What’s in a Title – Scuba Instructor Ratings

When I was going through my PADI IDC, our course director spoke with us at great detail about PADI’s levels of instructor ratings. He said that we should strive to achieve these ratings as it will make us more marketable. For the first two years I was an instructor, I bought into this. My focus wasn’t entirely on producing a great class, but rather collecting numbers so I could move up the ranks of the PADI instructor levels. To this day, those two years were the darkest of my instructing career. They say hindsight is always 20/20, and I wished I would have approached my classes better.

First, let’s take a look at PADI’s level of instructors.

• Open Water Scuba Instructor (OWSI). This is commonly referred to as the “entry” level instructor. More on this later. The OWSI can certify divers from beginning open water up through Dive Master. OWSI’s can also teach specialties courses if they have applied for them.
• Master Scuba Diver Trainer (MSDT). This is where the marketing comes into play. The MSDT is the same thing as the OWSI. MSDT can teach a minimum of five specialties, in addition to the standard open water through Dive Master courses. The difference between the OWSI and the MSDT? Nothing!!! To get the MSDT rating, you submit proof of your five teaching specialties and pay another application fee and poof, your now a Master Scuba Diver Trainer. Does this mean MSDT’s are better than OWSI’s? Absolutely not.
• IDC Staff Instructor (IDCS). The IDCS in the PADI system of diver education is where you learn to evaluate instructor candidates. IDCS’s can assist with IDC and other instructor level classes. However, the IDCS cannot certify instructors. They can certify assistant instructors (AI). This rating is useful if you are an instructor working for a busy IDC center. I am an IDCS and I wish I hadn’t wasted the money on the class. The reason is, when I took the class, IDCS’s could certify AI’s without any restrictions. Only a few short months after I spend $1000 on the class, PADI changed the standards and said that IDCS’s could only certify AI’s through a PADI 5-Star dive center. Just shot all independent IDCS instructors in the backside with that one. So, I have only assisted with one IDC and certified one AI, through PADI that is.
• Master Instructor (MI). The MI has the same meaning as the MSDT. There is no class to take and no additional skills to make you a “master”. To become a MI, the IDCS simply has to certify 5 Dive Masters and 5 AI’s in addition to having certified a certain number of non-professional divers. PADI believes that this makes an instruct a “master”. I think the general diving public will disagree.
• Course Director (CD). Finally we have the Course Director (for PADI) or Instructor Trainer (for other agencies). The CD/IT is the individual that can certify all levels of instructors. They are the ones who teach the instructors how to teach. But keep in mind, the CD is also an instructor. They too can teach all levels of recreational and technical diving student courses. To become a CD, a CD candidate must attend a special class at PADI HQ. This class is around 5-8 days long.

Now that we have listed the different levels of PADI instructors, what does all of this mean? In short, nothing. Every new instructor I have talked to always talks about the rush to get the 25 student certifications so they can teach specialties and become a MSDT. This mindset sets a dangerous precedent for new instructors. Instead of focusing on safety and running quality classes, they may be willing to bend the rules or walk the gray line, in order to reach their personal goals. This is dangerous in that a new instructor’s focus must be a 100% on the class. They can not be distracted, mentally, by useless things such as racking up certifications.

So you may be thinking that you should avoid new instructors? This is not true. If a new instructor is prepared and had a quality instructor training course, they may be able to run a good class. But we can’t limit this to new instructors. Titles should mean nothing when selecting an instructor. Don’t be fooled because someone says, “I’m a Master Instructor”. Their experience could be very limited. Not just teaching experience, but general diving experience. In my opinion, I would rather train just one awesome diver a year rather 100 mediocre divers.

In summary, pay no attention to instructors who want to put badges on themselves or promote themselves as “Master” or “Instructor Trainer”. It’s a simple marketing ploy. We are all instructors. The experience of an instructor or instructor trainer cannot solely be determined by number of students certified or what their title is. Remember, do you homework when researching for potential instructors for you classes. Find one that does the type of diving you are interested in and can help you master the material.

Dive Safe,
Duane Johnson
Precision Diving

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