We offer a full range of recreational, professional, and technical diving courses all year long!
PADI Instructor Development
PADI Professional Training with Scubaland Adventures
Robert Aschermann
Master Instructor, Course Director
Owner, Scubaland Adventures
Robie Lewis
Master Instructor, IDC Staff Instructor
Professional Training Coordinator
Welcome to the start of something special. The choice to become a PADI professional is a committment to facing many challenges over many hours of hard work. It is also one of the most rewarding committments you will ever make! The journey ahead will involve self-study using PADI's new eLearning tools, in-class seminars and work sessions, confined water skills development, open water skills development, and finally an objective assessment of your abilities by a PADI Instructor Examiner. Holding a PADI Open Water SCUBA Instructor card means something!
Now that you have made the hard decision to make the commitment, now you get to make an easier decision about where to do your training. You will be looking for either a PADI 5-Star Instructor Development Center or a PADI 5-Star Career Development Center. What's the difference? Career Development Centers tend to be organizations where a significant portion of their income is derived through instructor development. They tend to be located in popular diving destinations like Florida, Thailand, Bonaire, Mexico, and others. They turn out a lot of PADI Instructors very quickly. If your goal is to obtain a PADI Open Water Diver Instructor card as quickly as possible, the Career Development Center may be the best option. Be aware, many CDCs offer "internships" or "work for training" programs. Many of these programs are simply a way for the dive operation to obtain free labor.
Scubaland and other PADI 5-Star Instructor Development Centers offer an alternative to the Career Development Center. Our goal is not to generate as many PADI professionals as we can. Our goal is to generate as many Scubaland instructors as we need. Our classes are small and we don't do "zero to hero" programs or "bootcamp" IDCs. We take the time to do it right and we take the time to show you how to do all of the other things a good Open Water SCUBA Instructor needs to know. This includes retail and dive store management, compressor fill station operations, local diving standards and techniques, and many more. We also offer our Instructors reduced rates on PADI Specialty Instructor courses, IDC Staff Instructor courses, and just about anything else we have to offer in order to encourage professional growth over time. We follow a team concept for SCUBA education so our Instructors learn to team teach from the very beginning.
All you need to do is look at the number of IDC Staff Instructors and Master Instructors, and the number of Instructors we have on staff that have been teaching for 10 or more years, to see that our program works. If you think you are ready for the challenge of becoming a PADI Instructor with Scubaland then we encourage you to start today!
What our PRO students say about their training
PADI Professional Courses
PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC)
The PADI Instructor Development course trains you - the PADI Divemaster, PADI Assistant Instructor or qualifying professional leader from another diver training organization - in the PADI instructional system. In this course, you train to become a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor and qualify to teach PADI courses by following through and successfully completing the PADI Instructor Examination (IE).
Once completed, you are eligible to attend the PADI Instructor Exam (IE). The IE is a standardized 2-day evaluative program overseen by PADI Regional Headquarters that tests instructor candidates' teaching ability, dive theory knowledge, understanding of the PADI instructional system and professionalism to determine whether you are sufficiently prepared to become a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor.
Scubaland's preparation courses are scheduled to coincide with exam dates held within about 4 hours of Austin (typically in Houston, Dallas, Nacogdoches) but you are prepared to attend the IE in a location of your choice.
Not sure about your schedule but you want to sign up for a class? Scroll to the bottom of the course listing and select the course marked "UNSCHEDULED." We will enroll you in an unscheduled class and you can contact us when you're ready to choose your dates. We'll then move you into the class you chose. You can ignore the dates that appear on the unscheduled class listing.
PADI Assistant Instructor Course (AI)
As a PADI Assistant Instructor (AI), you become a valued assistant in SCUBA's instructional realm. In addition to those privileges accorded a PADI Divemaster, you will be authorized to present knowledge development elaboration for any PADI Diver course under an instructor's direct supervision. You are also allowed to present initial skills training under instructor's direct supervision during Confined Water sessions. PADI Assistant Instructors are certified to independently teach PADI Discover Scuba Diving, PADI Seal Team, PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy and some other non-diving specialty courses such as Project AWARE, Coral Reef Conservation, etc.
Not sure about your schedule but you want to sign up for a class? Scroll to the bottom of the course listing and select the course marked "UNSCHEDULED." We will enroll you in an unscheduled class and you can contact us when you're ready to choose your dates. We'll then move you into the class you chose. You can ignore the dates that appear on the unscheduled class listing.
PADI Open Water SCUBA Instructor Course (OWSI)
The PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI) program allows dive professionals to continue training to become PADI Intstructors. This course is for you if:
1) You are a PADI Assistant Instructor and ready to complete the remaining IDC components to prepare you to attend a PADI Instructor Exam (IE)
2) You are a PADI Instructor looking to regain teaching status due to a lapse in membership or required re-orientation to PADI standards
3) You are a recreational SCUBA instructor from another diver training organization and interested to learn about the PADI System of diver education and prepare to attend a PADI Instructor Exam (IE).
Once completed, you are eligible to attend the PADI Instructor Exam (IE). The IE is a standardized 2-day evaluative program overseen by PADI Regional Headquarters that tests instructor candidates' teaching ability, dive theory knowledge, understanding of the PADI instructional system and professionalism to determine whether you are sufficiently prepared to become a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor.
Scubaland's preparation courses are scheduled to coincide with exam dates held within about 4 hours of Austin (typically in Houston, Dallas, Nacogdoches) but you are prepared to attend the IE in a location of your choice.
Not sure about your schedule but you want to sign up for a class? Scroll to the bottom of the course listing and select the course marked "UNSCHEDULED." We will enroll you in an unscheduled class and you can contact us when you're ready to choose your dates. We'll then move you into the class you chose. You can ignore the dates that appear on the unscheduled class listing.
PADI Instructor Examination (IE)
You cannot purchase a PADI Open Water SCUBA Instructor card. It must be earned by successfully completing an Instructor Examination.
The PADI instructor exam or IE is usually spread over two days. In some locations which have a large number of candidates, it can turn into a marathon extending over three days. (Hint: avoid those locations!)
Many people say that IE stands for “It’s easy” which in all truth it should be if you picked the right IDC center and course director.
The exam is conducted by a PADI Instructor Examiner trained at PADI headquarters to determine if a candidate has the prerequisite skills to be a PADI Instructor.
The IE is split into 6 components:
- Written Exams
- Classroom presentation
- Confined water teaching
- Open water teaching
- General Dive Skills Assessment
- Rescue Skill Assessment