Become a Diving Instructor
How to become a Diving Instructor with one of the recognised organisations is a challenging and rewarding task. There are a few routes to take in order to gain all of the qualifications needed, and the one you take depends on several factors like time, personal preference, and to some extent, weather conditions and this article will look at the direct route to becoming a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor or OWSI.
Steps
- Become an 'Open Water Diver'. This is the first step on how to become a Diving Instructor and it teaches you the necessary skills and methods for you to become a competent diver. The course will start with academic sessions in which you will learn the basic information required to understand what happens to your body when you dive and how to plan your dives safely. This is followed by the confined water sessions in a swimming pool or other controlled environment where you will be introduced to the skills you must complete in order to progress. You will then complete four open water dives and complete many of the skills that will form the basis of your continued development through to instructor level.
- After completing your 'open water diver' course, progress onto the PADI advanced open water course. This course consists of five open water specialty dives; deep diver, navigation, and three dives of your choice. The dives you choose will be down to your personal preference but guidance will be given by your instructor.
- After completing your five advanced dives, move on to the rescue diver course, where, as the name suggests, you will learn to be of assistance to instructors and dive masters in an emergency situation. The course begins with a first aid standalone course called Emergency First Responders course, or EFR. You will learn basic first aid, useful in everyday life and also how to deal with dive related injuries such as decompression sickness. The course will then move to the pool where, once again, you will learn the skills to enable you to aid other divers that may be in trouble. The course then culminates with open water dives, in which situations will occur and you will be expected to use the skills that you have learned over the course to rescue the diver or divers in trouble.
- Take the Dive Master Course. At this point, you will be a competent and experienced diver, able to deal with many situations that may occur in day-to-day diving life and well on your way to be learning how to become a diving instructor. The next major milestone on your progression of how to become a diving instructor is the dive master course. This is a structured course in which you will learn new skills and methods, how to run a dive boat and lead dive trips, as well as assisting instructors with their courses and providing support for students on their open water, advanced or rescue diver courses. You will sit exams and gain further knowledge in the science of diving, such as physics and biology. You will also cover the basics of teaching skills such as with a scuba review for those that have had a gap in between diving. The course will enable you to dive as much as you want, which is beneficial as you will need at least sixty dives in order to be signed off as a PADI Divemaster.
- Take the Instructor Development Course or IDC. This final course takes about three weeks and consists of the PADI Assistant Instructors course, the Instructors Development course or IDC, mock exams and final practical exams. Once you have completed and passed this final course you are now ready to take the Instructor Examination or IE. This is a program that is administered by PADI headquarters and may be done at their headquarters building in Rancho Santa Margarita, or an Instructor Examiner may travel to your area on a set schedule. The IE consists of a closed book five part Dive Theory Exam, an open book PADI Standards and Procedures Exam, giving a classroom presentation, a confined water skill presentation, confined water skills assessment to demonstration quality, two ocean skills presentations, and an ocean Rescue assessment. After successful completion of the IE, you are awarded a certificate of completion and are designated an Open Water Scuba Instructor or OWSI. And that’s it on how to become a diving instructor!
Tips
- Don't feel too overwhelmed by all this. Its not as complicated as it sounds and most places should offer you a package where it is all included for one price.
Warnings
- It would be a good mention that in order to progress onto the final phase, you must have logged at least one hundred dives. With this in mind the best way to do this is to work as a dive master for a couple of months, while you gain the experience necessary to move on.
- It is also important to mention that between doing your Open Water and doing your IDC there is a minimum 6 month wait set by PADI.
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