There are several
different scuba diving organizations. PADI (Professional Association of Diving
Instructors) is the largest and most well known internationally, but there are
others, including BSAC (The British Sub Aqua Club), NAUI (National Association
of Underwater Instructors), SDI (Scuba Diving International), TDI (Technical
Diving International) and CMAS (Centre Mondiale des Activities Subaquatiques).
Each system is
just a different approach to diving. They each require divers to get
recreational tickets before progressing through further courses and gaining
more experience and becoming professionals. I am a PADI instructor, so my
explanation will stick to that system.
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| Scuba instructors sometimes face distractions! |
Preparation
Before you can
even think about becoming a scuba instructor you need to be extremely
comfortable in water, including rough and cold water, all water essentially.
This includes being able to swim. It sounds obvious, but if you are
going to be responsible for other people in the water being a strong swimmer
is imperative. You also need to have some diving experience. PADI insists on
divers having a minimum of 50 logged dives to start a Divemaster course (those are dives deeper than 5
metres that lasted longer than 20 minutes). It doesn’t sound like much but
there is a huge difference between the behaviour of a diver who has done 10
dives and one who has done 50.
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| Ready to go diving! |
Courses
The recreational
courses of Open Water, Advanced Open Water and Rescue Diver (which also
includes a first aid qualification) need to be completed before you can
approach the first professional level, which is the Divemaster course. The Open
Water course teaches people to dive. Advanced Open Water furthers those diving
skills. The Rescue Diver course teaches in-water rescue techniques.
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| Confined water training in the Open Water course |
Divemaster and
Instructor Courses
Divemaster is the
first PADI professional level. Divemasters are qualified to supervise divers
and assist with teaching through the supervision of student divers. Divemasters
cannot teach scuba diving. The knowledge jump from Rescue Diver to Divemaster
is the largest. The Divemaster course covers, and students sit exams in the following
eight subjects, physics, physiology, equipment, decompression theory and
Recreational Dive Planner use, Dive skills and the environment,
Divemaster-conducted programs, supervising certified and student divers.
To become an Open
Water Scuba Instructor, Divemasters need to complete an instructor development
course, in which they are taught and then evaluated on their teaching
techniques. They also need to complete further exams.
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| Dive courses are often informal. |
Professional
Development
Beyond becoming
an OWSI there are other levels to go to. Once you have become a specialty
instructor for five topics or more (wreck, boat, night, deep, altitude and
nitrox diving, underwater photography, underwater videography and underwater
fish identification for example) and completed over 25 certifications you can apply to be a Master Scuba Diving Trainer.
And, beyond that you can become a Staff Instructor and ultimately a Course
Director, and train other instructors.
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| Internships provide valuable on-the-job experience in the diving industry |
Costs
Costs vary around the world, but completing the
mandatory five courses before you start your Instructor course and all the diving quickly adds up. If the cost seems prohibitive ask
dive centres if they offer Divemaster internships. Many do and internships are
a good way of earning valuable experience while furthering your qualifications.
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| Cylinders always need filling at dive centres. |
Job satisfaction
I found enormous
satisfaction from teaching people to scuba dive. Sharing the fears of newbies,
coaxing them through the courses and encouraging them on their first open water
dives was all so rewarding, not to mention the sense of accomplishment that you
can help another person to achieve.
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| One happy diver |
Of course you
don’t need to be an instructor to enjoy working in the diving industry, I know
a lot of very happy Divemasters who have never been tempted to teach. The
instructor ticket is useful in obtaining work visas in some countries though.
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| Two diving instructors pull silly faces... |
Has this
information tempted you to train up and become a scuba instructor? I hope so
because it is a wonderful life.
