Man, I have no clue how I made it this far along in life without finding out about diving! It is seriously the most interesting thing I can think of to do with my life. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna become a SCUBA instructor and live on a cruise ship. Anyone else feel the same way?
SCUBA Certified!
- Thread starter mikellini
- Start date
bangaii man
New member
I just got off a cruise ship that took me to a dive spot two weeks ago. that would be a good life. If I didn't have a great wife and 6 kids, I'd ask if you wanted a roomate. that would be great for a young single person. one thing to think about. on our dive a "professional photographer" dove with us and took a few shots of everyone in the group. on the boat ride back he added those new shots to some existing ones he had taken of some fish and the sites we dove at, and burned them to dvd(or cd) and sold it to almost every diver for about $35. not a bad deal (for the photographer)
NewFish3
Premium Member
Re: SCUBA Certified!
Well first....Slow down...You cant go scuba diving today & be a Instructor tomorrow...LOL
Iam a Padi diver Instructor & a Padi Certified Rescure Diver. I dont know old you are, but it takes a lot of years to become a instructor....... Now in saying this...please go forth with it...we can always use more Divers.... The hobby is awesome & you will see things That a lot of people never get too..
Well first....Slow down...You cant go scuba diving today & be a Instructor tomorrow...LOL
Iam a Padi diver Instructor & a Padi Certified Rescure Diver. I dont know old you are, but it takes a lot of years to become a instructor....... Now in saying this...please go forth with it...we can always use more Divers.... The hobby is awesome & you will see things That a lot of people never get too..
spike78
New member
NewFish, you're a PADI Instructor AND a PADI Certified Rescue Diver? Really? 
mikellini, It's great you have so much enthusiasm! Just remember that teaching isn't for everyone. There is a ton of responsibility and generally really low pay until you start teaching specialties. I would guess cruise ship classes are 98% Open Water and Discover SCUBA classes. That being said, if you share that enthusiasm with your students, I have no doubt you will be extremely successful. As far as timing, depending on your dedication, you can take the Instructor Exam after 6 months and 100 dives as long as you've completed the prerequisite courses.
Good luck!
mikellini, It's great you have so much enthusiasm! Just remember that teaching isn't for everyone. There is a ton of responsibility and generally really low pay until you start teaching specialties. I would guess cruise ship classes are 98% Open Water and Discover SCUBA classes. That being said, if you share that enthusiasm with your students, I have no doubt you will be extremely successful. As far as timing, depending on your dedication, you can take the Instructor Exam after 6 months and 100 dives as long as you've completed the prerequisite courses.
Good luck!
NewFish3
Premium Member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12101266#post12101266 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by spike78
NewFish, you're a PADI Instructor AND a PADI Certified Rescue Diver? Really?
As far as timing, depending on your dedication, you can take the Instructor Exam after 6 months and 100 dives as long as you've completed the prerequisite courses.
Good luck!
YES......Iam a Certified Diving Instructor & Certified Rescue Diver :dance: :dance: :dance:
6 months & 100 dives to be a instructor..... NOT GONNA HAPPEN
First...thats over 4 dives a week. PADI has a Master Scuba Diver rating, It is a non professional level system of diver education. It means that you’ve acquired significant training and experience in 4 or 5 dive environments.
There is a minimum of 50 Logged Dives
Minimum qualifications: PADI Rescue Diver, you have to be at least 12 years old ( junior) and have five PADI Specialty Diver certifications. You also have to be certified in CPR & First aid.
This is still only a NON Professional level. There is much more to it to be a Instructor & rescue diver. Dont get me wrong....this is a awesome hobby & you can see things that most people only see on TV. If you really have the passion for it....go for it.
There are a lot of people out there that think, just because they bought the gear....they can do it. NOT........
I think that you should take a PADI class, book a dive somewhere & see how you like it......My guess is.....you will LOVE it.
I would buy your own mask at a dive shop if I were you. Fins & gear are one thing....but I really dont want to put on some scummy mask that someone else had......LOL
If you have any questions... feel free to ask me... :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
I've been looking into doing some local dives, but they don't seem too fun: cold water dry suit diving in a river in Jasper National Park. I think I'll just have to wait until I get back down to the caribbean for a few more dives... we are planning a cruise to the Mexican riviera, anyone know of good dive spots around Cabo San Luca, Mazatlan, or Puerto Vallarta?
spike78
New member
If you are going to learn, and you have the ability to learn in the cold water, I would definitely recommend it. The diving is much more challenging and technically demanding. People often discount cold water diving, but there are cold water dives that rival even the most diverse reefs. Once mastering your skills in a cold water environment, diving in the tropics feels like diving in the pool. You can enjoy your experience that much more. As well, if you learn to dive in cold water, you can be confident in your ability to dive just about anywhere.
spike78
New member
Newfish,
I was just flipping you crap as the Rescue Diver cert is a prerequisite to Divemaster. There is no way to become Instructor Certified without it. It was just amusing that you included both certifications in your intro. Sometimes when non-divers ask my wife and I about our certs, I tell them that my wife is a Divemaster. I'll often get the response, "Don't worry, you'll get there too Steve". My wife loves it.
As far as the timing is concerned, 100 dives in 6 months isn't too difficult to achieve. I would consider a year to be closer to a reasonable time frame to meet the prereqs before taking the IDC, especially if you are diving cold water (3 dives in a day in 50f water is much more exhausting than 3 in the tropics).
NewFish3
Premium Member
Hay....no problem. It sometimes give me a LOL moment when Iam talking to someone & we talk diving.I had a guy tell me that he was a diving instructor, so we get into it & then I get.....oh well I teach at the YMCA, trying to get the kids into it, ( dont get me wrong, teaching scuba is all good. just funny sometimes )...or I got one guy that ended up saying, well I teach snorkeling.
I agree, agree about cold water diving, plus bbbbbbbbrrrrrr
I would rather dive tropic any day.
Have you ever gone diving in Cayman or Cayman Brac.
I agree, agree about cold water diving, plus bbbbbbbbrrrrrr
I would rather dive tropic any day.
Have you ever gone diving in Cayman or Cayman Brac.
spike78
New member
I'm a West Coaster and haven't made it out to the Caymans. Most of my tropical diving has been in Hawaii or Mexico (Pacific Side). Most of my diving is done locally. I have about 1500 cold water dives in the Puget Sound. The last couple years have been really light since I started my family. It's not real easy to sneak out for a dive when the wife is home with a 2 year old and a 6-month old.
Hmmm. Well certification level is nice but not as relevant as one might think. 100 dives is certainly not enough to develop an intuitive sense of diving. Remember that as an instructor you are, in essence, diving solo, so you really need a lot of self rescue experience because your students are not going to rescue you. spike78 is right about a lot of things but especially cold water versus warm water diving. I can easily do five or even six dives per day in the tropics but three in cold water makes me want to sleep for 12 hours. When you are REALLY experienced, you will find that you tend not to give your highest level of certification as there is no need to do so.
coral diver
Old & Wise
Thats what i said to my self BBRRRR
