Updated by Danielle Schofield on May 24, 2023

Completing PADI courses at the various PADI certification levels and gaining PADI certification cards unlocks adventure in all corners of the globe. In addition, as a certified diver, you join a global community of ocean defenders that includes the Cousteau Family, Dr. Sylvia Earle, and millions of other divers around the world.

That being said, your underwater journey is entirely your own. After earning your first diving certification (such as Open Water Diver), you’ll want to explore everything the ocean has to offer, but may feel overwhelmed by all the options. That’s why we put together this comprehensive guide to PADI courses and certification levels. Explore the list below to find inspiration while planning your next scuba or freediving adventure.

Seek Adventure Your Way with PADI Courses

As divers, we are Torchbearers united by a passion to explore—and protect—our oceans. In short, the underwater world is our happy place, but for different reasons. Scroll through the PADI certification levels below to discover your diving destiny. As an experienced diver once said, “There’s a type of diving for everyone, you just have to find it.”

PADI Certifications

Your First Scuba Diving Certification

Change Your Life. Become a Diver.

If you’re not a certified diver yet, we have plenty of information to help you learn everything you need to know about getting your first PADI scuba diving certification. We’ve also put together a list of the most common questions new divers ask their scuba instructor, and we’ve debunked the top myths about scuba diving.

You may be wondering, is learning to scuba dive hard? Or, maybe you’re afraid of sharks. 

Don’t worry. It’s natural to be nervous. Do talk to your scuba instructor about your concerns because they’ll be happy to answer any questions you have about your PADI Open Water course and support you every step of the way.

Not sure if scuba diving is for you? Try it in a pool first. Ask your local PADI Dive Shop about a Discover Scuba Diving experience. Alternatively, sign up for Introduction to Open Water Diver, a free PADI Open Water Diver course eLearning program that will give you a taster of what to expect.

Here are a few other things to consider before booking your scuba lessons:

Whatever you do, don’t delay. The sooner you jump into your first PADI scuba diver certification, the sooner you’ll unlock a lifetime of Unfiltered experiences—from incredible marine encounters to new connections with friends.

Sign up for PADI Open Water Diver

After Open Water Diver – What’s Next?

PADI Certification Levels Chart

A flowchart illustrating the different PADI diving certification levels and PADI courses available for scuba diver training

Are you ready for your next PADI scuba certification? If you’re like most people, you want to avoid looking like a new diver. 

The fastest way to improve your skills is to take additional scuba courses. About one in four divers enroll in the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course, while others take specialties to improve their buoyancy, underwater navigation, or underwater photos. The PADI course chart above shows the different scuba certification levels, as well as the many specialty subjects available. Please note, some specialties require an Advanced Open Water Diver certification as a prerequisite.

Two scuba divers descend with good buoyancy onto a deeper shipwreck after completing their advanced diving certification

Advanced Open Water Diver

A Specialty Diving Sampler Platter

After Open Water Diver, if you’re not sure which PADI diving course to take next, PADI Advanced Open Water Diver is a good choice. You’ll make your first deep dive with an instructor by your side, work on your buoyancy and navigation skills, and try three different types of specialty diving. Choose whatever interests you: photography and videography, wreck diving, fish identification, and so much more. Lastly, there’s no exam and very little reading compared to the Open Water Diver course. Learn more about the difference between Open Water and Advanced Open Water Diver.

Here’s some more information to help you decide if this advanced scuba certification is right for you:

sign up for padi advanced open water diver

Take a Scuba Refresher Program

Don’t Let Your Scuba Skills Lapse

Life happens, and sometimes we can’t do the thing we love as often as we’d like. If it’s been a while since you went scuba diving, PADI’s interactive online scuba refresher program (ReActivate) is the perfect way to refresh the skills and knowledge learned during your Open Water Diver course. Plus, it’s free with a PADI Club membership.

Whether you want a thorough review of scuba diving fundamentals or just a few reminders, the online course tailors itself to you. You’ll review different diving scenarios and answer questions about dive planning, equipment, and other essential topics. Answer correctly, and you’ll move on to the next scenario. If you miss a question, the course will help you review important information you may have forgotten since getting your PADI scuba certification.

Then, schedule time with a PADI Professional to review your in-water skills. If you complete both the online and in-water portions of PADI ReActivate, you’ll get a new certification card with your ReActivated date on it. 

Are you ready for your next PADI scuba diving course or diving holiday? Review the signs you need a refresher, or test your knowledge by enrolling in ReActivate online.

sign up for padi reactivate

PADI Specialty Courses

Choose Your Own Adventure

Once you’ve got your first PADI dive certification, specialty courses allow you to try different types of diving with an experienced scuba instructor by your side. Learn how to take great action-cam shots, discover if dry suit diving is right for you, or dive a shipwreck. Improve your search and recovery skills, or take a PADI Nitrox course.

To begin with, if you’re not sure which specialty to start with, take our specialty course quiz. Or, narrow down your options by picking from our list of the most popular PADI specialty courses.

In the articles below, PADI Divers share their experience trying different types of specialty diving:

explore all padi speciality courses
Two divers in the water practicing emergency skills as part of the PADI Rescue Diver course, one of the best PADI courses

Rescue Diver

Improve Your Confidence and Become a Better Buddy

Who would you rather have as a dive buddy? An Open Water Diver or a Rescue Diver? All other things being equal, most people would rather have a Rescue Diver as their dive buddy.

During the PADI Rescue Diver course, you’ll learn how to recognize potential problems and what to do in a diving emergency. As a result, you’ll gain a lot of confidence in your diving skills, and have a surprising amount of fun role-playing victim and rescuer with other divers.

Many divers tell us Rescue Diver was undoubtedly their favorite course out of all PADI courses. It’s challenging, rewarding, and also makes you a better dive buddy. With this in mind, read these important reasons to earn a Rescue Diver certification and one diver’s experience taking the PADI Rescue course. 

sign up for padi rescue diver

Master Scuba Diver

The “Black Belt” of Scuba Diving

You may have heard the term “master diver” or “master scuba diver” and wondered what it means. Master Scuba Diver (sometimes referred to as “MSD”) is PADI’s highest level of recreational diving.

Above all, to become a PADI Master Scuba Diver, you must:

Fewer than two percent of divers ever become Master Scuba Divers, so it’s rare to meet someone with this level of experience and scuba training. For this reason, Master Scuba Diver is sometimes referred to as “the black belt of diving.”

Learn more about becoming a Master Scuba Diver:

become a master scuba diver

Divemaster

Get Paid to Dive, Travel, and Share Your Love of Scuba Diving

During your diving journey, you may discover a passion for sharing your experiences and knowledge with others. If you like helping people and want a meaningful job that also supports ocean conservation, PADI Divemaster is the first step into a professional scuba career that allows you to travel and find a job anywhere there’s water.

To enroll in the Divemaster course, you must be 18 years old and have 40 logged dives as well as the following certifications:

You can become a PADI Divemaster over many months or during a few intense weeks. You can even sign up for a free Introduction course with PADI eLearning. Meanwhile, learn more about Divemaster internships and how to prepare for your Divemaster course. Or, read about the role of a Divemaster and get answers to frequently asked questions about the PADI Divemaster course.

sign up for padi divemaster
A scuba diving instructor teaching his Open Water Diver students how to dive in the ocean and become underwater ambassadors

Become a Scuba Instructor and Teach PADI Courses

Inspire Others to Seek Adventure and Save the Ocean

Scuba instructors are sometimes portrayed as vagabonds or beach bums, but in reality, they are passionate ocean defenders. Every day, scuba instructors around the world certify new underwater ambassadors who will be a voice for the ocean. 

Dive instructors also transform lives. They help students overcome their fears, take them on exciting adventures, and show them why we need to take better care of our ocean planet.

How to Become a PADI Instructor

The first step to becoming a scuba instructor is enrolling in the PADI Instructor Development Course (IDC). Here are a few things to consider before taking the IDC and some commonly held myths about becoming an instructor.

Firstly, there are a few mandatory requirements to enroll in the IDC:

  • You must be a PADI Divemaster, and a certified diver for a minimum of 6 months
  • A minimum of 60 logged dives, or 100 if you will progress onto the Instructor Examination
  • A medical statement from a physician within the last 12 months
  • Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care (CPR and First Aid) training within the last 24 months

Then, becoming a fully certified PADI Instructor consists of 3 parts:

  • Assistant Instructor course (AI)
  • Open Water Scuba Instructor program (OWSI)
  • Instructor Examination (IE)

You may be surprised to know: many people who complete the IDC don’t necessarily work as scuba instructors afterwards. For instance, some divers take the course simply for the personal challenge and to learn skills that benefit them in office life. Others work as research divers, on public safety teams, or in the entertainment industry. Learn more about career opportunities for scuba divers, and read interviews with people who have full-time scuba diving jobs.

become a scuba instructor
A PADI Specialty Instructor waiting to teach a PADI Ice Diver course in Switzerland, one of many types of scuba certification

Become a Specialty Instructor

Elevate Your Teaching Capabilities

With over 25 specialties to offer, these courses allow you to elevate your teaching style even further after becoming a PADI Instructor. Specialty Instructors become experts in different diving fields, inspiring students to undertake unique courses, too.

Additionally, these are attractive certifications to have in the scuba industry worldwide, such as being qualified to teach the PADI Ice Diver + Dry Suit Diver specialties if you’re looking to work in extreme or cold climates.

Specialty courses are not only exciting for students to learn but also thrilling for instructors to become qualified to teach. In doing so, you become not only an inspiring role model for students but a sought-after dive professional for dive resorts and jobs in the marine industry.

Other PADI diving courses you could become certified to teach include:

If these courses sound inviting, then check out the full range of specialties you could teach.

Become a Specialty Instructor
A diver using a rebreather while diving in the ocean, a skill that can be learned by taking technical diving certifications

PADI Courses for Technical and Rebreather Diving

Go Deeper, Stay Longer

PADI Tec courses attract experienced divers who want to go beyond the limits of recreational diving. Technical (or Tec) divers get to explore underwater caves, visit spectacular, untouched wrecks, and use cutting-edge dive equipment. Moreover, divers who learn to dive with a rebreather enjoy unparalleled animal encounters and dramatically longer dive times.

If you’re curious about technical or rebreather diving, then sign up for a Discover Tec or Discover Rebreather course. To begin with, a PADI Tec Instructor will help you try tec diving equipment in a pool and show you a few basic skills. Then, if you want to keep going, you can complete your transition from recreational to technical diver with the PADI Tec 40 course.

Or, if you’re not ready to go “full tec” straight away, consider trying sidemount instead. It’s a technical diving configuration that has recently become popular with recreational divers. Learn more about the benefits of diving sidemount.

discover technical diving
Zoona Naseem the first female PADI Course Director in the Maldives and who has achieved the highest PADI diver certifications

Course Director

Join the Elite, Achieve the Highest Title

Hovering at the top of the list of PADI courses is Course Director status. However, Course Directors must first earn their place on the PADI Course Director Training Course (CDTC) to achieve this elite status. In due course, Course Directors are then certified to teach the Instructor Development Course (IDC).

Without a doubt, the CDTC requires a high level of skill, so the requirements to enroll in this course are fairly intense. For example, candidates must have certified over 150 students and completed over 250 logged dives. They must also have experience in assisting on IDCs and working at PADI Dive Centers and/or Resorts. The full requirements for the CDTC can be downloaded from the PADI Pros’ site.

Not only is being a Course Director an extremely desirable title in the dive industry, but this rating comes with a huge sense of personal success. Becoming a Course Director is intense; however, it’s exciting, and it’s certainly respected.

Interested in real-life Course Director career stories? Read about female Course Directors making strides, plus:

Become a Course Director

PADI Freediver Courses

Embrace Your Inward Power, Discipline, and Control

Freediving has become a popular way to explore the underwater world away from the burden of scuba gear and decompression limits. Instead, you’ll enjoy an unrivaled sense of peace and freedom for as long as you can hold your breath. And that’s not to mention the other benefits of freediving, like closer (bubble-free) marine life encounters, improved fitness, and reduced stress.

Moreover, you don’t need any prior PADI diving certifications or snorkeling experience to enroll in a Beginner Freediver course—just reasonable swimming skills and good physical health. If you’re over 12 years old, you can get certified and practice disciplines such as dynamic, static, and constant weight freediving.

Once you’ve completed your first Freediver course, you can then progress your skills and limits by moving on to Advanced Freediver (ages 15+) and Master Freediver (ages 18+).

Intrigued and want to learn more before plunging into the world of freediving? Here are some other useful blogs:

sign up for padi freediver
A PADI Mermaid instructor teaches a student the skill of mermaiding underwater for which they will achieve a PADI certificate

PADI Mermaid Courses

A Unique Underwater Experience That Mixes Reality With Fantasy

Mermaid diving (or “mermaiding”) is a fun and rewarding passion that blends the essence of folklore with some basic techniques and equipment used in swimming, scuba, and freediving. A growing community of PADI Mermaids are also using their mer-skills to advocate for ocean conservation or even become professional entertainers:

While mermaiding looks effortless (that’s part of the skill, after all), staying safe and elegant underwater calls for knowledge development and practical training.

PADI Mermaid programs will help you do just that, and there are presently four Mermaid diving certification levels:

  • Discover Mermaid: a simple confined-water trial to give you a glimpse into a mermaid’s world
  • Basic Mermaid: introduces mermaiding fundamentals, from culture and gear to basic water skills
  • Mermaid: learn expressive water skills that set mermaiding apart from other types of diving
  • Advanced Mermaid: progress your mermaiding skills while exploring the natural, open-water environment

By the way, contrary to popular belief, PADI Mermaid is certainly not limited to women! There are a substantial number of male participants, and “mermaiding” is nowadays considered a gender-neutral term for this activity.

sign up for padi mermaid
A PADI scuba diver student completing his PADI Open Water eLearning at home before finishing his PADI courses in the ocean

Start Your PADI Courses Online

With PADI eLearning, you can complete the knowledge development portion of most PADI courses online from your computer or mobile device. This gives you total freedom to choose when and where you study, and to move through the interactive topics at your own pace.

It’s also a great way to maximize your vacation time—you can complete the theory portion of your PADI certification online with eLearning before you even step on the plane, and then enjoy more precious underwater time once you reach your scuba destination.

Still not sure if eLearning is for you? Here is some more guidance:

explore padi elearning courses

Any Questions?

If you have questions about any of the different scuba certifications above, or how to get PADI certified, contact a PADI Dive Center or Resort. Also, if you’re a college or university student, ask your school about earning college credit for your scuba lessons.

If you’re ready to start your first (or next) PADI certification, sign up today with PADI eLearning!

start your padi course online today
Share This

Related Posts