which padi specialty course prerequisites

by Daron Stroman DDS 4 min read

Full Answer

How to get PADI certified?

What You’ll Have to do to Get Scuba Certified?

  • Coursework. You’ll also have to complete coursework, including reading, watching videos and taking tests. ...
  • Scuba Diver Skills. Next, you’ll complete the skills needed to get your PADI scuba diver certification in a closed environment like a pool.
  • Open Water Diving Skills. Next, you’ll complete four dives to get your PADI open water diver certification. ...

What are the Padi certification levels?

WHAT ARE THE LEVELS OF PADI CERTIFICATION?

  • The PADI flowchart. This flow chart shows all of the available levels of PADI certification… there's sooooo many! ...
  • Recreational levels of PADI certification. Where to start? Aaaah yes… right at the beginning! ...
  • Pro levels of PADI certification. YAY, you're considering making your passion into your job. Let me tell you, you won't look back. ...

What are the various Padi certifications?

What Are The Various PADI Certifications. Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) is the most comprehensive dive curriculum in the world. It’s based on progressive training that introduces local environmental knowledge and safety-related information. PADI courses incorporate modern teaching guidelines and multi-media enhanced ...

How much do Padi course directors earn?

Nowadays, Course Directors are also dime a dozen. There's one every corner. Therefore, expect the pay to be as low as it is for dive instructors, especially since they can easily be replaced by an IDC Staff instructor who will most likely do it for free to 'gain experience' for his/her Course Director Training Course (CDTC) application.

How many PADI specialties are there?

There are 25+ standard PADI Specialty Diver courses to choose from.

What is the highest PADI qualification?

Master Scuba DiverMaster Scuba Diver (sometimes referred to as “MSD”) is the highest level of recreational diving. Above all, to become a PADI Master Scuba Diver™ you must: Hold an Open Water Diver, Advanced Open Water Diver and Rescue Diver certification. Complete five PADI Specialty Diver Courses.

What does the PADI divemaster course consist of?

The PADI Divemaster course teaches you to be a leader and take charge of dive activities. Through knowledge development sessions, waterskills exercises and workshops, and hands-on practical assessment, you develop the skills to organize and direct a variety of scuba diving activities.

Can you mix PADI and SSI?

Any qualification you gain with either will be valid in any dive shop. You are also able to mix and match both. So, for example, you could get a PADI open water and then go to an SSI shop and get your Advanced Adventurer with no troubles whatsoever.

What is a specialty diver?

Specialty Diving is a series of courses that focus on the type of diving that interests YOU. Often a Specialty is related to a hobby, like Deep Diving, Wreck Diving, Photography, Videography or Kayak Diving. Sometimes Specialty learning is a matter of necessity like Drysuit Diving, altitude Diving or Deep diving.

What are the two scuba certifications?

New SCUBA divers commonly ask about the similarities and differences between NAUI and PADI. Because these two diving certification institutions are the most notable in the United States, choosing between the two can be difficult. However, generally speaking, the agencies are very similar.

What is the difference between master scuba diver and Divemaster?

If someone is a Master Scuba Diver, that means he or she has considerable experience and scuba training. Fewer than 2% of divers ever achieve this rating, which makes them an elite group. A Divemasters help instructors teach scuba courses and can have leadership responsibilities that result in payment.

How hard is PADI Divemaster?

The PADI Divemaster course is one the most challenging and rewarding courses that you can take. It is the first rung on the PADI professional ladder and it is a tremendous achievement. It opens doors all around the world and gives you a traveling profession that is in ever increasing demand.

Can a Divemaster teach Discover scuba?

What Courses Can Divemasters Teach? After completing the PADI Divemaster course, a PADI Divemaster can teach: Discover Snorkeling. The PADI Advanced Snorkeling program (including the PADI Seal Team Skin Diver Specialist AquaMission)

Why is SSI cheaper than PADI?

SSI are arguably keeping up with our technological age a little bit better than PADI and have made online materials much more accessible and cheaper for their students than PADI.

Which is best SSI or PADI?

Yeah it doesn't matter much. Both are equally well structured and have the same kind of teaching mechanisms. However, I would recommend PADI since they have a wider reach. There are some places, very few though, where schools operate only with PADI and not SSI.

Is PADI or SDI better?

If you're looking to become professional as a scuba diving instructor you may want to opt for PADI since it is the more well-known of the two. If you want to pursue diving as a career (and not be a dive instructor) then SDI may work better for you, given their connection to TDI.

How many certifications do you need to be a PADI instructor?

All PADI Instructors will benefit from taking specialty instructor training courses, especially those who are ready to step up to the Master Scuba Diver™ Trainer (MSDT) rating, which requires at least five PADI Specialty Instructor certifications.

How many PADI certifications are required to be a master scuba diver?

The ultimate recreational diver rating. All PADI Instructors who have certified at least 25 PADI Divers and have earned five or more PADI Specialty Instructor certifications can be a Master Scuba Diver Trainer.

More Info

Scuba diving requires a minimum level of health and fitness. Chronic health conditions, certain medications and/or recent surgery may require you to get written approval from a physician before diving.

More Courses

A DPV allows you to explore more of the underwater world in less time and conserve air. They’re also extremely fun!

Peak Performance Buoyancy

Excellent buoyancy control is what defines skilled scuba divers. You’ve seen them underwater. They glide effortlessly, use less air and ascend, descend or hover almost as if by thought. They more easily observe aquatic life without disturbing their surroundings. You can achieve this, too.

Deep Diver

The lure of the deep. There’s something exciting and mysterious about exploring deeper dive sites while scuba diving. Sometimes it’s a wreck that attracts you below 18 meters/60 feet, and on wall dives, it may be a giant fan or sponge.

Night Diver

The thought of dipping below the surface at night seems mysterious, yet so alluring. Although you've been scuba diving at a site many times before, at night you drop into a whole new world and watch it come to life under the glow of your dive light. The scene changes as day creatures retire and nocturnal organisms emerge.

Wreck Diver

Whether purpose-sunk as an artificial reef for scuba divers, or lost as the result of an accident, wrecks are fascinating windows to the past. Ships, airplanes, and even cars are fascinating to explore and usually teem with aquatic life.

Drift Diver

Diving in a current can feel like flying underwater. In the PADI® Drift Diver course, you’ll learn drift diving tips from an experienced instructor and practice buoyancy control, navigation, use of surface signaling equipment, and buddy communication.

Underwater Navigation

Be the scuba diver everyone wants to follow because you know where you are and where you’re going. The PADI Underwater Navigator course fine-tunes your observation skills and teaches you to more accurately use your compass underwater.

Search and Recovery Diver

The next time someone loses an item underwater, you can be the hero that finds the missing object. In the PADI Search and Recovery course, you’ll learn how to find lost objects underwater. You’ll practice different types of underwater search patterns and learn how to use a lift bag as you plan and execute mock search operations.

Equipment Specialist

You don’t need to be a dive pro to reap the benefits of the Equipment Specialist class. While this specialty course is not a manufacturer’s technical-servicing class, you’ll learn how to take care of your equipment so it lasts longer, as well as proper storage and transport of equipment to prevent hoses and valves being damaged.

Search and Recovery

In the Search and Recovery course, divers will learn how to execute four different search patterns with a buddy; the circular sweep using a line and reel; the expanding square (with and without a compass); the u-shaped pattern; and the jackstay.

Sidemount Diver

Still a niche specialty but one of the fastest growing over the years, sidemount diving is not just for technical or cave divers — it offers recreational divers many benefits as well. Carrying an extra tank on the side of the body, as opposed to doubles on the back, reduces stress and fatigue when gearing up.

Fish Identification

Just like a movie is more interesting when we know the characters and art is more interesting when we know the artist, so too is the reef a more interesting place when we know the names of the fish, their behavior, and their place in the ecosystem.

Underwater Videographer

Once thought to be only for aspiring professional videographers and dive pros, the videography specialty is suitable for anyone now, following the advancements in technology that have put high- quality, affordable cameras in the hands of many scuba divers.

1. Manta Ray Diver Distinctive Specialty

The PADI Manta Ray Diver Distinctive Specialty is a course aimed to familiarize divers with the skills, knowledge, hazards, and enjoyment of diving with manta rays. Since its launch in 1993, over 785 scuba divers have been certified as a Manta Ray Diver.

2. Thresher Shark Diver Distinctive Specialty

The thresher shark, or Alopias pelagicus is a type of mackerel shark or Lamniformes known for its huge scythe-like tail. Thresher sharks normally live in deep water and are nocturnal (night creatures), so they are not often seen by divers.

3. Vietnam Nudibranch Distinctive Specialty Course

Do you love seeing nudes? Then, the PADI Vietnam Nudibranch Distinctive Specialty Course is the course for you!

4. CoralWatch Coral Health Chart Distinctive Specialty

The PADI CoralWatch Coral Health Chart Distinctive Specialty was created to empower divers and snorkelers in coral monitoring. Created by Chris Roelfsema and Diana Kleine in 2010, the distinctive specialty teaches individuals to collect and submit data on coral reef health in their local area.

6. Coral Reef First Aid Distinctive Specialty

Written by Mark Goldsmith (PADI Course Director) in collaboration with Fundación Grupo Puntacana, the PADI Coral First Aid Distinctive Specialty teaches divers the principles and techniques needed for coral reef restoration. Approved by PADI in 2014, over 100 student divers have taken this course to help save our coral reefs.

8. Pelagic Magic Diver

Every evening small marine organisms migrate from the chilly depths of the ocean to the surface waters. Divers, who are brave enough to suspend themselves in the dark abyss, are rewarded with extraordinary encounters of the weirdest and wonderful pelagic critters of the sea.

9. Crown of Thorns Management Divers Course

Approved by PADI in August of 2019, the Crown of Thorns Management Divers Course is one of the newer distinctive specialties on this list. Created by Lee A Ricketts, the course aims to educate divers about the Crown of Thorns Starfish and how to handle them in case of an infestation.

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