Becoming a scuba diving instructor requires physical training, investment in equipment, and travel to various bodies of water. Certification from an accredited training school, entry-level scuba diving lessons, and hundreds of hours diving under different conditions are necessary. Good physical condition, extensive written tests, and certification in first aid and CPR are also required.
While you can get basic scuba diving lessons at a surf shop or while on a cruise, to become a scuba diving instructor you will need the dedication to intense physical training for long months, the money to invest in swimming equipment and the ability to travel to various bodies of water to train under various weather conditions. You will need to get your scuba diving certification from an accredited training school. In many places, even to apply to become a scuba diving instructor, you need to be over 18 years old. While all certification programs for becoming a scuba instructor are not exactly the same, they all have similar basic requirements. More than anything else, you’ll need to log hundreds of hours diving under all kinds of conditions.
To begin with, before becoming a scuba diving instructor, you will need entry-level scuba diving lessons. This very basic course can often be taken at the aforementioned surf shops or on cruises. In many cases they provide equipment to use for the duration of the course and can get you out on the water in as little as two days. A short written test is usually required and you practice scuba diving in a lake, pool or sometimes the ocean.
This is just the first step when you become a scuba diving instructor. You can start your scuba lessons in a heated pool, but to become a scuba instructor you’ll need to dive in open water. As an example, Scuba Educators International (SEI) certification requires 10 hours each to dive more than 80 feet (24,384 m) underwater. It also requires diving in a wetsuit, diving in little more than your skin, driving in saltwater and freshwater where there is poor visibility, and diving at night. The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) course requires you to swim 800 m (2,625 ft) with just a snorkel and fins.
As you can see, to become a scuba diving instructor you will need to be in good physical condition or train to become one, and many schools require you to have a certificate from your doctor certifying that you are in good health. In addition to the physical requirements, to ensure that you know the concepts behind scuba diving theory, you will have to take extensive written tests or even give lectures on how to become a scuba instructor. Many scuba certification courses ask you to help teach others for a certain amount of hours before you qualify to become a scuba instructor. Finally, you will need to be certified in first aid and CPR to be prepared for emergencies and keep your students safe.
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