how much does a padi course director earn

by Frederic Mraz 9 min read

A dive coordinator, training coordinator, or course director are advanced courses available for experienced instructors. While these positions involve a mix of diving and office work, they also offer the chance to earn a slightly higher salary than a line instructor and salaries can range from $35,000 to $70,000.

Full Answer

How do I become a PADI course director?

To become a Course Director, you must earn a spot in a Course Director Training Course (CDTC). PADI Course Directors are PADI Master Instructors who have taken the next step and joined an elite group of instructor trainers.

How do dive instructors get paid?

There are usually 2 different ways a dive instructor salary is paid. Fixed salaries are very common in many industries, but not so common in the diving industry. Areas where you can find fixed salaries are dive jobs on Cruise Ships, Liveaboards (ego in the Maldives) and some other resorts around the world.

What does a scuba diving course director do?

Course Directors teach PADI Instructor Development Courses (IDCs) and other instructor-level training, and thus are the scuba diving industry's most influential leaders and role models. This rating is the highest and most respected professional rating in recreational scuba diving.

How do I become a course director?

To become a Course Director you must earn a spot in a Course Director Training Course (CDTC) through a competitive application process that examines your experience and training goals.

What does a PADI course director do?

Course Directors teach PADI Instructor Development Courses (IDCs) and other instructor-level training, and thus are the scuba diving industry's most influential leaders and role models. This rating is the highest and most respected professional rating in recreational scuba diving.

How much money does PADI make?

Depending on where you work, the average commission for an PADI Open Water Student is between 50 and 60 US dollars.

How many PADI Course Directors are there in the world?

There are more than 128,000 PADI professional members around the globe. There are 6,600 PADI Dive Centers and Resorts worldwide. PADI operates in 186 countries and territories.

How much does a Divemaster earn?

Divemaster Salary and Industry ZipRecruiter reports that in the U.S., a divemaster salary can range from $19,500 to $146,000, and average about $64,802. These numbers reflect different skills levels, years of experience and location.

What is the highest paying diving job?

Highest Paying Commercial Diving Jobs & CareersHAZMAT Diving: Considered one of the dirtiest jobs in commercial diving, HAZMAT commercial diving offers great compensation including benefits an average salary of over $58,000. ... Saturation Diving: ... Nuclear Diving: ... Off-Shore Commercial Diving:

Do scuba divers make good money?

Divers make a national average salary of $49,602 per year according to Indeed Salaries where salary averages are frequently updated. Your salary as a diver depends on a variety of factors, such as your geographic location, your employer, your experience level and the type of diving you do.

What is a course director?

Course Director shall be defined as an individual assigned sole principal responsibility for the design and/or presentation of a course (except where the course is a 1000-level College Course) or an individual assigned these responsibilities in a team-taught course.

Is PADI Internationally recognized?

PADI Divers carry the most respected and sought after scuba diving credentials in the world. No matter where you choose to dive, your PADI certification card will be recognized and accepted.

Is PADI a private company?

PADI sold to private consortium for $700m.

How do people make a living from scuba diving?

2:205:10How To Make Money As A Scuba Diver - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipGo to your local dive shop get a basic search and recovery certification. And you'll have all theMoreGo to your local dive shop get a basic search and recovery certification. And you'll have all the skill sets you need to go from all your friends families co-workers or even your neighbors.

How much do dive shop owners make?

With average revenues of about $500K annually, the local dive shop is either a small or micro business. There's nothing wrong with that, except it can be challenging at times. With this level of annual revenues, it is unlikely you can afford a vice-president for each one of these functions.

How much does a dive instructor make in the Caribbean?

On average, scuba diving instructors in the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and tropical Atlantic make the most money (with an annual salary of $34,375) while European dive instructors get the lowest salaries ($16,425).

How much do dive instructors make?

Some Dive Instructors make as low as US$500/month while others can make US$4000-US$6000/month and others will make anything in between. A dive instructor salary and how much a diving instructor can make, depends on a few important factors.

What skills do you need to be a dive instructor?

Skills like Web Development, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), great customer service skills and restaurant, bar and hotel experience can also help in being hired as a Dive Instructor.

Is diving a job?

Being a diving instructor is still a job and if you want to succeed, you should treat it as a proper career. It’s just a very fun career! It’s all about good attitude if you want to make a good salary.

How did you get into the diving industry?

It all started in 2003 when I took the PADI Open Water Diver Course in Gilli Trawangan in Indonesia. I always loved watching marine life documentaries and adventure movies, and taking a scuba diving course on my holiday was very attractive to me.

Tell us about your personal journey to becoming a PADI course director

I initially thought about becoming a diving instructor, travel the world, and making a living with something I love to do. However, throughout my diving courses, I noticed some of the best dive instructors and some of the worst.

How do you become a PADI Course Director?

To become a PADI Course Director you need to tick checkboxes before you can apply. As mentioned before, I started my PADI Open Water Course in 2003. I kept thinking about becoming a Diving Instructor almost every day and finally after 4 years, I booked the PADI Advanced Open Water Course to PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer.

Did you have to overcome any fears, or obstacles to get where you are now?

Personally, the biggest obstacles to becoming a Course Director was time, money, and reputation.

What has been the most rewarding part of your diving career?

The most rewarding was also one of my most challenging situations. Dealing with a student diver having a panic attack quite deep, in bad visibility, while having a strong current and just pretty much some of the worst conditions. The diver hit my mask and regulator second stage off my face on the way up to the surface.

What is your biggest professional milestone so far?

There are 3 milestones for me. The first was becoming a PADI Course Director, the second was receiving the PADI Outstanding Contribution to Instructor Development Award and the third was being able to teach monthly IDC Courses, this resulted in receiving the PADI Platinum status since the start of my Course Director Career.

What is your preferred teaching style?

I love teaching with storytelling. Relating the topic with actual real-life stories can make a power memory imprint. I learned that by just mentioning information or reading will not create a long-lasting memory for most people. Storytelling in my opinion does.

Applying for the CDTC

All this knowledge and experience helped me grow as a dive instructor. Soon enough, my next step was to become a Course Director. This isn’t necessarily a decision all dive pros would make; I know a lot of exceptional dive professionals who have no intention of seeking further training.

The interview and acceptance

The final part of the application process is an interview with a PADI staff member. During the interview you’ll discuss motivations, the plan as described above, and any other topic that’s relevant.

The CDTC Program

Instructors explained the program on our first day: the first week would comprise the training itself, wherein we would work on our presentation and evaluation skills in the water and in the classroom. On the last three days, the PADI staff would administer our final evaluation to determine whether we would pass or not.

The Evaluation

We had received our assignments for the evaluation the previous week: open-water skills, confined-water (pool) skills and classroom presentations. Instructors told us the passing scores on the first day. Everyone knew what to expect and what to shoot for.

WHAT IS A PADI IDC STAFF INSTRUCTOR?

PADI Staff Instructors are legends. Pure and simple. You know the way you feel about your Divemasters right now? That extra pair of hands, an extra set of eyes, someone who knows exactly what you need, your partner in crime... well, that's what Staff Instructors are to Course Directors.

HOW ELSE WILL THE PADI STAFF INSTRUCTOR COURSE HELP ME?

I guess this kinda depends what you want to get out of the course. Let me tell you what happened when I took my PADI Staff Instructor Course...

WHAT WILL I DO ON MY PADI STAFF INSTRUCTOR COURSE?

You're going to have a blast during your Staff Instructor Course! It's sooo much fun. There's a mixture of classroom and confined water sessions including:

WHERE SHOULD I DO MY PADI STAFF INSTRUCTOR COURSE?

There's a good chance that you're already working in a dive centre where you can take that next step to PADI Staff Instructor. Hopefully, they'll give you a great price and you'll already know your Course Director well.

HOW MUCH DOES THE PADI STAFF INSTRUCTOR COURSE COST?

This is where you're going to have to do your research! There is no set price for the PADI Staff Instructor Course so it will completely depend on which dive centre you choose.

WHY DOES IT COST THAT MUCH AT THE FIFTH POINT?

I know right?! I bet we're more expensive than some of the other PADI Staff Instructor Courses you've been looking at. The thing is, good scuba diver training is not cheap - at ANY level. If you're considering this program, then it's obvious that you're ready to take the next big step in your diving career.

SHOULD I TAKE MY PADI STAFF INSTRUCTOR COURSE AT THE FIFTH POINT?

It's all about clicking with your Course Director if you want to get the most out of your PADI Staff Instructor Course, right? Well at The Fifth Point, that would be me!

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