Deep Thought

Become a SCUBA Instructor
Do you have a passion for SCUBA diving? Do you think you would like to pass on that passion for SCUBA to others? Can you imagine being the person responsible for changing somebody else’s life forever? You remember how it felt when you fell in love with the underwater world? How good it felt to become part of the SCUBA diving community? A special group of people who shared your passion.

Herer is your chance, come to Crystal Dive on Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand. We are a PADI Five Star Career Development Centre (CDC). We specialize in taking you from your Divemaster training (the first professional level in the PADI system) onward to the Instructor Development Course where you will gain the SCUBA skills to effectively teach people to SCUBA dive. We have great facilities, a beachfront location and 3 PADI Platinum rated Course Directors on staff. We also have Coral Tribe in-house, who are actively preserving and restoring coral reefs in the area, encouraging all Crystal Dive divers to participate in eco-friendly diving practices.
Koh Tao is a prime location for SCUBA training, it has a year-round dive season and predominantly calm conditions. This makes Koh Tao an ideal place to learn to SCUBA dive and, for the very same reasons, an ideal place to take the plunge into SCUBA instruction. The perfect location to turn your passion into a livelihood.
To become a PADI Instructor you would need 100 dives as a minimum and you would need to be a PADI Divemaster (or equivalent). You would then enroll in the IDC, a 2-week program that takes what you have gained as a Divemaster and refines those skills to enable you to safely teach SCUBA diving. During the coursed there is a great deal of hands-on SCUBA training, helping you to gain the confidence to teach others to SCUBA dive in the safest and most effective way possible. This course has a great deal of flexibility to adapt to your style and needs.
At the culmination of the IDC there is the PADI Instructor Examination, a 2 day event during which the examiners from PADI visit Koh Tao to evaluate your abilities and, when you pass, certify you as a PADI SCUBA diving instructor. Here at Crystal Dive, we will teach you to teach SCUBA effectively and safely, the exam is not our focus, it is just a step on the way to your new career.
Just imagine, doing what you love for a living! Get away from the office, the grind! Commuting to work is a walk down the beach. Send me a message here and I will answer any questions.

So, hello PADI Instructors. Some reading this with disdain I am sure. Welcome.

I am a PADI Instructor, have been for quite a while now, and , hey, I have done it wrong. Most of us have.
Many of us longer-in-the-tooth instructors have deviated from the intended path at some stage of our dive instructing path. The funny thing is that many of us have observed failings/gaps/oddities in our student divers as a result and have found ourselves reverting back to something a lot closer to our IDC than we ever thought e would.
Let’s look at why.
First of all most of us are not educational experts where the guys who made these programs were. Don’t laugh, these guys studied this. That is why there are generally so many media available, because we, the instructors, do not have the time or know how to diagnose the means by which our potential students will take in the information required. For this reason our students have to watch the video, read the book, answer the questions and, sometimes, get a presentation direct from you. And, yes, contact stories really do work!
Something that many of us forget whilst teaching is that PADI do not insist that we teach skills in only one way. There is no such thing as “The PADI Way”, your instructional method is pretty much up to you, as long as the performance requirement is met, nobody is hurt and it was safe and fun.
Finally, we have all been through an Instructor Examination with PADI. This shows that you have understood how to apply the system. The PADI System. Nobody gave you a degree, no diploma, you came out with a verification that you could pass on the PADI system to less knowledgeable people. NO OTHER SYSTEM, certainly not your own, or something you heard down the pub. Maybe you came out of the exam feeling ill-prepared to teach, but lets be honest, if you had gone and taught a course it would have worked. You may have been shaky and would probably have been slow, but using what you learnt it would have worked.
Now look back at the instructors who you respect in your training. I appreciate that some have gone beyond their requirements, some maybe not so much. I hope you find that your most influential instructors were doing things pretty much by the book.

Apologies to those awaiting news. Having some difficulties aligning with Oz regulations. Will let you know when resolved, should be soon.

A very specific course is in the making! Make yourself desirable for the Aussie dive industry!

Doiving is back on the "Sponsorship" list for residency! Strike while the iron is hot!

Watch this space!!!!

A new opportunity for those who want to work in diving in Australia. We will soon be offering placements for work/holiday visa holders heading to Australia.
A specially designed course to enhance your skill set and an intro to the people who want you!!

IDC Day Off tomorrow. Some theory to be taught methinks. Physics anyone?

IDC for October starts on the 2nd!!! Come on down for a nice relaxed IDC prep with a difference! Message me for details!

Problems with your theory? Your skills? I can fix it!

I made the Undersea Journal. Thanks to Tara.