Divemaster
Theory and practice for your Divemaster training
To become a Divemaster, you want one thing above all: to spend a lot of time in the water. Routine in diving and experience are, of course, an extremely important part of your career. That’s why you should definitely have experience diving independently before starting the Divemaster course.
But it also takes quite a bit of theory. As a Divemaster, you’ll be approached by other divers and beginners when they have questions—and you should be able to help them. That requires knowledge and some manual skills in handling equipment.
At this point, you can prepare quite a bit so that you won’t have any stress at all in the actual course. You’ll get access to the SSI material from us (which you can also buy from us if you’re doing the course elsewhere!), as well as additional preparation tools.
Are you ready?
How much experience do you need to become a Divemaster?
This topic is often hotly debated. You don’t need to be a professional yet—that’s exactly what the course is for. But you should be able to navigate confidently and not be preoccupied with yourself when you take responsibility for others.
With our little quiz, you can find out whether you can get started right away or might want to practice a few things first.
What’s included in the Divemaster course?
Theory
As soon as you’ve booked your course, you’ll get access to the SSI Manual, along with several other courses. If you don’t already have Science of Diving and Computer Diving, you’ll get them now. And you’ll have access to the “Scuba Skills Review,” where you’ll find descriptions of all the skills, the Training Standards, and the Professional Final Exam.
Of course, you’ll need to work through all of this.
In addition, you should use other resources to bring your knowledge to a level that can be called “professional.” You’ll find useful links and tips on the Pro page for dive theory.
Practice
The practical part of your Divemaster course is divided into several areas, which can be weighted differently depending on the center and its requirements for Divemasters.
The focus, of course, is always on learning to guide groups of certified divers. This can be practiced in the form of simulated dives, where other course participants act as dive guests, or with actual dive guests. There’s much more to it than just swimming in front—we explain everything in more detail on the guiding page.
Then there’s the skills block: Even though you’re not teaching yet, you should be able to demonstrate all diving skills confidently. That takes practice. You’ll get a solid foundation in the Divemaster course, but you should keep practicing before deciding to become an Instructor. You’ll also find a whole page with tips on this topic here.
And last but not least, you need to learn everything that’s part of the daily routine at a dive center—at least if you want to work as a Divemaster and aren’t just doing the course for yourself. While this isn’t part of the official SSI course, it’s pretty important.
Some dive centers have a fixed schedule for the course, while others integrate your training into daily operations. We prefer to do it as part of the daily routine, but still with time for you and your questions. For this, there’s a small app where you can track your progress in the course modules. Feel free to take a look at it.
Course options
Most dive courses have a clear, simple structure. You know in advance how many dives are included, you have a manual, and when you’ve met the requirements, you get the certification.
In principle, you can structure the Divemaster course the same way. The requirements are relatively clear: guide certified divers, give the briefing, master general diving skills, know the SSI system, and have reasonably solid knowledge of dive theory. In practice, however, this course has significantly more variations than other courses.
This is mainly due to one thing: motivation and goals. For many, the Divemaster is simply the next course, and they have no intention of ever working at a dive center, nor do they plan to continue on the path to becoming an instructor. Some just want to be able to dive truly independently, perhaps take a bit better care of beginners. In that case, with sufficient experience, the course can easily be done in two weeks on vacation.
For others, however, it’s the entry into working at a dive center. And then it makes sense to plan more time and do more than just the required program. There’s a lot of organization to handle around diving, the compressor needs to be operated, minor equipment repairs are always needed—and all of that has to be learned. Divemaster training is a good time for that.
You can choose how you’d like to approach your course. With us, you decide how long you stay, and you can gain as much experience as you want.
There are often offers to get the Divemaster in exchange for work. We don’t do that, and for good reasons. You can read about them on our blog.
Theory and online support
You can’t do the course with us on La Palma, but would like support with preparation and the ability to ask questions online during practical training if something’s unclear? Then you’re welcome to do the preparation with us, come for an internship after the course, and gain insight into different dive centers.
Divemaster course on vacation
If you have your Rescue Diver and bring sufficient experience, you can do the course in two weeks on vacation. You’ll learn everything required by SSI standards, but you’ll have little time to gain experience.
Punkfish Divemaster
If you have more time, you can combine the Divemaster course with an internship of any length. You’ll learn the daily routine of a dive center from the ground up, learn to operate the compressor, perform minor equipment repairs, and gradually be allowed to guide real guests. If you have a lot of time, the course can even turn into a job….
"Zero to Hero"
You’ve just finished your OWD but know you want to become a Divemaster? Then we also offer the complete training in one package. However, you’ll really need time for this—at least three months so you can also gain real diving experience along the way.
Guiding
From preparation through the briefing to group control and the actual dive—when you have the responsibility, there’s a lot to consider.
Demonstrating Skills
Often overlooked, but so important: being able to demonstrate the basic skills. Not just being able to do them, but showing others how it’s done—as a professional, your perspective changes.
