How do I become a Scuba Diving Instructor and be successful?
If you are thinking about a career in scuba diving, but are not yet an instructor or even a divemaster, there are things you can start doing right now!
Find your pathway — certifications needed to become a PADI Instructor
Do you hold an entry-level scuba certification?
PADI Open Water, PADI Scuba Diver, or an equivalent from any recognised agency (SSI, NAUI, BSAC, etc.).
How long does it take to become a Scuba Diving Instructor?
The time it takes depends entirely on where you are starting from. The pathway below shows the stages everyone goes through — and what matters at each one.
Open Water certification
Your entry-level certification from any recognised agency (PADI, SSI, NAUI, BSAC) marks the start of the clock. PADI requires a minimum of six months between this date and the start of your IDC — so the earlier you get certified, the better. If you are not yet certified, getting your Open Water card as soon as possible is the single most important thing you can do right now.
Advanced Open Water
Advanced Open Water extends your maximum depth to 30 metres and introduces the variety of diving you will draw on throughout your professional training. If you need this course, Roatan is an exceptional place to do it. The diving here is outstanding — clear, warm water, abundant marine life, and wall diving that will develop your buoyancy and situational awareness far faster than diving in poor visibility or cold conditions. More importantly, completing it here means you move straight into Rescue Diver with the same instructors, in the same environment, without interruption. Continuity matters in dive training. Building your skills in one place, with one team, produces a more rounded and confident diver than piecing the same courses together across different locations and different instructors over a longer period.
Rescue Diver and Emergency First Response
Rescue Diver is widely regarded as the most personally transformative course in recreational diving. It changes the way you think underwater — from looking after yourself to looking after everyone around you. That shift in mindset is exactly what Divemaster and IDC training will build on, which is why doing Rescue Diver immediately before Divemaster, with the same instructors, produces noticeably better candidates. The lessons carry directly forward. You also need a current Emergency First Response (CPR and First Aid) certification within the previous 24 months. This can be completed on arrival in Roatan for $135 if yours has lapsed or you have not yet done it.
Divemaster
Divemaster is the first professional rating in recreational diving and a required IDC prerequisite. You need a minimum of 40 logged dives to begin and 60 to certify — but the number of weeks you spend is entirely up to you. Many of our candidates choose to take 8 to 10 weeks over their Divemaster training because they recognise that more time means more dives, more teaching situations observed, and a stronger foundation for the IDC. We encourage that, and we will accommodate it. Many dive centres will not — they have a fixed programme and once it is done, it is done. Our Divemaster internship has no such ceiling.
Where you do your Divemaster matters more than most people realise. A dive centre whose entire ethos is built around producing great instructors trains its Divemasters differently from one that does not offer an IDC. The things we emphasise during Divemaster — how to brief a dive, how to manage students in the water, how to think on your feet when something does not go to plan — are precisely the things that determine how well you perform in the IDC and how confidently you teach in your first job. If becoming an instructor is your goal, doing your Divemaster with a team that already has that goal in mind puts you ahead before the IDC has even started.
IDC and Instructor Examination
To enrol on the PADI Instructor Development Course you need your Divemaster rating, a minimum of 100 logged dives with specific depth and night dive requirements, a current EFR certification, and medical clearance. Candidates who complete the earlier stages of the pathway here in Roatan arrive at the IDC already familiar with the dive sites, the teaching environment, and the standards expected of them. That familiarity removes a layer of stress from what is already an intensive programme. The IDC runs 12 days, followed by a 2-day PADI Instructor Examination held independently here in Roatan. Pass the IE and you are a certified PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor.
Work as a scuba diving instructor in an office like this!
To become a scuba instructor with PADI, you need to have been certified as an entry-level diver with any agency for at least six months before you can take the instructor course. Also, you need to have an Advanced diver certification, a Rescue certification, and complete the Divemaster course, or a Dive Leader certification. They do not have to be PADI certifications, but it helps once you start teaching PADI courses! You also need to log a minimum of 100 dives, which is included in all our packages.
Not sure which package fits your certification level?
Use the Go Pro Caribbean package finder — answer three questions and see exactly what is included and what it costs for your starting point.
The IDC certainly isn’t easy; it is made much harder by cold water and low visibility. So, choosing to take the instructor course under such conditions certainly adds to the task load. However, if you are going to teach in those conditions after passing the IE, it may well be worth training in those same conditions. There is another option, though. You may decide to take the IDC in nice, warm tropical waters and get the OWSI rating under your belt, and then take MSDT training in tougher conditions, similar to those in which you plan to teach. So, should you train in conditions similar to those you plan to work in? Yes, but don’t make the IDC, the training you choose to do in challenging conditions! It is challenging enough as it is!
I personally mentor my IDC candidates on the business side of diving — how to plan courses, attract students, and build a sustainable career from day one. It's not just about passing the IE. It's about what happens the week after.
See how the Go Pro Caribbean IDC is different →Choose the right IDC.
At the end of the instructor development course, there is an exam – the feared PADI Instructor Exam! It is human nature to focus on passing this exam, but it isn’t the real test at all! The true test is the first class you will teach as a PADI instructor.
Dive centers actively seek candidates from Course Directors they know have taught their instructor candidates, so they can hit the ground running. If you choose the right course director, being a new instructor with minimal experience will not hinder you. Employers know that you did a course with a course director who fully prepared you to be a great instructor. In Roatan’s busy season (January to August), I am constantly being asked by dive centers if I have any candidates who recently finished and are looking for work.
You want to learn from a course director who teaches you to be a good instructor, NOT how to pass the IE. Course directors who focus on getting the perfect score in the IE often do so at the cost of preparing you for the real-life problems that the IDC should be preparing you to handle. The experience your course director has will play a big part in this. When I first started teaching as a new course director, I fell into this trap myself. I was more concerned about my candidates passing the IE than taking the time to focus on more real-world training. As time passed and my confidence grew, I began assigning problems I knew my instructor candidates would face in their day-to-day work after they had passed the IE. It's one thing to pass the IE, but once you land your first job, if you make a mess of the first few courses you teach, you are going to lose that job. I realized it was my job to make sure that didn’t happen.
Finding Work
We will always be there to help you get a job placement; it is usually immediate because local dive centers actively seek our newly trained instructors.
Your resume or CV. Many people forget how valuable the experience they have gained before becoming an instructor is. Highlight a non-diving experience you have. Are you an accountant, plumber, mechanic, medic, or influencer? (more on that later). Your resume should briefly list your dive experience, but as a new instructor, don’t waste time trying to make it look like you have more experience than you do. The number of dives you have, the specialties you have taken, and where you have dived is all that is needed.
Add a photo that makes you look well-groomed and presentable. Make your non-diving work experience sound applicable to work in scuba diving. If you have worked in a hotel or restaurant, emphasize the customer service aspects of that job. Good customer service is important in the dive industry. Dive shops look for people who know how to keep customers happy. If you have any experience with computers, particularly in web or graphic design, highlight it. Dive shops need people to keep their websites up to date! It's important to highlight any mechanical knowledge you have – there is a lot of equipment to fix around a dive shop! Writing skills are highly valued; dive shops need to engage potential customers online through blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and similar channels. Think about the jobs you have done, and describe them appropriately on your resume.
When you send your Resume to potential employers, research them! You need to write a covering email along with your resume. You need to write a different email for EACH application. Make sure you explain in this email why you want to work at their particular dive shop. What makes them stand out from the crowd? Their website and a Facebook page should tell you what THEY think makes them stand out. In this covering email, demonstrate that you understand their message and want to be a part of their culture.
Start Blogging – Right Now!
This may sound strange, but as you read through this article, it will make sense.
There are plenty of other people thinking about doing the same thing as you at this moment.
If you start a blog, maybe just one post a week. Describe the decisions you are facing, the online resources you found useful, the people you contacted, and whether they were helpful. Then, as you start taking the courses necessary to become a PADI Pro, describe them. Share your experiences, good and bad. It may be describing dives that stand out to you. These dives may be memorable for good or bad reasons; all of it is interesting information. Anything you can share that may help other people make a more informed decision themselves about how to go about it.
Create a post about my amazing divetheory section that will help you ace the exams, so others find it.
Why will this help you build a more successful career in scuba? If you have a blog full of useful, quality information on a particular subject (becoming a scuba instructor), it will appear in search engine results. That means that you are building a marketing channel that you can use in the future, once you are an instructor, to attract potential students. When you start applying for jobs, potential employers will see this virtual real estate you own as something that makes you a very attractive prospective employee. You can demonstrate that you understand the business of diving, that marketing is part of the job, and you are good at it. You may intend to work as a self-employed instructor, a quality blog which has many external links to it is valuable. Having an established blog will serve as the foundation of a successful marketing campaign for your dive business.
Making a reasonable income
Once you are an instructor, it's time to make sure it pays. Many jobs are commission-based; you get paid for the courses you teach and the dives you lead. Some are salaried, but even then, tips will likely make up a significant part of your income.
You need to be well organized. This means planning your courses and taking into account the weather and other logistical issues. A well-planned course will be more enjoyable for your students, less stressful for you, and will finish on time! A poorly planned course ends up taking extra time, time that you are now unable to use to either attract or teach new students. Our IDC prepares you well for this with bespoke industry-leading tools that are unique to our programme that you can use after the course to make you the most organised instructor out there.
Understand that your job is not just in the water. The good thing is that you will be spending a lot of time doing what you love – diving, but there are other aspects to the job. I have touched on these in the resume section above. The dive center you work at needs to attract customers so you can teach and guide them; they need your help doing that. You will need to take photos and post them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms. Tag the customers in those photos. Keep blogging and maintaining your personal website as well.
You need to do conservation work!
You will also need to help fill tanks, fix equipment, and maintain the boat. Probably do some cleaning, painting, and various other jobs. The instructors who help the most around the shop get noticed. They start getting the better-paying work.
If you find yourself working at a dive shop that sells equipment, there will probably be extra commission opportunities to sell that equipment. Make sure you wear the equipment that your shop sells when teaching courses. Students are likely to buy equipment they see you wearing! Learn about the equipment your shop sells, including its pros and cons. You need to be knowledgeable about the products to sell them successfully. Make sure you sell the right equipment for your customer, not the equipment that makes you the highest income. If your customers are happy with what they bought from you, they will seek your purchasing advice in the future.
Ready to start your journey?
I've helped over 500 divers become successful PADI instructors since 2008. Whether you have your Open Water card or you're a Divemaster ready to enrol, I'm happy to talk through your timeline and options — no pressure.