How do i become a Scuba diving instructor and could you break down the cost?
I have seen a course which i am thinking about doing:
Open Water + Advanced + EFR + Rescue + Divemaster course and internship
£1,150 excl DM manuals
Any words of wisdom of experiance. I ideally would like to teach scuba diving on a tropical island somewhere hot.. am i just dreaming???
Leo
No, you’re not dreaming — it’s perfectly possible to teach scuba diving on a tropical island somewhere hot (at least until sea levels rise, and they all get flooded!).
But I have one important question first: Have you ever been scuba diving before? If not, then jumping straight into a zero-to-hero training package is definitely a bad idea–you don’t even know if you like diving yet! And even if you _have_ already done a ‘try-dive’ or two, that’s still a long way from being a qualified diver, responsible for planning your own dives, never mind a Divemaster/Instructor, responsible for planning other people’s dives.
Even if you’re absolutely certain that this is what you want to with your life, frankly, I don’t believe that this kind of package is the best way to get yourself qualified, since at the end of it your actual practical diving experience (in terms of the kinds of conditions you’ve trained and dived in, and the knowledge you’ve gained) will still be very limited.
Also, a caveat: that course price is nowhere near the total cost of becoming a certified Divemaster (DM) — you need to add in travel costs, gear rental/purchase costs, training materials costs, and (certainly once you’re on the internship) living costs. Exactly how much you spend on these ‘incidentals’ is up to you, but even with extreme frugality they will likely still far outweigh the course costs.
Here’s my suggestion:
Do your OWD course. If you enjoy it, and if you haven’t already done so, then buy your personal gear (mask+snorkel, booties+fins, suit), and do some diving, locally and/or on holidays (rent any gear you don’t own). Get a subscription to a decent dive magazine (I like DIVER, in the UK). Consider buying a dive computer.
Then do your AOWD. Then do some more diving, in varied locations, and under varied conditions (cold water, warm water, wreck dives, night dives, drift dives, etc.), and with various different brands of gear, if possible. Start thinking about buying the rest of your basic gear (computer if you didn’t already get one, BCD, regulator, torch, dive slate).
Then do your EFR and Rescue courses. Buy any necessaries to dive independently which you don’t already own (compass, cutter, reel+SMB, pocket mask) which you’ll also need for training/ working as a Divemaster. If you haven’t already, start diving just as a buddy pair, rather than blindly following a diveguide (you should not be thinking about leading other divers until you are capable of total self-reliance).
By now you should have racked up a decent total of dives (50 or more), so you can start thinking about becoming a DM. (NB You have to be at least 18 to start a DM course, since it is a professional rating, and hence demands adult legal responsibility). Sign up for your DM course, on the internship (‘dive slave’!) option–this will give you some idea of how the dive-industry operates, and let you decide whether it’s really for you.
After you’ve qualified, work as a diveguide (and also as an instructional assistant, if possible) for several months. This will build up your leadership experience preparatory to becoming an instructor yourself. Think about getting some additional dive-related qualifications, such as a small boat skipper’s licence, or scuba gear maintenance.
Sign up for your Instructor Development Course (IDC). You may be able to ‘pay’ for your IDC with 3-6 months as a working DM, perhaps for the same centre that qualified you as a DM — but this will likely mean working unpaid (except tips, if you’re good/lucky). Once you pass your Instructor Exam, start applying for jobs. Being able to teach in a second (or third) language is very useful here (European languages for e.g. the Red Sea, Japanese in SE Asia and the Pacific).
Feel free to email me through Y!A if you have specific questions.
Good luck with it. All the best.
Try going on a diving holiday to reddang island in Malaysia, that cost of the course will be around about half.
The island is Beautiful and apart from a bit of night time rain about once a week (actually very peaceful), locals are nice and kind, and aside from the travelling costs, its actually very cheap to eat and drink (my bar bill for a week of downing beers was about 30 quid). You can book packages that include training discounts.
Both my grandparents took a dive master course there, my dad has completed an advance course there and me, mother, cousin and sister have all completed open water training on redang.
If all your training isn’t in 1 go, the place i go too and stay at offers price reductions for returning customers.
check out http://www.coralredang.com.my/rates.html for pricing. They do train efr, rescue and dive master depending on what dive masters are on the island at the time (they get the boat to Malaysian mainland when they haven’t got bookings.
My grandad (who cant swim good, but is confident with an O2 tank on his back) told me that the hardest part of all his training was the rescue, but that was still very basic.
Dont turn the island down quickly. Google it and look at the pictures. It is truly a paradise.
References :
Qualified PADI open water, majority of family qualified in Redang. Been to Redang island in 2008 and 2010.
No, you’re not dreaming — it’s perfectly possible to teach scuba diving on a tropical island somewhere hot (at least until sea levels rise, and they all get flooded!).
But I have one important question first: Have you ever been scuba diving before? If not, then jumping straight into a zero-to-hero training package is definitely a bad idea–you don’t even know if you like diving yet! And even if you _have_ already done a ‘try-dive’ or two, that’s still a long way from being a qualified diver, responsible for planning your own dives, never mind a Divemaster/Instructor, responsible for planning other people’s dives.
Even if you’re absolutely certain that this is what you want to with your life, frankly, I don’t believe that this kind of package is the best way to get yourself qualified, since at the end of it your actual practical diving experience (in terms of the kinds of conditions you’ve trained and dived in, and the knowledge you’ve gained) will still be very limited.
Also, a caveat: that course price is nowhere near the total cost of becoming a certified Divemaster (DM) — you need to add in travel costs, gear rental/purchase costs, training materials costs, and (certainly once you’re on the internship) living costs. Exactly how much you spend on these ‘incidentals’ is up to you, but even with extreme frugality they will likely still far outweigh the course costs.
Here’s my suggestion:
Do your OWD course. If you enjoy it, and if you haven’t already done so, then buy your personal gear (mask+snorkel, booties+fins, suit), and do some diving, locally and/or on holidays (rent any gear you don’t own). Get a subscription to a decent dive magazine (I like DIVER, in the UK). Consider buying a dive computer.
Then do your AOWD. Then do some more diving, in varied locations, and under varied conditions (cold water, warm water, wreck dives, night dives, drift dives, etc.), and with various different brands of gear, if possible. Start thinking about buying the rest of your basic gear (computer if you didn’t already get one, BCD, regulator, torch, dive slate).
Then do your EFR and Rescue courses. Buy any necessaries to dive independently which you don’t already own (compass, cutter, reel+SMB, pocket mask) which you’ll also need for training/ working as a Divemaster. If you haven’t already, start diving just as a buddy pair, rather than blindly following a diveguide (you should not be thinking about leading other divers until you are capable of total self-reliance).
By now you should have racked up a decent total of dives (50 or more), so you can start thinking about becoming a DM. (NB You have to be at least 18 to start a DM course, since it is a professional rating, and hence demands adult legal responsibility). Sign up for your DM course, on the internship (‘dive slave’!) option–this will give you some idea of how the dive-industry operates, and let you decide whether it’s really for you.
After you’ve qualified, work as a diveguide (and also as an instructional assistant, if possible) for several months. This will build up your leadership experience preparatory to becoming an instructor yourself. Think about getting some additional dive-related qualifications, such as a small boat skipper’s licence, or scuba gear maintenance.
Sign up for your Instructor Development Course (IDC). You may be able to ‘pay’ for your IDC with 3-6 months as a working DM, perhaps for the same centre that qualified you as a DM — but this will likely mean working unpaid (except tips, if you’re good/lucky). Once you pass your Instructor Exam, start applying for jobs. Being able to teach in a second (or third) language is very useful here (European languages for e.g. the Red Sea, Japanese in SE Asia and the Pacific).
Feel free to email me through Y!A if you have specific questions.
Good luck with it. All the best.
References :
Former full-time scuba instructor (PADI # 609394)
It’s a greate Rate! Allthough I find the previous suggestion realy good!
I’d paid for OWD US$450; AOWD €270 plus, plus, plus alot of dives ;-). Im’ scared a bit that this >internship< will mean: working without payment; Flights & Accomodation to pay by your own!
References :
That sounds like an excellent price, where is that, USA? Normally to get a deal like that you’d have to go to S.E.Asia. As for making a career out of it…..you need to be able to offer more than just A DIVE INSTRUCTOR. Get boating qualifications or a trade that can help secure a diving job, maybe marine engineering or diesel mechanic.
References :
dive instructor