Alternatively, you might want to teach scuba diving to earn a living. In this case you might want to consider what the returns might be and how much of a living you want. PADI, the Professional Association of Dive Instructors, teaches its instructors in order that they can earn money from teaching. They consider the risks of getting it wrong very closely, particularly as the business model comes from the USA where litigation commences at the drop of a hat!

But unless you are considering dive instructing as a ticket to reach some distant paradise where you live on the beach and food is cheap, you must understand that being a dive instructor is not the best paid job in the world. It may well be a usful weekend or evening job to supplement your “day job”. But be warned, I know several PADI dive clubs in the UK where the instructors provide their services for free, as they enjoy teaching. Fine, but it lowers the market rates somewhat for those instructors wishing to make a fulltime career out of scuba diving. I also hear that some instructors will pay for a position in a good resort – simply to get the teaching experience they might need to get a better paid job.

An alternative route to become a scuba diving instructor is to train with the British Sub Aqua Club, or a similar club style organsisation. Being a not for profit organisation the BSAC route is a lot cheaper and it relies on adding experience by teaching others within a club environment. In this regard, whereas a trainee PADI instructor must not instruct until he is qualified, a trainee BSAC instructor may do so under supervision. The difference betwen the two is the ethos – one is a commercial training structure, one is a framework for maintaining the standards when enthusiasts pass on their skills to others.

Both types of organisation are of the highest quality – but are suited to two different approaches. Both produce high quality instructors – but only if the candidates themselves are responsible scuba divers in the first place. It does not matter what quality the instructing is if the trainee diver is not prepared to listen and become a role model for others. I have been trained by both PADI and BSAC and I recognise good points and bad points in both organisations.