How to work in the dive industry

So you're a diver.  Maybe you've been diving a while or maybe you are just starting out, but either way you're looking at the dive industry and thinking 'hmmmmm I reckon I could do that'.  And you are right you can! But how do you get there?

Well, like any career you need to learn your trade, so you need the right qualifications - right in terms of where you are working and where you want to work.  However a good diving professional will not only have a load of diving knowledge and skills under their (weight)belt but will also have other levels of experience that they use to be good at their job.  But before we look at that let's look at what you have to do to become a dive professional.

First let's talk training agency and who you may want to train with and work for.  There are many different training agencies around the world and all (yes ALL) are pretty good these days.  As with any product each has it's own branding and values and there are nuances in the way things are done. But ultimately all provide good solid diver training.  Some of the training agencies are pure Tec or Tec aligned, others specialise in the diving of the country or region they are in and still others are global and cover every spectrum of diving.  By far the biggest and best known is PADI (the Professional Association of Diving Instructors), who train between 70 - 75% of all the divers in the world. And as such if you want to be a professional level diver then it's to PADI you need to look if you want to maximise your work potential, and it is PADI we will concentrate on and go through steps you need to take to become a professional diver.

So far all we have said is dive professional.  We haven't mentioned the 'instructor' word, and that's because you don't need to be an instructor to be a dive pro.  The first level of the professional (and by that we mean someone who can work in the industry either as a guide or teaching) is PADI Divemaster.  In the UK Divemasters (DMs) tend to work as safety divers and assistants for instructors. So most of the time they are working and helping student divers.  In warmer climes DMs tend to be dive guides taking you diving on the reef or round the wreck.

There are some things that a Divemaster can do independently - they can take divers on guided dives, conduct Discover Local Diving programmes, take divers on Reactivate programmes and teach Skin Diver Courses.  With additional training they can also conduct Discover Scuba Diving and teach Digital Underwater Photography.

To become a Divemaster you need to have done an entry level diver certification like PADI Open Water, and continuing courses such as Advanced Open Water and Rescue Diver.  You can of course come from other training agencies into the Divemaster programme but you would need to check if you can go straight on it, or if you need to do other training first.  To start your training you will also need to be at least 18, have logged 40 dives, have done a First Aid course in the last 24 months and have a medical check from a doctor to make sure you're fit to dive.

We run our DM Course as an Internship.  During the Internship you will work at the dive centre and you will do all the various parts of your course over a number of months (normally between 2 and 6), ultimately how quickly your do things will depend on how available you are and how much time you put into things. 

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Once you complete your Divemaster Course you'll need to have 100 logged dives and a  medical and first aid certificate (last 12 months for the medical and 24 months for First Aid).  Assuming you have those boxes ticked, you are all set to go on to become and instructor!  

There are 2 levels of instructor: Assistant Instructor (AI) or Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI) but usually people go straight to OWSI and this is what we refer to when we talk about an 'Instructor'.  To get to either level you need to do a course and this is the IDC (Instructor Development Course). It will vary in length depending on how and where it is being run but will normally be between 7 - 9 days.  The first 4 days are the Assistant Instructor course and the last 4 - 5 are the OWSI section.  The vast majority of people do the 2 courses in a single go, referred to as the IDC.  

There is an online learning section that you do in your own time before the start of the IDC.  Once the IDC starts you will learn to teach diving in the pool, conduct courses in the sea and remediate classroom and academic learning.  We will make sure you understand the diving theory, the diving business, make sure your skills are great and that you know how to teach all the various courses you'll be qualified to teach!

You need to pass the IDC but once you have you'll go to the Instructor Exams (IE) - run by PADI.  These are 2 days in length and are there to check you've been taught all the right things and that you can teach diving proficiently!  Pass those and you are a fully fledged PADI Instructor!

If you are crossing in from another training agency, or are already an instructor with another training organisation then you may not have to do all the above.  Get in touch as we can let you know what you need to cover and what you don't.

Once you're a qualified PADI Instructor you'll be able to teach all the core courses from Discover Scuba Diving through Open Water Diver, Advanced Open Water Diver, Rescue Diver and Divemaster plus Peak Performance Buoyancy and PADI AWARE courses.  

There are courses for all kinds of locations, climates and interest levels and to maximise your work potential you will need to be able to teach the ones appropriate to where you are and who you are working for.  As an example, if you're going to be working in the UK you will need to be able to teach the PADI Dry Suit Speciality, probably the Deep and Wreck Specialities and definitely EANx (Nitrox). Going to warmer climes? Then EANx is a must, but you may also want Drift, Underwater Navigation and Digital Underwater Photography.

You can wait until you have qualified 25 students divers in the core course and then apply direct to PADI to teach speciality courses that you have proven experience in. Or you can go to your Course Director (the instructor from your IDC) and do courses with them - most CDs offer speciality packages - 5 for a cheaper rate than you would be able to do them one by one.

The more 'Specs' you have the more employable you become.

Start to consider other avenues within the PADI network. 

Look at technical diving maybe. You can't go directly to tec Instructor, you need to go up the traditional route and then get Tec Instructor qualified.  But it can be worked on well before becoming an instructor.  Get the Tec certifications, get experience and then look to transfer.  An ever-increasingly popular part of diving with far fewer instructors. 

Think about First Aid.  you have to be a First Aid instructor to become a diving instructor but add in Emergency Oxygen, Mental Health Awareness, and other specialist first aid qualifications.

Think about working with divers with limiting physical or mental difficulties. There are specialist agencies who will train you to help one of the most awe-inspiring and humbling sectors of diving, 

But working in diving isn't all about diving.  There are boats to be run, cylinders to be filled, customers to look after, kit to be serviced and marketing to be done.  

So look at what you already do now.  Do you have retail experience - let the dive shops you're hoping to work for know that.  Retail is really important. Can you do websites? What about understanding social media.  All these add to your attractiveness for a busy dive centre!

If you don't have a skippers licence but you know your way around a boat (or want to), do the RYA Level 2 course to start with and then go on to do Sea Survival and GMDSS Radio tickets (you need first aid but you'll already have that via diving) and get a commercial licence.

Get gas qualified!  Do a Gas Blender Course so you can fill cylinders with air as well as Nitrox.

If you have a technical bent look at doing the IDEST and ASSET courses so you can service equipment.

.Fundamentally the more you can offer the more jobs there will be available to you.  

If this is how you want to feel every day you are at work.... then you've read the right blog!  Its a job whewre you can do the thing you love, travel with, pass the passion on and yes transform peoples lives.

If you want to discuss becoming a dive pro call or email us and we'll be happy to talk some more about it all.

Tel: 01626 773965

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