Scuba Diving Instructor Salary, is it enough money to live on? A Scuba Diving Instructor Job is one of the best careers you can get. Knowing your scuba diving instructor salary is important before you invest your money in all the courses you need to become a scuba diving instructor.
Is it worth it to become a scuba diving instructor? Yes! Imagine traveling all over the world, scuba dive every day, and teach people a life-changing experience. This job is worth it and with a good scuba diving instructor salary, you can not only enjoy the diving lifestyle but have extra money on the side for life besides diving.
In this article, I will explain the different factors that influence your scuba diving instructor’s salary. This is important as a dive instructor’s salary differs between dive instructors.
Some scuba diving instructors only make 500 USD, while others can make up to 4000 USD and others make anything in between. Depending on the different factors that I discuss in this article the average scuba diving instructor salary is 2000 USD per month.
Commission based or fixed scuba diving instructor salary
Most scuba diving instructor salaries are commission-based. This means that you paid a commission (usually 20% of the course price) per student or fun diver.
This is great if you work in a place where you can get a lot of scuba diving students, but not so good if you work at a dive shop that only has a few students per month.
If you do get a lot of students then a commission-based scuba diving instructor salary usually pays more than a fixed salary.
Commission-based scuba diving instructor salary is great if you get many students
A fixed scuba diving instructor salary usually pays less than commission-based, but it is steady and you can rely on an income even if it might be less busy at the dive shop that month. The average fixed scuba diving instructor salary is around 1500 USD per month.
In most cases, you can increase the commission-based or fixed salary by increasing sales as a scuba diving instructor with upselling more scuba diving courses, dive equipment, snorkeling trips, or other excursions. This truly set’s diving instructors apart in how much money they earn per month.
Check out this YouTube video where I explain a scuba diving instructor salary in detail:
A scuba diving instructor salary is higher for people with a good attitude
Most people that complain they don’t earn enough money as a scuba diving instructor are usually people that can work on their attitude. This can be hard as people with bad attitudes usually don’t know they have them.
Scuba diving instructors with a great attitude usually find work much easier, keep their scuba jobs, and usually earn more income
Scuba diving instructors with a great attitude earn more salary, usually find work much easier, keep their scuba jobs, and move up the ranks to higher positions later. But most importantly their students love the way they teach and now want to invest more money to stay with them on other courses, and are more willing to buy scuba equipment or trust their advice for other excursions, etc. These upselling commissions can increase a dive instructor’s salary significantly at the end of the month.
Sometimes we see scuba diving instructors with great attitudes still not earning a lot of money. This is because they are working in the wrong location or for a badly managed dive shop. However, if they never get a good scuba diving instructor salary, then it usually is because they need to get a better attitude for their customers to be willing to spend more money on their advice.
The location makes all the difference in a scuba diving instructor salary
Some places in the world are more popular to learn scuba diving than others. We also see that some places are very popular for fun diving, but not to learn how to dive. As a dive instructor your main job is to teach people diving, therefore choosing the right location makes all the difference in a scuba diving instructor’s salary.
Koh Tao is a popular location for people to learn scuba diving.
Some scuba diving instructors choose to work where there is pristine diving. These places however are usually more challenging and more suited for experienced divers and don’t attract many beginner divers that are just starting. These dive instructors now find less work teaching and more work leading fun divers, which is fun but doesn’t pay as well as teaching students.
Try to find work in locations that are popular for people to learn to scuba dive, like Koh Tao, the Gili’s, Cairns to name a few. Once you are in one of these locations then try to find the most popular dive shops to increase your chances to be able to teach many students. Even a small dive shop with not many other instructors can give you a steady supply of students in these locations.
Working on a Cruise Ship as a Scuba Diving Instructor.
I know that some scuba diving instructors now complain that they want to be in the most beautiful locations and it should not be only about money, but just remember that this is still a job, a fun job, but still a job.
Having extra skills can increase your scuba diving instructor salary
This is not the most important factor, but it can help if you have extra skills besides scuba diving. For example, if you can design websites then you can help your dive shop by building or upgrading their websites. This can give you extra commissions, you are more employable, and can greatly increase your scuba diving salary. Other extra skills could be marketing, accounting, working behind the bar, mechanics, and more.
Work online scuba diving instructor.
You can also increase your scuba diving instructor salary by doing extra jobs besides diving. You can for example teach scuba diving 2 weeks a month and the other 2 weeks teach yoga, have a shop, or work online.
Conclusion
I hope that these tips helped you understand why a scuba diving instructor’s salary is very different from person to person. My advice is not to consider yourself to become rich, but also don’t listen to the haters that never made a good scuba diving instructor salary.
If you have a good attitude, work hard, love scuba diving, care about your students, choose the right education and location to work then you should make an average of 2500 USD per month and you can only increase that with extra sales.
I teach monthly PADI IDC Courses where I focus a lot on giving all the tips to help people succeed with their future scuba diving instructor jobs. If you are also interested in becoming a dive instructor and you would like to do your PADI IDC Course with me on Koh Tao, then please contact me and I would love to chat about your future.
Dive Jobs can sometimes be hard to find. Especially because of the COVID-19 epidemic. Scuba Diving Tips will be sharing available Dive Jobs worldwide on this page. Finding the right Dive Jobs is important for you to make the right choice.
Working as a Scuba Instructor
We first cover What are Dive Jobs followed by recent Scuba Job Opportunities. We recommend that you bookmark this page and regularly check back for any new dive jobs as we update new scuba jobs frequently.
What are Dive Jobs?
Dive Jobs are jobs that involve scuba diving, free diving, divemaster jobs, scuba instructor jobs, working in dive gear retail shops, working for scuba training organizations, writing for dive magazines, being part of scuba online work, managing a dive shop, working on yachts or cruise ships, owning a dive center and commercial diving.
What jobs involve scuba diving or is Scuba Diving a job? These are questions we hear a lot. There are many scuba diving jobs out there and they don’t always involve teaching as a scuba instructor. You see there are many Dive Jobs to be found.
Free Diving Jobs
The most popular freediving jobs are teaching freediving and being a free dive athlete. Working as a professional freediver you earn sponsorships if you break depth records etc. To teach freediving you need to become a freediving instructor.
Freediving Instructor
Divemaster Jobs
To be able to work as a Divemaster you first need to get your Divemaster certification. You can do this with many different scuba training organizations like SSI, RAID, and PADI to name a few. PADI is the largest trading organization which can help to increase your divemaster job opportunities. To get your Divemaster certification with PADI you need to first do the PADI Open Water Diver Course, followed by the Advanced, EFR, Rescue Diver, and finally the PADI Divemaster course. We recommend Sairee Cottage Diving on Koh Tao for your Divemaster course.
Scroll down for Divemaster Jobs
Working as a Divemaster – Photo credit: PeachSnaps
Scuba Instructor Jobs
The most popular dive jobs are scuba instructor jobs. You can already find a dive job as a Divemaster, but your options are limited as Divemaster normally can only lead fun dives, assist scuba instructors, and conduct scuba refresher courses.
Teaching Dive Skills as a Scuba Instructor
Scuba instructors can do the same dive jobs as a Divemaster, but on top of that, they can also teach most scuba dive courses. This increases their chances for work significantly and scuba instructors usually earn a bit more salary compared to Divemaster Jobs.
Same as with the Divemaster course you can choose different training organizations, but to get the biggest chance to find the best scuba instructor jobs we recommend PADI. After completion of your Divemaster Course, you can take the PADI IDC Course to become a scuba instructor. Check out this PADI IDC Course with a unique dive Jobs placement program to help you find the best dive jobs.
Scroll down for Scuba Instructor Jobs
Working in Dive Gear Retail Shops
You can also find scuba jobs on land! Many people work in dive gear retail shops. You can do this in a store or on a dive gear store online. Selling dive gear can be a good dive job with great salaries and commission payouts. Are you interested in purchasing dive gear yourself? Then check out some great dive equipment items here.
Working for Training Organisations
There are lots of dive jobs to be found working for big scuba training organizations. RAID, PADI, SSI, CMAS are amazing training organizations that created standardized diving courses to make it able for people to learn scuba diving.
Working for PADI
These are large organizations with thousands of employees. You have different options for employment in a training organization. You can be a front office receptionist, work for customer service, the legal department, be a training consultant, regional manager, work in marketing, sales social media, and the IT department to name a few dive job positions with scuba training organizations.
Scroll down for Jobs with PADI
Working on Yachts and Cruise Ships
Would you like to travel the world in style while getting paid for it? Then we recommend finding a scuba dive job on a yacht, super-yacht, or cruise ship. Not only are working on some of the most beautiful ships, but you will travel to some of the most beautiful dive locations in the world.
Many of my Divemaster and Dive Instructor students found work on Super-Yachts and Cruise ships and all are making a great salary. Do remember that working on yachts and cruise ships is still work and besides scuba diving, you might need to also clean the boats as a deckhand or work for example sometimes in the restaurant of a cruise ship.
You first need to get some licenses like the STCW, deckhand, DSS, or other certifications if you are interested in working on these amazing ships. We recommend to check out Galileo Maritime Academy for all the diploma’s you need to be able to work on yachts.
Scuba Dive Magazine Jobs
Do you love to write about your passion, then try and get work writing for a scuba diving magazine or sell your amazing scuba dive photo’s if you are an underwater photographer.
Photo Credit: DeeperBlue.com
Check out some of the best scuba dive magazines and check the footer for any job opportunities. Most popular scuba dive magazines:
Below we will post regular dive jobs around the world. It is important to beware of any scams. NEVER send any money to an employer. Please contact us if you found that any of the listed dive jobs is a scam.
(Disclaimer: Scuba Diving Tips searches the internet daily to help you find Dive Job Opportunities. We cannot be held responsible for any future relationship between employee and employer. Please make sure both parties are legit before excepting the Dive Job or Hire the Employee).
Scuba Diving Jobs Thailand
Here are the most recent Scuba Diving Jobs in Thailand. The land of smiles offers some of the best diving, incredible food, and nature. Some of the best dive professionals have been trained in Thailand or found their perfect Scuba Diving Job in Thailand.
Dive Job Opportunity from Leisure Dive Center:
Leisure Dive Center in Koh Phi Phi is hiring 2 instructors or a team
– 1 MSDT Instructor (As dive instructor and shop manager)
Finding Scuba Instructor Jobs in the Caribbean is easy as the Caribbean is a major diving destination. Many Cruise Ships also visit the Caribbean sending a steady supply of tourists. The Caribbean is a favorite tourist destination for Americans and Europeans.
Dive Job Opportunity from Derek’s Place:
Padi Instructor Needed in Little Corn Island, Nicaragua.
We are looking for instructor to help run our small dive center on the island, as soon as possible.
Job requirements:
Fun dives, courses, maintenance, customer service, social media, sales
Languages: English and SpanishDiving qualification: Minimum PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI)
Salary: Commission based
Company: The Little Dive Shack by the Sea, at Derek’s Place
The Bahamas specifically is an amazing place to find a Dive Job. Beautiful beaches, stunning dive sites, and lots of tourists make the Bahamas a fantastic place to work.
We currently have no Scuba Instructor Jobs in the Bahamas listed, check back in a week as we update this job section Frequently.
Scuba Jobs in Florida
Florida is part of the United States and near the Caribbean. There are many scuba jobs in Florida. A lot of people like to work in Florida as you have access to great facilities. You can also earn a decent salary when you take a scuba job in Florida.
Job Opportunity from Rainbow Reef Dive Center:
Rainbow Reef Dive Center, the largest most active dive center in Florida, has immediate openings for scuba instructors and boat crew. Come to work with a busy and exciting dive center here in the heart of the Dive Capital!
This position is just as much about guest service as it is about safely mating, guiding, and teaching aboard our USCG certified vessels. You are expected to have terrific guest service skills and a PADI professional rating. Minimum OWSI rating teaching experience is preferred. You must ALREADY be authorized to work in the US.
Your duties will include mating, guiding guest divers, teaching PADI courses, handling equipment and tanks, boat maintenance, and other duties as needed. This position is paid per trip/class/student, plus tips and sales commission. Group health insurance plans also available. Rainbow Reef is a drug-free workplace. Learn more about us by visiting our website and then send your resume to us by email.
Source: PADI Employments Forum
Published Date: 17 June 2020
Dive Jobs in Europe
Getting a Dive Job in Europe can be attractive to you if you live in or close to Europe. Also, cold water diving can be amazing. If you don’t like a cold climate you can still find lots of scuba jobs in the Mediterranean.
Dive Job Opportunity from Diver’s Club Crete:
We are looking for a Polish and/or Russian speaking PADI Instructor or Divemaster to join us in Crete Greece from beginning of July until mid/end of October.
We are looking only for EU citizens or those who already have working permission in the EU.
If you’d like to work in a nice, well organized and friendly environment, send us your CV, a recent photo of yours and any recent references you might have by email.You can get more information about us on our website and on our Facebook Page.
NOTE: Applications that fulfill these requirements will be answered within a week. All communications and CVs should be addressed in English.
For some people, a scuba diving instructor’s salary is not always that high. It is important to know how to increase your sales as a scuba diving instructor to make sure you earn enough money and can continue to live a fantastic lifestyle.
I found out that you can easily increase your scuba diving instructor income with up sales. In this blog, I will give you my tips on how to increase your sales as a scuba diving instructor and how I did it.
We will look at:
See sales as something positive
Continuo education vs dive equipment sales
Make a list of how to become the best scuba diving instructor
Entertainment is key
Best moments to sell during a course
Colors to use on a whiteboard
Social Media Marketing
After-sales and commissions
Don’t see sales as negative – The positive approach selling method
The first step is to not see sales as something negative, but a positive way to help give people what they want and need.
I hear too many scuba diving instructors complain that they have to sell so much to keep a job and it is supposed to be about giving people a scuba diving experience and not selling them something.
Photo credit: Scuba Pro
I understand that safety and enjoyment come first in teaching people to scuba dive, but sales don’t have to be negative. If you as a scuba diving instructor start seeing sales as something positive then you get much better at it and you will notice an increase in your scuba diving instructor salary.
Continue education vs scuba dive equipment sales
Should we focus more on continue education (follow-up diving courses), on equipment sales, or both? Our scuba diving students might not always have a big budget and they can sometimes only afford or the next course or some dive gear. This presents a dilemma for us scuba diving instructors as to when we sell some diving equipment they might not have enough money for continue education.
The best answer to this question is to find out what will be the most beneficial for the customer (diving student) and not our commission. If you find out that your scuba diving students want and need the next course more than a piece of diving equipment you should try and sell the next course and vice versa. “
Always sell only what your dive student wants and needs”
Make a list of how to become the best in everything as a scuba diving instructor
The better you are as a scuba diving instructor the more people want to learn from you. To become the best doesn’t just mean to have only good scuba diving skills. To become a successful diving instructor you need to have a fantastic attitude, smile, give customer service, entertain your students, be calm, be safety-minded and the list goes on and on.
I recommend you to take some time and make a few lists writing down what is needed to become the best and then try to become that teacher. My biggest tip is to see your role as a scuba diving instructor from different angles and perspectives.
Imagine that you are the owner of the dive shop
First, imagine that you are the owner of a scuba dive shop and make a list of what the perfect scuba diving instructor employee would be for your dive shop.
For example, do you want that person to be on time, look healthy, always smile, work hard, do extra jobs for the dive shop after you finished teaching, have ideas, use social media to promote the dive shop, etc.
Write as many bullet points as you can and then try and be that scuba diving instructor. The more an owner likes you, the more work you get, the more chance for upsells, the more money you make and you are less likely to get fired if he might have to reduce staff at one point. Who knows you might even get promoted to dive shop manager etc.
Imagine that you are a diving student
Second, imagine that you are an Open Water Diver student (you can also choose Advanced, Rescue, etc.). Now make a list with bullet points on how you would picture your perfect scuba diving instructor.
Would you like someone confident, is nice, has a lot of patience, will do anything for the student, help with travel information, recommend diving spots all over the world, is slow underwater, caring, etc. Now again, try to become that person when you teach scuba diving.
Imagine that you are a fun diver
Third, make a list imagining that you are a fun diver and write down the perfect dive leader for you and again try to become that person. You can keep making a list of different scenarios and see yourself as a dive instructor from the perspective of your customers, manager, and dive shop owners.
You might not be able to become or do all the bullet points that you have written down, but the closer you get, the better you are as a scuba diving instructor.
And trust me on this one that people love to stay with you for continue education courses or are more willing to buy dive equipment from you as you are a superstar dive instructor, and everyone trusts a superstar!
Entertaining your students is key to increase your sales as a scuba diving instructor
This is a game-changer and most of the time when I see scuba diving instructors not selling well, I also notice that they don’t entertain their students enough. Entertaining your scuba students is key to increase your sales and income.I
know good dive instructors that have great diving skills and are very knowledgeable but are not good entertainers and because of that don’t sell much. Try to put yourself in the shoes of your students, they don’t just do the diving course to become divers on their holidays, they also want to have a great time.
This doesn’t mean you should only focus on entertaining them and don’t care about training. You should do both, teach them to become great divers with fantastic diving skills and teach them all the knowledge you can and on top of that entertain them until they leave. Not only do they now want to stay longer with you (continuo education), but they will also recommend you to new potential diving students on their future travels.
Different ways to entertain your students as a scuba diving instructor
First of all, try and meet your students early on, by picking them up from transportation, help them to check in to their accommodation, maybe have some coffee or lunch with them before the course. I know this is not always possible, but if you can I recommend it.
Always do a proper orientation before the start of the PADI Open Water Diver course or any other course. In this orientation, you explain the schedule and logistics but it is also a great way to ask about them (and genuinely be interested) and add some jokes here and there. Tell them that the next few days will become the best day’s of their holiday or even their lives and then try and keep your word! 🙂
Second, try and be entertain full throughout the PADI Open Water Diver course, try and make jokes when you are teaching, smile and answer any questions your students have positively. Also always join your students before dives and during surface intervals. Don’t just hang out with your colleagues. You are here for the enjoyment of your diving students, not just your own.
Lastly and one of the best tips to increase your sales as a scuba diving instructor is to take your students out for lunch or dinner. I found that taking them out for dinner works best. You can do this during the course, on the certification day, or both.
If you can only take them out of dinner once then I recommend organizing a dinner on the last day of the PADI Open Water Diver course when they received their (temporary) scuba diving certification card.
Taking your scuba diving students out to dinner
This is one of the best ways to increase your sales as a scuba diving Instructor. By taking them out to dinner you are giving them lot’s of entertainment and it shows to them that you care about their enjoyment as they know that this is your free time.
But it gets better! During dinner, there will always be 1 or 2 students that start asking you questions about the next course or other scuba diving experiences.
Every time I take my PADI Open Water Diver students out for dinner and they ask me about the Advanced Course.
Try and sit in the middle to be able to entertain all your students
This is fantastic and you are not selling as you are just answering their questions. Like is the deep dive scary? How cool is the night dive really? Tell us more about the wreck? And many more. The best thing is that while you are answering these questions to some of your students that asked for them, the other students are overhearing them. They usually don’t mind as they think you are just answering people’s questions and are not selling.
An important note is that you should try and sit in the middle of the table, right in between your students so you can talk and listen to everyone. I have seen a lot of scuba diving instructors and Divemaster’s sit at the head of the table, but then you can’t talk to everyone and the selling process become less effective plus you are not entertaining everyone.
Overselling the next course is bad as students don’t want to be sold something. While underselling is also not good as your students won’t buy anything they don’t know about. The trick is to find that sweet spot by mentioning the PADI Advanced Diver course enough to get them excited and not too much that it becomes overselling.
Orientation:
Get your students excited from the start that there is another course after the PADI Open Water Diver Course and that it is amazing!
Don’t oversell, “just plant the seed that you can then later give water and let it grow throughout the course”.
The best time to do this is after you explained the PADI Open Water Diver course schedule to your students. Now you should also explain the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver schedule briefly after.
I recommend having both the Open Water course schedule and the Advanced schedule on the whiteboard throughout your orientation. This way it will be in the line of sight of your scuba students at all times.
Confined Water Dives:
Don’t talk too much about the PADI Advanced course during the confined water dives. Now it is time to focus on their first PADI Open Water Course skills. You might mention the advanced during a break, but don’t push it to prevent overselling.
Dive theory chapter 1, 2, and 3 Classroom sessions:
You can mention it a few times, like watering the plant, but you don’t need to be overselling. The reason why I recommend not to mention the Advanced course too much during your PADI Confined water dives and the first classroom sessions is that in most cases they haven’t experience the Open Water part yet. So they don’t know yet how cool scuba diving is!
Open Water Dive 1 and 2
Before or during the surface interval of open water dive 1 and 2, I would not recommend you to mention the Advanced Course at all. But after you finish dives 1 and 2, I highly recommend you to start selling the Advanced Open Water Diver Course.
The reason is that your PADI Open Water Diver students are now super excited after their first scuba diving experience in the open water. They experienced breathing underwater, conquered fears, saw incredible marine life and so much more.
After an experience like that, they just want more. And how do they get more? Exactly by joining the Advanced course after the Open Water Diver course.
Dive theory chapter 4 and 5 Classroom sessions:
This is where the magic happens! A lot of scuba diving instructors think that they should do fewer classroom sessions and more diving to keep their students happy, but if you are a good instructor and presenter, it is the opposite.
In the classroom, you have the best opportunity to talk to your students, reflect on their dive 1 and 2 and sell the next experience which is the advanced course.
I recommend not having a separate talk about why the advanced course is so great, just explain every single PADI Open Water Knowledge Review question and answer of chapters 4 and 5. On many of these questions, you can integrate or relate them to your positive experiences during an advanced course.
Then in the end just before the PADI Open Water Diver Exam you briefly remind them again of the schedule of the Advanced course and how they can sign up at the end of the course. Never pressure them in making a decision now as we still have open water dive 3 and 4 to do.
Open Water Dive 3 and 4
After promoting, selling, and talking about the Advanced course that much during the dive theory chapter 4 and 5 classroom sessions, I recommend you to not try and sell the continuo education course before and during the surface interval of open water dive 3 and 4.
Just enjoy the experience, try and dive really slow and let your open water diver students truly experience the details of the marine life.
Then when they surface after dive 4 and they had one of the best experiences of their lives, it is now time to give them a friendly reminder about staying a bit longer and experience an even better scuba diving adventure with the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course.
Scuba Diving Certification and Paperwork
The last thing to complete in the course is completing the paperwork and the PADI Open Water Diver certification details. This is a great time to congratulate your students and to ask them how much they liked the diving course.
Let them talk and give them a chance to explain how much they liked the experience, the dive shop, and hopefully you as a Scuba Diving Instructor. This will be a great time to sell more continue education, which is the Advanced course in this case.
Don’t do it too much as they just finished their PADI Open Water Diver course and are happy with that, you don’t want them to feel that only the Advanced is great.
This is also a good time to invite them for some sunset drinks and a student course dinner to celebrate that they are PADI Open Water Divers.
When they show up for dinner they all had a rest, a shower, are dressed up, and are in good moods, now it is time to sell the continue education during dinner, by answering questions as I explained before. This is the final touch that makes most if not all students sign up and join the next course.
Hopefully, by this time the group bonding is strong and many want to stay together for a few more days.
PADI Divemaster Candidates, Divemasters, and Instructor Interns increase sales even better
Don’t let your ego to your head thinking that only are selling the continue education. Actually, I found out that most of the time my assistants like my PADI Divemasters and Instructor Interns were selling the continuo education (next diving course) much better than me.
The reason for this is that a lot of students know that you are trying to sell the next course to earn more money. It very quickly leads to overselling if you keep talking about the next course.
However, they usually know that your Divemasters and interns are probably not earning from this (or less) so they trust them more. Divemasters, interns, and especially DMT’s/DMC’s are also closer to the student level, which makes students relate to them more.
That is why I always recommend having assistants joining your PADI Open Water Diver course. Besides them helping with logistics, add extra safety and entertainment your Divemasters and interns are priceless when it comes to selling continuo education.
Also if they did help you to increase your sales, then don’t forget to reward them at the end of the course with compliments, free dinner, some free drinks or/and some extra money. This will make them feel appreciated, create team bonding which in return will lead to them trying to help you increase sales even more on the next course.
Specialty courses and scuba diving equipment
You can increase your sales as a scuba diving instructor even more by getting people excited about PADI Specialty courses to add-on to their Advanced course or even easier and better to ingrate a specialty course like a PADI Enriched Air Nitrox Diver course.This course is easy to teach, doesn’t take a lot of time and students get a great benefit from being a PADI Enriched Air Nitrox Diver as they can stay longer at a certain depth depending on their air supply. You can easily ingrate this course in the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course.
Another great way to increase sales and earn more money is by promoting scuba dive gear. People that own diving equipment usually tends to do more diving which leads to better continue education sales.
However, as I mentioned before, be a bit careful by selling them too much dive equipment as they might run low on budget and might not be able to join the next course. Ask them what they prefer and help them to get that.
Color whiteboard markers do make a difference in increasing sales
I know this might be strange what I am about to tell you, but I strongly recommend you to not use a red whiteboard marker when you try to sell something. Or at least reduce using them.
People react emotionally to colors. For example, the color Blue is the color of trust, water, and the sky. We relate the color green to nature, conservation and money. And red reminds us of war, love, sex, blood, and danger.
In other words, if you write the PADI Advanced Open Water course schedule on your whiteboard to try and promote it with a red whiteboard marker, you risk that your students associate the course as aggressive and dangerous.
I recommend you to always use a blue color whiteboard marker when you try and promote continue education courses and dive equipment as your students trust that color more. It sounds a bit much, but these small details truly help in how to increase your sales as a scuba diving instructor.
Use Social Media Marketing to increase future sales as a scuba diving instructor
While teaching a diving course I recommend you to post at least one picture or video a day on your social media and tag your students and the dive shop in it.
Students, their friends, and the dive shop owner will now see your teaching style and how amazing the course is going. Owners might now give you more students for the next course, increasing your chances for more sales. You might also get more recommendations from the students and their friends to come and do scuba diving courses with you.
After-sales and extra commissions as a scuba diving instructor
Let’s say that you did a fantastic job and your PADI Open Water Diver course students decided to also do the Advanced course with you, some of them a Nitrox specialty, a few others bought a new scuba mask with you and some rented some underwater camera’s. It is going fantastic!
You reach the end of all their course and enjoy a beverage with them just before they travel onwards. Is this the end of promoting them more or can you increase even more sales?
You can increase even more sales by asking them in the end where they are traveling next or what their plans are with their newly earned scuba diving certification levels.
Some of them might answer that they would love to go scuba diving around the world or on their next destination, but don’t know where to go. This is where you step in and help them to recommend other great dive shops or/and scuba diving travel.
Especially recommending them a Liveaboard trip can be a fantastic way to increase sales as they usually pay high referral commissions. Do make sure you recommend a really good Liveaboard company so that your students truly receive another amazing scuba diving experience!
Conclusion on how to increase your sales as a scuba diving instructor
After all this talk about sales, you might think that you should only care about that, but that is not true at all. Selling is not something bad if you are honest and truly care about your scuba diving students.
Remember that by selling them something you help them to get what they want and need. If done well they will be thanking you for it while your increase your sales as a scuba diving instructor.
I can go on and on about this topic and have tons of more tips on how you can become a successful scuba diving instructor but that is too much information to write here. If you want to learn more you can join my PADI Divemaster and PADI IDC Course on Koh Tao.
If you want to start increasing your sales as a Scuba Diving Instructor you can recommend someone to do the PADI Divemaster or PADI IDC Course with me at Sairee Cottage Diving for a high referral commission. Please contact me for more information.
I wish you all the best of success and just remember “You can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pocket” – Arnold Schwarzenegger
Work hard, smile, truly care, be honest, have great diving skills, be safe, passionate, and eco-friendly and you be surprised how easy it is to increase your sales as a scuba diving instructor.
You can use the PADI IDC Exam questions and answers on this page for practicing for your PADI IDC Course exams and the PADI IE Exam questions.
There are 2 exams in the PADI IDC course and the PADI IE (Instructor Examination). One is the PADI Standards Exam and the other is the PADI Dive Theory Exam. The PADI Standards Exam is an open-book exam and you can use the PADI Instructor Manual and PADI Guide to Teaching for that. The PADI Theory Exam is closed book and you need to be able to complete that from memory.
PADI IDC Exam Questions and Answers
In this blog, we will give you these PADI IDC Exam questions and answers exams to practice with for free as some PADI IDC candidates struggle with the PADI Theory exams during the PADI IDC Course.
A few tips to optimize learning with the PADI IDC Exam questions and answers
First I recommend making the full PADI IDC and IE exam 1. That includes dive Physics, Physiology, Recreational Dive Planner, Diving Skills and Environment, and Equipment. After that check, the PADI IDC Exam answers that you find below the exam on this page and learn from your mistakes. Then make PADI IDC practice exam 2, check the answers, and then repeat the process until you complete all 5 PADI IDC Exam questions and answers practice exams.
Before we dive into the exams I highly recommend you get a Dive Insurance as a Divemaster or Instructor. It is best to be covered for that unlikely event. I just switched to this DiveAssure and I am so happy with it!
DiveAssure’s annual and short-term DiveSafe plans offer the coverage you need. The DiveSafe plan includes coverage for medical expenses, emergency medical evacuations, hyperbaric treatments and more.
Another and sometimes much more effective way of practicing the PADI IDC Exam questions and answers is to only focus on one dive theory topic, for example:
Make Physics 1 (this will just be 12 questions), then check the answers to that. Then check your mistakes and try to learn from them. You can learn from your mistakes using the dive theory Physics summary, google, and/or books, What is important is that you only keep focussing on Physics by making the Physics exam 2. Again only the 12 questions and then check the answers, keep repeating this process until you did all 5 Physics. Then Do the same with the next topic like Physiology etc.
For TRUE or FALSE Questions: A = TRUE and D = FLASE
PADI IDC Exam questions and answers Practice Exam 1
DIVE PHYSICS #1
1. Water has the capability to _________ light; because of this __________ color disappearing first underwater.
a. refract / blue
b. absorb / green
c. absorb / red
d. refract / red
2. Sound travels ______ times faster underwater making it difficult for divers to determine the _________ of it. a. 4 / intensity b. 20 / cause c. 4 / cause d. 4 / origin
3. A scuba tank is filled with an ambient pressure of 10 degrees Celsius. What will happen if this tank is then placed in an environment near 40 degrees Celsius?
a. Volume decreases and pressure within the tank increases. b. Pressure within the tank decreases and volume is unchanged. c. Volume increases and pressure within the tank is unchanged. d. Pressure within the tank increases and volume is unchanged.
4. A diver breathing compressed air from a scuba tank that contains 0.75% of Carbon Monoxide at 45m in seawater would have the same effect as a person breathing what Percent of Carbon Monoxide at the surface?
a. 4.125% b. 0.75% c. 3.375% d. 33.75%
5. A huge anchor weighing 645kg lies at 23m at the bottom of the sea. It displaces 276 liters of water. How much air do you need to add to your lifting device to move it off the bottom?
a. 360 liters b. 350 liters c. 284 liters d. 276 liters
6. What is the absolute pressure at 27m of fresh water?
a. 27 ata b. 3.7 ata c. 2.62 ata d. 3.62 ata
7. A sealed metal container with a volume of 12 liters is taken down into seawater. What is the new volume and what will happen to the density inside the container upon Reaching 20m?
a. Volume – 12 liters and density unchanged. b. Volume – 24 liters and density are 2 times greater. c. Volume – 12 liters and density 3 times greater. d. Volume 36 liters and density 3 times greater.
8. A scuba tank is filled with 35% of oxygen and 65% of nitrogen. What is the partial pressure of nitrogen and oxygen in this tank when breathed at 29m in freshwater?
a. 2.53 ata / 1.36 ata b. 1.88 ata / 1.01 ata c. 1.83 ata / 0.98 ata d. 2.48 ata / 1.33 ata
9. When the pressure of a gas is increased while it is still in contact with a liquid:
a. The liquid evaporates b. The gas forms bubbles in the liquid c. The liquid dissolves into the gas d. The gas dissolves into the liquid
10. An object that is positively buoyant in salt water would ______ in fresh water.
a. Float b. Unable to determine with the information given c. Sink slowly d. Be Neutrally buoyant
11. An object weighing 67kg is negatively buoyant in fresh water and neutrally buoyant in salt water. What is the exact volume of this object?
a. 67 liters b. 65 liters c. 69 liters d. Cannot be determined with the information given
12. Under certain conditions, underwater objects appear to be further away than it actually is; this phenomenon is known as _______ and it is primarily caused by _______. a. Visual reversal / Turbidity b. Visual disturbance / Saltwater c. Refraction / Light travels at different speed underwater d. Absorption / Density of the water
DIVE PHYSIOLOGY #1
1. Carotid Sinus reflex results in __________ primarily caused by _____________.
a. Automatic bleeding of sinuses / the inability to equalize airspaces b. Slowing of the heart / wearing a tight-fitting hood or wetsuit constricting blood flow through the carotid arteries. c. Lung squeeze/descending too fast d. Slowing of heart/exhaling too much while descending.
2. Divers are advised not to hyperventilate excessively when doing breath-hold diving to avoid:
a. Thoracic squeeze b. Carbon monoxide poising c. Hypocapnia d. Shallow water blackout
3. When diving divers need to breathe slowly and deeply and use a well-maintained regulator to reduce the risk of:
a. Hypocapnia b. Thoracic squeeze c. Hypercapnia d. Carbon monoxide poisoning
4. Oxygen is administered to divers suspected of having decompression illness to:
a. Decrease Hypocapnia b. Increase metabolism of nitrogen c. Lower the partial pressure of nitrogen which helps to safely accelerate the diffusion of nitrogen from the blood d. All of the above
5. After a dive, even though divers do not display any DCI signs and symptoms, tiny nitrogen bubbles referred as _______________ are thought to form in the circulatory system because of the presence of _____________.
a. Invisible/gas “seeds” b. Microbubbles / nitrogen c. Silent bubbles/gas “seeds” d. Silent bubbles/impurities in the air supply
6. __________________ is a substance contained within the ______ blood cells that aids in transportation of oxygen throughout the body.
a. Hemoglobin / red b. Plasma / red c. Cholesterol / red d. Hemoglobin / white
7. Air bubbles entering arteries and blocking blood flow would indicate that the diver is suffering from which lung expansion injuries?
a. Pneumothorax b. Mediastinal emphysema c. Subcutaneous emphysema d. Air embolism
8. A diver having difficulty equalizing while descending, who forcefully blows against a pinched nose, has a high risk of __________.
a. Hypoxia b. Rupturing his round window c. Rupturing his eardrum d. Rupturing his Eustachian tube
9. A diver with a strong rapid pulse, not sweating and hot dry skin is suffering from:
a. Heat Exhaustion b. Jellyfish stings c. Heatstroke d. Advanced Hypothermia
10. Advanced hypothermia signs and symptoms includes:
a. Strong rapid pulse, no perspiration, and hot skin b. Cool and clammy skin, nausea c. No shivering, drowsiness lack of coordination, and possibly coma d. Shivering, numbness in fingers and toes
11. Gas exchange between the tissues and the blood occurs in the:
a. Capillaries b. Arteries c. Heart d. Veins
12. Carbon monoxide bonds with hemoglobin over _______ times better than oxygen can. a. 20 b. 200 c. 300 d. 4
DIVE DECOMPRESSION THEORY AND THE RECREATIONAL DIVE PLANNER #1
1. When using the RDP for diving higher than 300m, you need to follow these procedures except for:
a. Wait a minimum of 6 hours upon reaching the altitude before diving b. Slower ascent rate of 9m per minute c. Actual depths must be converted to theoretical depths d. When changing altitude, dive at the lowest altitude first
2. A __________ tissue compartment model was used to determine No decompression limits and the surface interval credit was calculated using _______________________ to form the RDP.
a. 12 / 120 minutes b. 14 / 120 minutes c. 14 / 60 minutes d. 7 / 60 minutes
3. RDP is using a much faster “gas wash out” compartment compared to the US Navy table. The benefit of using RDP for recreational diving is that it:
a. Provides longer no decompression time b. Provides shorter required surface interval time c. Provides longer surface interval time but longer no decompression time for deep dives d. Provides equal surface interval time but longer no decompression time
4. When diving in a group of divers who use dive computers we should follow the limits of:
a. Diver with the latest dive computer b. Diver with the most conservative computer c. Diver with the most experience d. Diver with the least experience
5. Because they are based on (the) _______________ theoretical model(s), pressure groups __________________ between the Table and the ERDPML.
a. Different / cannot be transferred b. Different / can be transferred c. Same / can be transferred d. Same / cannot be transferred
6. A diver has been doing two dives for four consecutive days. What is the minimum time he has to wait before he is allowed to fly in a commercial airliner according to the RDP?
a. 12 hours b. 8 hours c. 24 hours d. 18 hours
Use the eRDP ML or RDP table to answer the following problems. Although you would normally dive well within maximum limits, for examination purposes provide the required answers as exactly as possible according to the Planner.
7. A diver enters the water for his first dive at 0830 hours on a dive to 24m for 20 minutes. At 0918 hour he re-enters the water on a dive to 18m for 32 minutes. What is his maximum allowable time for another dive to 17m after 58 minutes surface interval?
a. 30 minutes b. 26 minutes c. 53 minutes d. 19 minutes
8. After a 20m dive for 40 minutes, a diver would like to make a second dive to the same depth for 28 minutes and he also plans to go to 16m for 42 minutes for his third dive. What are the minimum surface intervals between his first and second dive as well as between his second and his third dive?
a. 1:08 and 0:48 b. 1:15 and 0:48 c. 1:15 and 0:53 d. 1:08 and 0:53
9. After 27 minutes of diving at 19m, a diver decides to ascend because he is feeling cold and tired of swimming against the current. What is his maximum allowable depth for his next dive in a normal environment if he wants to spend at least 35 minutes underwater after a 55 minutes surface interval?
a. 23m b. 20m c. 16m d. 18m
Use the eRDP ML to answer the following problems. Although you would normally dive well within maximum limits, for examination purposes provide the required answers as exactly as possible according to the eRDP ML.
10. A diver plans to do a multilevel dive starting from 32, up to 19m and 12m. He wishes to stay according to all the maximum time limits. How long will he be able to stay underwater in total, including a safety stop (if required)?
a. 77 mins b. 80 mins c. 83 mins d. 17 mins
11. At 11:05 a.m. a diver enters the water to do his first dive to 24m for 27 minutes. If he uses minimum surface intervals to plan for his second dive to 22m for 25 minutes, what time will he come back up to the surface after both dives? (You may ignore all ascent times but NOT required safety stop time)
a. Can not determine the answer with the information given b. 13:03 c. 13:14 d. 13:20
12. What is the ending pressure group at the end of a multilevel dive starting at 24m for 22 minutes then up to 20m for 11 minutes and 12m for 15 minutes? a. L b. S c. P d. Dive profile can’t be done
DIVE SKILLS AND THE ENVIRONMENT #1
1. A diver who is injured by an aquatic life may have the following signs and symptoms except for:
a. Respiratory and cardiac arrest b. Local excruciating pain c. Local swelling or inflammation d. Cherry red lips and nail beds
2. During a deep dive, you notice a diver is behaving foolishly, the best way to assist this diver is to:
a. Take him up to a shallower depth b. Take him to a deeper depth c. Tell him to breathe slowly and deeply d. Tell him to monitor his air supply and swim horizontally until he feels better
3. In the ______________ hemisphere the major ocean currents flow counter-clockwise, while in the _________________ hemisphere they flow clockwise.
a. Northern / Southern b. Southern / Northern c. Western / Eastern d. Eastern / Western
4. The two major environmental elements that cause currents in the ocean are:
a. Water temperature and upwelling b. Earth’s rotation and wind c. Tide and gravitational pull from the sun and the moon d. All of the above
5. You lost a dive knife in an area of flat sandy bottom where visibility is usually limited. Which search pattern is the most appropriate to find this object?
a. “U” pattern with a compass b. Sweeping “V” formation c. Expanding circular using line d. Square pattern
6. A diver is wearing a BCD with 16kg of lift. After a few minutes, underwater he finds an anchor, and he realizes that he could not lift this anchor unless he fills his BCD completely. What action should he take in this circumstance?
a. Hold the anchor lightly, inflate his BCD, ascend slowly, and be ready to release air in case he is ascending too fast b. Tie a line to the anchor and attach it to his buddy and his BCD, inflate both BCD partially and swim up slowly c. Leave the anchor at the bottom and come back with a lifting device later d. Kick up as hard as possible while holding the anchor with his buddy with both BCDs fully deflated
7. When diving at altitude, although the percentage of gases within the atmosphere remains the same, the _________________ of the gases will _____________________.
a. Partial pressure / increase b. Viscosity / decrease c. Tension / increase d. Partial pressure / decrease
8. A diver surfaces and immediately complains that he is feeling really dizzy and has difficulty in breathing. He more likely is suffering from ________ rather than ____________.
a. Lung expansion injury / Decompression sickness b. Decompression sickness / lung expansion injury c. Carbon monoxide poisoning / oxygen toxicity d. Oxygen toxicity / Carbon monoxide poisoning
9. When administering one rescuer adult CPR, the compression rate should be:
a. 80 per minute b. 100 per minute c. 120 per minute d. 60 per minute
10. The primary concern in dealing with an unconscious diver on the surface is to:
a. Check for breathing b. Remove their equipment c. Check for pulse d. Locate his buddy to determine what happened
11. When doing shore dives you can use ripple marks (when present) as a navigation aid as you know they usually run:
a. Diagonally to the shoreline b. Parallel to the shoreline c. Ninety-degree angle to the shoreline d. Forty-five-degree angle to the shoreline
12. In the unlikely event you are out of the air in shallow water and your buddy is too far away you should: a. Drop your weight belt and swim slowly to the surface b. Swim slowly towards your buddy and try to get his attention by rapping your tank repeatedly c. Swim no faster than 18m per minute towards the surface, looking up while exhaling by making a continuous “ahhhh” sound d. Swim no faster than 18m per minute towards the surface while holding your breath as long as possible
DIVE EQUIPMENT #1
1. If you accidentally expose your scuba tank to a temperature or heat greater than ______________ you should have it ______________ before using the tank again.
a. 90 degrees Celsius / hydrostatically tested b. 182 degrees Celsius / visually inspected c. 82 degrees Celsius / hydrostatically tested d. 100 degrees Celsius / visually inspected
2. During hydrostatic testing, the tester will immerse the scuba tank in ____________ and fill it with _________________.
a. Water / air b. Sea water / water c. Water / water d. Oil / water
3. The type of scuba regulator that screws directly into the tank valve is known as _______________ and is useful for ____________ diving.
a. K valve / cold water b. DIN / overhead environment (e.g. cave and wreck penetration) c. J valve / technical d. Pilot / overhead environment (e.g. cave and wreck penetration)
4. The most significant equipment malfunction that can be directly linked to causing Decompression Sickness include:
a. Problem with leaking mask, broken fin strap b. Failing to inflate BCD underwater to positively neutral c. Diving with an unfamiliar compass in an unfamiliar dive site d. Failing to monitor the depth and timing device
5. When diving with a downstream valve regulator, it would _________ in the event of the regulator malfunction. This design is also known as ____________________.
a. Free flow / fail safe b. Stop delivering air / fail-proof c. Free flow / automatic lock d. Deliver less air / fail safe
6. After a few days of diving with aluminum tanks, a diver decides to use a steel tank for his first dive today. What kind of equipment adjustments would he need to consider before he dives with the steel tank?
a. He needs to decrease the amount of weight he is using because the steel tank is less buoyant. b. He needs to increase the amount of weight he is using because the steel tank has a thicker wall. c. He needs to position the steel tank lower on his BCD strap because steel tanks are smaller than aluminum tanks. d. He needs to decrease the amount of weight he is using because the aluminum tank has thinner walls.
7. The benefits of using a balanced regulator as opposed to an unbalanced regulator are:
a. Delivers air at the same rate even if tank pressure is low b. Tank air pressure neither helps nor resists the opening of the valves c. Deliver air at the same rate if more than two divers breathing from the same regulator at once d. All of the above
8. A diaphragm that opens a smaller valve that opens the main valve by creating a pressure imbalance is called ________________ and is found in the regulator _____________________.
a. Downstream valve / second stage b. Upstream valve / first stage c. Pilot valve / second stage d. Pilot valve / first stage
9. _________________ gauge is designed according to ______________ law and is suitable for __________ diving.
a. Capillary / Boyle’s / Altitude b. Open bourdon / Boyle’s / Deep c. Closed Bourdon / Dalton’s / Altitude d. Capillary / Dalton’s / Deep
10. Which of these best describes the function of a regulator’s first stage?
a. Reduce high pressure from the tank to ambient pressure b. Reduce high pressure from the tank to an intermediate pressure c. Reduce intermediate pressure from the tank to breathing pressure d. Reduce high pressure to comfortable breathing pressure
11. When diving in extremely cold water, a regulator that has a(n) _____________ may be protected from ____________.
a. Downstream valve / heat b. Environmental Seal / freezing up c. Fail-safe designed / freezing up d. Closed circuit / heat
12. As a diver inhales using a typical regulator second stage: a. A piston opens a valve releasing air from the tank b. A small valve opens the main valve, which releases air from the tank c. A diaphragm is depressed opening a valve releasing air from the first stage d. Air is automatically released from the first stage because of an imbalance in pressure inside the second stage
Get more PADI IDC Exam Questions and Answers
Well done on completing your first PADI IDC Exam questions. Below you will find the PADI IDC Exam answers for these questions so you can correct yourself and learn from any mistakes.
