Advanced scuba divers can turn their favorite adventure sport into a career by entering instructor training courses with PADI, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. These courses prepare you to teach your own scuba certification courses with PADI dive shops all over the country and the world.
History
PADI, the Professional Association of Diving Instructors, was founded in 1966 and certified 3,226 divers in its first year of courses in 1967. Since the 1960s, PADI has grown to become the largest organization dedicated to scuba certification in the world. PADI professionals issue about 946,000 new certifications every year, according to MarineBio.org.
Assistant Instructor Course
The PADI Assistant Instructor course provides the first step towards achieving certification as a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor. This course provides a review of skills in confined water, as well as student teaching presentations in confined water and open water. After completing this course, you can give presentations and present skills during training under the supervision of a certified PADI instructor.
Open Water Scuba Instructor Course
Once you have completed the Assistant Instructor course, you can proceed to the Open Water Scuba Instructor course, the second portion of PADI's Instructor Development Course. You can complete the knowledge development of the course online before you begin the course's confined water and open water training sessions. You will have to give teaching presentations in the classroom as well as in confined water and open water. At the end of the course, you will need to demonstrate swimming competence by swimming nonstop for 800 meters with a mask, snorkel and fins. You will need to demonstrate diving competence by successfully performing all 20 skills in a skill evaluation. You will also have to pass a five-part written examination on dive theory.
Prerequisites
To enter the PADI Assistant Instructor and Open Water Instructor Course, you must hold PADI Divemaster certification or the equivalent from another organization. You must be at least 18 years old, and you must have logged at least 60 dives, including some night dives, deep dives and navigation dives. You must have held a scuba certification for at least six months, and you must have proof of CPR and first aid training from the last 24 months. You must provide a signed physician's statement proving your physical and medical fitness.
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