Becoming a PADI Instructor means a new career, and for many people a completely new life. It is also a clearly defined path: a fixed sequence of courses, dive counts and exams that takes you from certified diver to teaching your own students. Here is how it works, based on what we see every year training instructor candidates at our centres in Indonesia.
How to become a PADI diving instructor: the steps
- Get your core certifications. Open Water, Advanced Open Water, then Rescue Diver together with Emergency First Response (first aid and CPR). You need at least 40 logged dives to start professional training.
- Complete your PADI Divemaster. This is the first professional rating. A Divemaster internship runs for a minimum of 4 weeks, and you need 60 logged dives to certify.
- Meet the IDC entry requirements. Be 18 or over, a certified diver for at least 6 months, with 100 logged dives including deep, night and navigation dives, a diving medical signed within the last 12 months, and EFR training within the last 24 months.
- Take the Instructor Development Course (IDC). The IDC is made up of the Assistant Instructor course and the Open Water Scuba Instructor programme, and most candidates take both together.
- Pass the Instructor Examination (IE). A 2-day exam run independently by PADI, not by your dive centre.
- Start teaching. Ideally through an instructor internship, so your first courses happen under the guidance of senior instructors rather than alone.
The rest of this post walks through each stage: how the Divemaster and IDC fit together, what the IDC and IE actually involve, what it costs, and how to get your first teaching experience afterwards.
Divemaster first: how the DM to IDC pathway works
A question we hear constantly from candidates: “my goal is to become an instructor once I get some experience, so when should I do my Divemaster?” The answer is that Divemaster is not a detour on the way to instructor. It is the required first step, and the two stages sequence neatly.
The Divemaster course teaches you to lead certified divers, assist instructors on courses and manage groups in the water. Our Divemaster internship runs for a minimum of 4 weeks at Amed, Nusa Penida or Bunaken, either at a single location or as a 2-location rotation with up to 2 weeks at each centre. You start with 40 logged dives and need 60 to certify.
Can you do Divemaster and IDC back to back? Usually, yes. The two rules that decide it are the 6-month rule and the 100-dive rule. You must have been a certified diver for at least 6 months before the IDC, counted from your first certification rather than from finishing your DM, so most candidates have already cleared it. The real gate is dives: you certify as a Divemaster with 60 logged dives but need 100 before the Instructor Exam. Fun diving between the two stages closes that gap, and because our DM internship includes unlimited fun diving, plenty of candidates arrive at their IDC with the dive count already done.
If your Divemaster was a while ago and you feel rusty, we also run a DM Experience Programme: up to 4 weeks working as a Divemaster at one of our centres before your IDC, under the supervision of an experienced instructor.
There is a practical money reason to plan the sequence with one operator too. Complete your Divemaster with Two Fish and you get 10% off your IDC course fee, a saving of more than IDR 2,500,000.
What you’ll learn during the IDC
The IDC turns a competent Divemaster into someone who can actually teach. You learn to conduct the core PADI courses from Open Water through to Divemaster, working within PADI standards and procedures. That covers classroom presentations, confined water teaching sessions and open water teaching sessions, plus the practical side of being a working dive professional: risk management, diver safety and the business of diving.
A typical IDC day at our centres starts with an optional morning yoga session with the Course Director, then classroom time (presentations from the Course Director, followed by presentations you deliver to the class), then wet time. Every day you are in the water for a confined or open water teaching session, role-playing as instructor, Divemaster and student in rotation with the other candidates.
Where the Assistant Instructor rating fits
The Assistant Instructor course is the first half of the IDC. Most candidates run straight through both halves, but AI is a certification in its own right: you can stop there, teach in a limited assisting role, and finish the instructor half later. If you are weighing that option, read our guide to why the PADI Assistant Instructor rating might be the right move, which covers who it suits and how it compares with Divemaster.
The Instructor Examination
The IE is a 2-day evaluation run independently by PADI, not by the dive centre that trained you. PADI examiners assess the same things you practised throughout the IDC: knowledge development presentations, confined and open water teaching, dive theory and standards.
That independence is why preparation matters. We back our IDC with a 100% pass guarantee: complete the course with us and if you don’t pass your IE, we provide additional training and a free IDC retake at no extra cost.
What does it cost?
Budget for four things: the IDC course fee, PADI’s own fees (paid direct to PADI for the IDC application and the IE), course materials, and living costs while you train. Accommodation near our centres runs across a wide range of budgets, and dive insurance can be arranged on arrival if you don’t have cover.
Rather than quote numbers that date, current package prices, what’s included and the DM-graduate discount are all on our PADI IDC page. Two discounts worth knowing about: 10% off the IDC course fee if you completed your Divemaster with Two Fish, and 10% off if two candidates book the same IDC together.
Why train in Indonesia, and why with us
Indonesia gives you variety most training locations can’t: wrecks and coral slopes in Amed, manta rays and mola mola around Nusa Penida, the walls of Bunaken Marine Park. Teaching experience gained here is well regarded when dive centres anywhere in the world are hiring.
A few things are specific to training with Two Fish:
- Course Director Restuning Sandini, the first female Indonesian PADI Course Director, teaches every IDC herself in small groups. No handoffs to staff instructors, and no freelance Course Directors. She teaches in English, Indonesian and Dutch.
- IDCs run throughout the year from our PADI 5-Star IDC centres in Amed, Nusa Penida and Sanur. Upcoming dates are on the IDC schedule.
- A free instructor internship after your IDC. Up to 2 months of supervised teaching with real students at our centres; you cover only room and board. We run 8 to 10 IDCs a year and internship places go to our own IDC graduates first.
- The 100% pass guarantee described above.
We also hire from our own internships. With busy dive centres across Indonesia, interns who fit the team are often the first people we offer jobs to.
Frequently asked questions
How many logged dives do I need to become an instructor?
You need 40 logged dives to start a Divemaster course, 60 to certify as a Divemaster, and 100 (including deep, night and navigation dives) before your Instructor Examination. If you are short, we can help you build the dives you need before or during your training.
Can I do my Divemaster and IDC together, back to back?
Usually yes, as long as you have been a certified diver for at least 6 months and can reach 100 logged dives before the IE. Many of our candidates do the 4-week Divemaster internship, build dives with the unlimited fun diving it includes, then roll straight into the next scheduled IDC.
What’s the difference between a Divemaster and an instructor?
A Divemaster guides certified divers and assists on courses. An Open Water Scuba Instructor can teach and certify students independently, from a person’s very first pool session through to Divemaster level. Instructor is the rating dive centres need most when hiring.
My first aid certification has expired. Can I still start the IDC?
Yes. EFR training must be current within 24 months, and if yours has lapsed you can retake it with us during your IDC. The same goes for the diving medical: it needs a physician’s signature within the last 12 months, and we can send you the form to take to your doctor in advance.
How long does the whole thing take?
From certified diver with the prerequisites done: a minimum of 4 weeks for the Divemaster, whatever time you need to reach 100 dives, then the IDC and the 2-day IE. Starting from Advanced Open Water or below, expect a few months. If you commit to the full path in one block, ask us about sequencing it around our IDC schedule so you finish with an IE date lined up.
Will this actually lead to a job?
No honest dive centre promises employment, but the pattern is consistent: instructors with real teaching experience get hired first. That is exactly what the free post-IDC internship is for, and our own instructor interns get preference when jobs open up at our centres.
Ready to start?
If you are still at the planning stage, our guide on how to choose a PADI IDC in Indonesia covers what to compare between operators. When you are ready to look at dates and pricing, head to the PADI IDC course page or read about the free instructor internship that follows it. Questions about your own certification level and timeline? Contact our team and we’ll map the path from wherever you are now.
