Thinking About Becoming A Scuba Diving Professional?

Scuba diving is an exciting, dynamic recreation that supports a growing worldwide industry with many professional opportunities. A scuba diving career can break you out of the nine-to-five office job, or provide you with an enjoyable part time vocation. Like many divers, you may envy the lifestyle of the dive professionals you know. They have a job they love, doing for a living what you do for fun. Pursuing a professional diving career can be rewarding and lucrative. As a PADI professional, you will enjoy the highest demand in the industry. At any given time, there are more positions available for PADI leaders than there are professionals to fill them. Whatever diving career you choose, earning a professional PADI credential will get you where you want to go.

The Instructor development process is a combination of programs designed to enhance instructor candidate's abilities as dive professionals, as well as offer specialized training programs. This process begins with the PADI Assistant Instructor Course and ranges through Specialty Instructor training. The foundation of PADI instructor development is the PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC). The program consists of two parts; the Assistant Instructor (AI) Course and the Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI) Course, also used for crossovers to PADI. Combining the AI Course with the OWSI Course, into a continuous program, makes up the IDC.

Successfully completing the OWSI program (or entire IDC) makes the candidates eligible to participate in a PADI Instructor Examination (IE). This is a two-day evaluative process conducted by Instructor Examiners representing one of PADI's international offices. This two phase program, IDC and IE, makes the PADI Instructor development process the most comprehensive and demanding of any in the dive industry. All IDC's and related training, are conducted exclusively by PADI Course Director Bob Wilson.

Instructor Crossover

The PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI) program enables recreational scuba instructors certified through other certification organizations to become PADI instructors. This program acknowledges that participants are already scuba instructors with some degree of experience and teaching ability, so it focuses on allowing them to explore the PADI system of diver education, rather than on developing basic teaching techniques. The course is designed to encourage participants to first analyze and understand the PADI system and then work on adapting their instructional skills to properly conduct PADI courses.

IDC Staff Instructor Course

Similar to the partnership between DM's/AI's and Instructors, IDC Staff Instructors work with Course Directors as important team members in the instructor training process. As an IDC Staff Instructor, you may staff instructor development programs and instructor level continuing education courses. You can also teach the PADI Assistant Instructor Course, a responsibility only you and PADI Course Directors share.

Specialty Instructor Courses / Master Scuba Diver Trainer

When you have earned five Specialty Instructor ratings, you may become a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer. PADI Dive Centers and Resorts know that when you employ a Master Scuba Diver Trainer, they will be able to give customers many choices for pursuing continuing diver education. That's where our training comes in.

Status Update Program

The Status Update program is designed to assist PADI Instructors regain teaching status after a lapse in PADI Membership. The curriculum covers changes and new materials released during the time the instructor was not renewed. This program is custom made to the needs and requirements of the instructor.