PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS
Become a Pro
Divemaster
Share your passion for scuba diving by becoming a PADI Divemaster. As a divemaster you’ll supervise scuba diving activities and assist with scuba classes. PADI Divemaster is the first step in your diving career.
Academics
To earn your Divemaster rating, you will complete a series of knowledge development sessions, water skill workshops and hands-on assessments for the following:
– The role and characteristics of the PADI Divemaster
– Supervising dive activities and assisting with student divers
– Scuba diver safety and risk management
– Divemaster conducted programs and specialized skills
– Business of diving and your career
– Awareness of the dive environment
– Scuba gear setup and management
– Mapping an open water site
– Conducting dive briefings
– Organizing a search and recovery project and a deep dive
– Conducting PADI ReActivate scuba refresher and skin diver course
– Assisting with Discover Scuba Diving and leading Discover Local Diving programs
Open Water Scuba Instructor
If you like people, have a passion for scuba diving and want an extraordinary life – become a PADI Instructor. Teaching scuba diving allows you to share your love of the aquatic world with others while doing what you enjoy – being in, around and under water. PADI Open Water Scuba Instructors and PADI Assistant Instructors are the most sought-after dive professionals around the world because they’ve completed the program that sets the standard for training dive professionals. You earn a PADI Instructor rating through hard work and commitment, but you’re rewarded with a job that lets you share incredible underwater adventures with others – transforming their lives for the better and enriching yours.
The Instructor Development Course (IDC) is made up of two parts – the Assistant Instructor (AI) course and the Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI) program. Most dive professionals complete the entire IDC and go on to attend an Instructor Examination (IE), which is the final step to earn a PADI Instructor certification.
Successfully completing just the AI course results in a PADI Assistant Instructor qualification. When an AI is ready to progress, attending an OWSI program allows entry into an IE to earn a full PADI Instructor rating.
Dive professionals who hold an instructor rating with another diver training organization may be eligible to enroll directly in the OWSI program. This recognizes prior instructor training and provides a path to become a PADI Instructor.
A PADI Divemaster who has been a certified diver for six months may enroll in the PADI Instructor Development Course. You also need:
– At least 60 logged dives and 100 dives to attend an IE.
– Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care (CPR and First Aid) training within the past 24 months.
– A medical statement signed by a physician within the last 12 months
– You also need to be an Emergency First Response Instructor, but you can earn this rating during your instructor training.
Academics
Over a minimum of five days, but usually more like seven, the IDC teaches you to conduct all PADI core courses. You’ll be able to organize and present information, conduct skill development sessions and control open water dives. Basically, you become a better public speaker and get really good at demonstrating skills while watching out for student diver safety. Key topics include:
– PADI Standards and Procedures for courses you can teach with in water workshops
– Learning, Instruction and the PADI System
– Risk Management and Diver Safety
– The Business of Diving and your role as an instructor
– Marketing Diving and Sales Counseling
