How to become A Dive Instructor

• Scuba Diving Instructor
• Professional Diving Instructor

What do Dive Instructors do?

A Dive Instructor would typically need to:

• Teach theory and practical skills in a learning environment suited to the student’s ability and needs
• Lead discussions, give lectures and demonstrations in a classroom, online, on a boat to guide the students through the academic section
• Be responsible for confined-water instruction and open-water evaluation
• Interact with students during the dive, demonstrate safe scuba diving techniques and teach them to adapt to emergencies confidently
• Organize training activities to maximize safety and efficiency; monitor the students’ performance continually; provide suggestions and additional training
• Observe all health and safety considerations and act quickly in the event of an emergency or medical situation
• Review online quizzes or prepare lesson plans; schedule classroom and pool locations
• Maintain and transport equipment to and from the training and dive venues; pilot and maintain a boat; drive students to dive sites
• Take bookings, assign and brief certified assistants, provide guide services to customers and teach them about reefs and marine life
• Stock the boat appropriately with supplies, fill up tanks and rinse returned rental equipment
• Adhere to environmental protection procedures

A Dive Instructor teaches scuba diving techniques to individuals or groups who want to dive recreationally or obtain their scuba certification. They work most of the day outdoors, most often underwater in year-round tropical climates. About 30 percent are employed full time, with part-time Dive Instructors typically working in local dive centers.

Standard SCUBA gear includes a wetsuit, along with a pair of fins and a mask. The dress code on land depends on the location, sector, size, and type of your company, but most often it would be smart casual, unless otherwise specified.

Dive Instructors have to work long and irregular hours, often over weekends and holidays. They are usually their busiest when most others are relaxing on vacation.

Rehabilitation settings include those for wounded veterans.

Most training organizations provide free employment listings for their Dive Instructors and offer job placement to their graduates. Many will even help you prepare a resume and teach you how to interview for the job you want. You can network with potential employers at local dive shows and seminars.

Dive Instructors are generally employed by:

• Dive Shops
• Commercial Diving Schools
• Cruise Ships
• Vacation Resorts
• Rescue Workers
• Underwater Photographers
• Fisheries Biologists
• Marine Researchers
• Shipyard Workers
• Under-water Construction Workers
• College
• Military Bases
• Rehabilitation Centers

Professional associations and organizations are crucial for Dive Instructors interested in pursuing professional development or connecting with like-minded professionals in their industry or occupation. Membership in one or more looks excellent on your Resume to bolster your credentials and qualifications.

• Pressure changes in both ascent and descent resulting in drowning or health issues
• Inhalation of high-pressure gases
• Faulty equipment resulting in interruption of oxygen underwater
• Dangerous animals or sharp objects underwater and managing the dive during lousy weather
• Long and highly irregular hours, overly demanding clients and whimsical students
• Moving heavy equipment to and from dive locations
• Lack of employer-supported pension or retirement plan

Candidates must have at least six months of open water dive experience, 50-100 dives in a wide range of environments before attempting to pass the Dive Instructor level courses. While proper training is essential, it is still no substitute for experience. When planning your job search, think about what you have done in the past that may be valuable to an employer. Substantial boating experience will also go a long way in increasing your employability.

There is no set academic program for candidates desirous of being trained as Dive Instructors. Proof that you are 18 years of age, a high school diploma, fluency in English and the local language would suffice to enroll you in the certification courses offered by professional associations worldwide.

New candidates can choose from among the various professional diving associations that offer extensive training programs for diving enthusiasts interested in gaining certification to teach, provided they meet all of the set requirements.

There are various steps and courses to reach this level: Open Water certification, Advanced Open Water, Rescue Diver, Divemaster, Instructor. Training is also available at commercial diving schools as well as colleges offering aquatics programs. Some colleges may offer certificate programs that include SCUBA training.

In addition to the certification requirements of most positions, Dive Instructors should also hold valid certification in rescue techniques, CPR, first aid from an approved licensing agency. Although the requirements for a Dive Instructor rating vary among the certifying organizations, on average, expect to complete about 200 hours of training in prerequisite courses.

Working as a Dive Instructor makes for a fantastic part-time career, but many wish to make it a full-time gig. The typical next step for a Diving Instructor teaching at an established school is to move to the role of Senior Instructor who assigns tasks to other teachers while executing marketing and planning activities at a more strategic level. Dive Instructors earn additional qualifications to conduct Instructor Training and Development courses.

Dive Instructors who live in coastal regions and make teaching and working in a shop their primary pursuit have better job prospects.

Most training organizations require, or recommend highly, that their Dive Instructors continue their education through more advanced courses, seminars, or other in-service learning experiences. A Dive Instructor must achieve and maintain up-to-date knowledge in diverse subjects such as physics, aquatic sciences, physiology, oceanography, weather, boating, fitness.

You must continually update your knowledge base with innovations in equipment technology and advances in teaching methods. You may also continue your professional education to qualify to teach specialty and technical diving courses, and eventually interpret and evaluate instructor candidates.

Individuals looking to make diving a career can never halt their education with just the standard Dive Instructor rating. Additional training is available to become certified in specialty areas, including search and rescue diving, deep diving, cave diving, underwater photography, wreck diving, underwater archaeology, nitrox or oxygen administration, use of dry suits and night-diving equipment.

Many even pursue training in retail sales or resort operations. In the diving job market, this additional course work is like having a master’s instead of a bachelor’s degree.

Prospective Dive Instructor Trainers/Course Directors must first achieve an advanced recognition level as a Dive Instructor and complete an additional training course. They are required to participate as staff during one or more instructor development/training courses. They must maintain fitness standards and ensure they are not guilty of any ethical violations.

The Perfect Job

Diving continues to grow in popularity, particularly in developing tourism destinations such as in South-east Asia. The job allows diving enthusiasts to make a career out of a hobby and do what they love in year-round tropical climates.

The life of a resort Dive Instructor is perfect for those who prefer an outdoor lifestyle, maintain a flexible attitude, and handle living many miles away from family. It is a great way to experience other cultures and meet people from all over the globe.

Dive Instructors find it rewarding to teach their students about the wonders of the ocean and marine conservation. Benefits also include free or heavily discounted dive travel.

Dive center staff Instructors often get to lead group dive trips to exotic destinations where they may conduct specialty courses and complete open-water training dives with students.

Comes with a Caveat

Dive Instructors need to be comfortable teaching a diverse audience. Passion for and extensive knowledge of marine life would help. Excellent customer service and building rapport with your students is also essential.

If you sincerely love diving, it is entirely possible to make a good living out of it. The caveat is that as with any occupation that people get into because they love, it requires considerable work to get to that point and then make more than a minimum wage. As a novice, you are going to be at the bottom for a while.

Many others are vying for the same vacancies, and so entry-level work is poorly paid. The good news is that most give up at that point or settle on entry-level only. Put a little extra work in achieving more qualifications and training and watch the competition fall behind.

The role also carries risks and responsibility; the Diving Instructor’s knowledge, experience, common sense, and disaster mitigation skills are paramount in protecting dive students under their care.

Surprisingly, oxygen becomes toxic on dives deeper than 42 meters. Commercial and technical divers use a unique mixture of oxygen, helium, and nitrogen (Trimix) during the deep phases of dives.

Not all classrooms have four walls. Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you dive deep into the ocean.