After recently hosting a PADI Go Pro evening at Buddha View, I was inspired to write a blog post
about what is involved in becoming a GOOD and employable dive professional.

When we are looking at employing dive professionals, we look for two things. What can the diver
do, i.e their skill set and qualifications, but just as importantly how do they do it? What is their attitude
like? This blog post will deal with the attitude side of things, and I will follow up shortly with the skills
that make you a good and employable dive professional.

There are countless websites (mine included) telling you what an amazing life changing experience
it is to become a dive professional, but what is it really like to turn the passion into a career?
And how do you really succeed in the industry?

Well I would have to say first and foremost that attitude is the most important attribute of a good
dive professional. Skills are secondary and it is our job as dive professional trainers to teach you
the necessary skills, but without the right attitude a diver will never be a GOOD dive professional.

So what do I mean by a good attitude? Well to start with you should have a positive approach to life,
a good sense of humour and have the ability to operate under busy conditions and still have a smile
on your face. You should also have the ability to concentrate on the job in hand despite personal
problems and importantly a strong work ethic.

A dive professional’s primary role is customer care. Dive professionals have an obligation to think
about people other than themselves, that is what makes you a professional – this is a character
attribute more than something that can be trained into a person. Your job is to ensure your
customers have enjoyable and safe diving experiences. A dive professional should be a good
listener and a good organizer.  If you listen to your customers, you will also hear what interests
them and be able to tailor your dive plan to incorporate what they want to see. You are also there
to make sure that there isn’t a logistical angle that hasn’t already thought of and prepared for.
You should be planning for events that have never happened and events that you ensure will
never happen.

Being a dive professional is seen by outsiders as an automatic key to paradise on earth where
you are well paid, well respected and blissfully happy all the time. Unfortunately this isn’t
always the case everyday of your working life. The average professional diver is definitely
not well paid (in monetary terms), and you will have hard days when hard choices are required
to be made that will make a difference to people’s lives, and possibly their wellbeing.

However, as a career path it beats the hell out of sitting in an office or working in a factory,
and the feeling you get when you sign off a proud diver is amazing. There is also a real sense
of accomplishment from scaling the PADI ladder and overcoming each challenge as it is
presented to you. I love being a PADI dive instructor and don’t regret it for a minute.

Sally Powell PADI Master Instructor

www.proscubacourses.com