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Become a PADI Professional

Learn how to lead dives, assist with classes and be the diver everyone looks up to. Start your scuba career with Divemaster eLearning.

Become a PADI Pro and Start Living Your Dream

There are many reasons to become a PADI Divemaster or Scuba Instructor: to work and travel, to share your love of the underwater world with others, or simply for the personal challenge. Along the way, you’ll hone your scuba diving skills and emerge as a leader in the world’s largest community of divers bound together by a shared passion for adventure and ocean conservation.

This is Life-Changing

PADI Professionals live a life like no other, transforming lives while also leading the way in ocean conservation. Enter your details to download the Become a PADI Pro brochure and learn more.

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Now Hiring

As the leaders of the world's most requested diver certification, PADI Pros are in demand. Check out the latest dive jobs posted by PADI's vast network of dive shops and resorts.

Jumpstart Your Scuba Career With Tips From The Pros

PADI Professional FAQs

 
How do I become a PADI Pro?

To become a PADI Pro, you must first complete the PADI Divemaster course which will hone your scuba diving skills and prepare you to assist scuba instructors and supervise diving activities. Next, you can go on to become a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI), to build on your Divemaster knowledge and develop your teaching skills.

 
Is PADI a professional certification?

PADI offers both recreational and professional dive certifications, with over 30,000,000 divers and counting. With a PADI professional scuba certification you can travel the world and do what you love or share your dive knowledge locally. As a PADI Divemaster or PADI Instructor, you’ll learn how to lead scuba dives and help others with their dive education.

 
How hard is it to become a PADI dive instructor?

One of the main reasons why the majority of dive instructors are PADI Instructors is the high-quality instructional curriculum designed to accommodate students at various levels with different learning styles. PADI Instructor Trainers (Course Directors) are some of the dive industry’s most experienced and elite scuba instructors.

Parts of the PADI Instructor Development Courses (IDC) will be easy for some and challenging for others. PADI Divemaster course is the first step to becoming a PADI professional. After 6 months with this certification and 60 logged dives you can enroll in PADI IDC. 100 logged dives are needed for the Instructor Examination. Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care (CPR and First Aid) training is also required within the past 24 months.

 
What does a Divemaster do?

PADI Divemasters typically assist dive instructors with classes and lead certified divers on underwater adventures. If they work at a dive shop, Divemasters often fill scuba tanks, load scuba gear, check-in divers and help with other essential tasks. Divemasters may also:

 
How long does it take to become a Divemaster?

If you're at least 18 years old and meet the prerequisites listed above, it's possible to become a PADI Divemaster in 2 very intense weeks. Most Divemaster candidates complete their training over 3 weeks to 6 months.

 
How much do professional divers/scuba instructors make?

PADI professional scuba instructors work all over the world in a variety of jobs. How much you earn as a PADI dive instructor depends on where and what you are teaching.

For example:

  • You might live and work on a liveaboard boat (where meals are included, and you also have a place to live).
  • At a local dive shop, you might get paid extra for selling scuba gear or repairing scuba equipment.
  • Experienced scuba instructors with a boat captain’s license can make very good money working on a superyacht and teaching private scuba lessons.
  • It’s also important to consider the personal benefits of completing Divemaster or dive instructor training. One of the most common comments from PADI Pros is how their training helped them succeed in the “real world”.
 
What is the highest paying scuba diving job?

Scuba diving jobs offer fantastic travel opportunities and a great way of life. They can also pay well. If making money doing what you love sounds like a dream job to you, it’s time to become a professional diver. Here are some high paying jobs for scuba divers. 

  • Military Diving & Police Diving 
  • Oil Rig Diving
  • HAZMAT Diving 
  • Inland Commercial Diving 
  • Scientific Diving 
  • Underwater Construction
  • Aquatic Performing Arts
  • Safety Diver for Film & Television