DIVE HAPPY

Want to become a scuba diving instructor and do your training in Thailand? Find out exactly how much it costs to pass your instructor course and what you can expect to earn teaching scuba diving in Thailand

It was five years ago that I did my scuba diving Instructor Development Course on the island of Koh Tao in Thailand. It was a fantastic experience and I made a lot of good friends while studying there, one of whom was Ayesha. She still lives and teaches diving on Koh Tao after stints working as a scuba diving instructor in Koh Phi Phi, Honduras, the Red Sea and the Maldives. (If you're interested in Ayesha teaching you to dive, see her website LearnToDiveOnKohTao.com).

Recently Ayesha wrote a great article for Travelfish.org outlining exactly what you need to do to become a certified PADI scuba diving instructor. She details the various dive courses you have to progress through - Open Water, Advanced, Rescue, EFR, Divemaster and then the Instructor Development Course (IDC) - and also gives a realistic assessment of what you can expect to earn, along with the costs of the training. It's essential reading if you're interested in doing your instructor course in Thailand. While she focuses specifically on Koh Tao, what Ayesha writes about has a lot of relevant points to consider wherever you do your IDC.

Thailand is an extremely popular place to train as an instructor, so competition is fierce for jobs - see Divehappy's previous article on Scuba Diving Jobs for a rundown of how you can improve your prospects of getting work in the scuba industry.