PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer

Becoming a MASter scuba diver trainer

After the IDC we offer the Master Scuba Diver Trainer prep course. In this course you will earn 5 PADI specialty instructor ratings. We can teach most specialties, but encourage you to choose the ones that Roatan is most suited for.

Below can read much more about the various specialties you can become an instructor in with us. Including which are the best to do here in Roatan. But first let be really honest with you.....

Many people looking at becoming an instructor are made to believe that becoming a Master Scuba Diver Trainer immediately after certification is almost essential. I'm not going to tell you that.  I really don't think it makes as much difference to your prospects of getting a job as some will lead you to believe. When we look at hiring new instructors, their cert level is pretty low on the list of what we value. This is partly because reaching Master Scuba Diver Trainer is made too easy by many IDC and CDC centers. You need to issue 25 certs AND have 5 specialty instructor ratings to become an MSDT.  The 25 certs shows good teaching experience, supposedly. However getting 25 certs because you paid for them, and taught the courses shadowed by an experienced instructor all the time? Personally i believe it is better to get these certs working in a real life environment, where you are being paid to do the job as instructor.  

So we look at HOW you became an MSDT (did you pay for it?), what languages you speak, your work experience outside of the dive industry and where you have dived.  Most importantly we want to get a feel for you as a person. So we NEVER hire over the internet, only in person. So I would save the money on becoming an MSDT and spend it on airfares, get to a few destinations you want to work in, and look for a job in person, even as an OWSI, you are more likely to get that job, than an MSDT applying over the internet.

I would also seriously consider getting entry level Tec Diver training. There are very few instructors with Tec training. This will set you apart more than being an MSDT.

Become a specialty instructor because you want to teach those courses, not because it will improve your job prospects. Become a specialty instructor in the areas of diving YOU love, and pass that love on.

The MSDT Prep course

The MSDT prep course, will qualify you to teach five new PADI specialties. You can choose from Deep, Navigation, Nitrox, Oxygen Administrator, Photography, Night, Sidemount, Search and Recovery, Drift, Boat, Fish ID, UW Naturalist, Videographer, Self Reliant Diver, Gas Blender and Wreck.

We offer training in a lot of different specialties. Roatan is particuarly suited to Deep, Photography, Night, Nitrox and Fish ID. Simply because of the conditions the excellent clear water and the abundant marine life.

Navigation and Search and Recovery, are good specialties to have, as they are linked closely to the divemaster course and improve you teaching of that course. 

During the specialty instructor training courses, you will demonstrate all the skills from the course and practice teaching them, with very useful hints and tips from our course director Will and the staff instructors at Coconut Tree. It is a great way to spend the week or two after your IE while you wait for your instructor number. Just don't do it because you have been convinced it will make you more employable, do it because you WANT to teach those specialties, and believe it will make your job as an instructor more enjoyable.

Tec diving is one skill that is quite rare. Getting your first few diver level Tec certs is probably MORE valuable than specialty instructor certs. Remember, as an instructor with Tec training, you can guide and host tecnical divers, even if you can't teach them until you are a Tec Instructor. Which we can also offer, all the way to Tec Trimix instructor.