.
  • PADI’s first Career Development Center in the world.
  • Home of PADI SCUBA career training for over 35 years.
  • Since the early 80’s, we have been at the forefront of PADI SCUBA career training.
  • We are not an instructor mill that has training starting every week or two. We focus on careers in scuba.
  • PADI’s most chosen Career Development Center in the world, not just the USA.
  • More PADI instructors have started their careers at the Bahia Mar location than anywhere else in the world.
  • Sea Experience also offers tremendous Job Placement program to get you out there and living the dream yourself. We start the process before you even get here.
  • Proud contributor to PADI’s largest Instructor Exam in the world. Over 150 people attended.
  • The first Career Development Center to have all training facilities in one location.
  • Our staff were first to develop and introduce the PADI Resort Operations Specialist in the world. Do not mistake our program to other people who use theirs for free labor on their boats and in the store.
  • The Resort Operations Specialist was the first to be trademarked and copyrighted in the USA. Since then, often mimicked, but never copied.
  • Sea Experience is a PADI 5 Star Career Development Center, licensed by the Commission for Independent Education through the Florida Department of Education. This ensures that your training is provided by a facility that meets the strictest standards not only required by PADI but also the State of Florida. Very few schools can boast this prestigious honor. This license is required for all Florida dive centers conducting instructor level training.
  • Sea Experience is APPROVED FOR VA EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS. Veterans using Chapters 30, 31, 33 (AKA Post 9/11) and 35 are eligible to apply and enroll in professional scuba career development training at Sea Experience.
  • Sea Experience is also State of Florida Department of Education Vocational Rehabilitation Approved.
  • First to conduct scuba career resettlement training for numerous countries including Germany, Australia, South Africa, Canada, and Great Britain.
  • Numerous PADI Platinum Course Directors, who will be teaching your classes. We do not allow IDC Staff Instructors to teach our instructor courses.

During the last 35 plus years, many competitors have come and gone. In fact, there are none of our original competitors around today. Why is that? Some say that is the nature of the industry. I say no. If you have a great staff, solid curriculum, terrific location, training that evolves with time and the industry and don’t try and fool people with gimmicks, half-truths, and sub-par training, you will stand the test of time, quality, and competition. Here are a few of the gimmicks you will see used to mislead you from getting the most qualified and credentialed scuba career training program in the world.

  • We conduct over 20 PADI IDC’s a year.
  • We have the largest alumni or previous graduates.
  • All our facilities are close together.
  • We offer free dormitory housing for the first 12 to sign up – so sign up today or you won’t get it!!!
  • We are cheaper than Sea Experience – but not for the same experience and qualifications.
  • We offer similar classes to Sea Experience……beware…in name only.
  • We offer free resort training – or is that cheap, no cost labor for their boats and classes? But you must sign up for other classes first.
  • We offer free job placement – ask what that really looks like!
  • We will help you with dive theory prep when you get down here – oh, there is a cost to that.

Look around and ask how long these imitators have been training instructors to the high level that Sea Experience has.

Your class will be taught entirely by one of our PADI Platinum Course Directors. You will receive your training from people who have worked in the scuba industry. Our career training staff has over 100 years of scuba and industry experience and well over 30,000 dives between them. They are well versed in all aspect of the scuba industry that include, store, boat, resort, training agencies, live aboard, safety organizations, military, and PADI instructor examiners. They have all lived the dream in the scuba world. So whatever part of the scuba industry you are interested in, these guys have already been there and got the T-Shirt.

The scuba industry knowledge that you absorb, along with the experience and expertise you gain from your professional scuba courses will set you on the road to a fun, fulfilling and most of all, a successful career in the scuba diving industry.

Finally, you are looking at an exciting and rewarding career in scuba. Make sure you look closely at all the information provided here and at our competitors. As an educated consumer you will quickly see-through other schools/facilities slick marketing and realize there is only one place for you to blow bubbles and get the greatest foundation in scuba career training.

I look forward to seeing you here and feel free to reach out and ask any questions.

Safe diving.

Bill Cole
Owner, founder of Pro Dive and Sea Experience.

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