Become a Dive Pro

The short answer: Dive Guide is a course, Divemaster is a status. The Dive Guide course is the basic course for anyone who wants to learn how to guide other divers. This can also be recreational (i.e. private and not as a paid job for a diving school or dive centre). Divemaster is the first professional level at SSI, which also allows you to work in the diving industry. You will have completed the Science of Diving specialty in addition to the Dive Guide course, have logged at least 60 dives and meet the requirements for active status as an SSI Dive Pro.

During the SSI Diver Stress & Rescue Diver course, you will learn how to recognise and solve problems in yourself. The course combines theory, dry exercises and realistic water scenarios. This certification shows that you recognise emergency situations and know how to act. As a dive professional, these are basic requirements for creating a safe environment for students and divers under your responsibility.

To start SSI Dive Guide, you must be at least 15 years old and have logged 40 dives (a total of 25 hours underwater). You also need the Diver Stress & Rescue certification (or similar from another organisation). In addition, you need to have the Deep Diving, Underwater Navigation and Night Diving specialties (or similar from another organisation), or be able to demonstrate that you have sufficient experience in these areas (e.g. by being able to show at least five logged dives from each topic).

To be certified as a Dive Guide, you must have completed the course, successfully pass the exam and have a minimum of 50 logged dives (at least 32 hours underwater).

To become an SSI Divemaster, you must first have passed the Dive Guide course. In addition, you must be at least 18 years old and have logged a minimum of 60 verified dives (at least 40 hours underwater). You also need the Science of Diving certification and must meet the requirements for active status with SSI.

To gain active status as a Dive Pro with SSI (from the Divemaster level upwards), you must be associated with an approved SSI Training Centre, have professional liability insurance, have paid SSI's annual membership and signed the SSI Professional's Agreement. If you are associated with a training centre, in many cases you will be covered by the centre's insurance and will not need to arrange this yourself.

The major difference between a Divemaster and Dive Instructor is that an instructor is trained to teach divers new skills. A divemaster may assist in specific programmes and repeat skills learned. So a divemaster is someone who guides, is (also) responsible for safety and logistics and assists. A diving instructor may teach full course programmes and teach students new skills and knowledge. In the Netherlands, it is also the case that only a diving instructor is allowed to give introductory dives.

The SSI Master Diver certification (not to be confused with Divemaster) is the highest recognition for recreational divers that SSI gives. You get this recognition when you have proven you have a serious amount of experience and skills. The certification is automatically awarded when you have achieved the following: a minimum of 50 logged dives (verified by an SSI Pro), Diver Stress & Rescue and Deep Diving specialties, three additional specialties of your choice. Feel free discuss your interest in this certification with us. We will be happy to see what suits you and how you can acquire the recognition. Do you already have specialties from other diving organisations? You're allowed to include max two specialties from other organizations for the SSI Master Diver recognition.