The Road to Divemaster — 4 Things to Keep in Mind as an Open Water Course Assistant!

Ever since taking up scuba diving, the rookie Editor has always dreamed of stepping into a leadership role — hoping to use her own skills to bring friends into the underwater world and help them discover the ocean. After two years of relentless practice, this year finally brought the opportunity to enroll in a Divemaster course. Let's take a look at what you need to pay attention to along the way!

Follow Along, Follow Along, and Follow Along Again

After sitting through a full winter of classroom theory, I finally got the chance to intern as a teaching assistant for an Open Water course in Kenting this past January. I thought it wouldn't be much of a challenge — just stand nearby and offer the instructor a helping hand when needed. Little did I know that my rookie nerves would cause me to forget my weights entirely. I had to scramble and borrow an extra kilogram from another assistant to clip on.

During the first confined water session, the students were extremely anxious, and things quickly descended into chaos. All the rookie Editor could do was watch from the sidelines while the instructor calmed everyone down before continuing. To become a qualified teaching assistant, you absolutely need enough course-following experience under your belt so that when different problems arise, you can handle them with ease.

Before Helping the Students, Get Yourself Ready First

You might think: surely you should help the students before worrying about yourself? You're right — we can't possibly leave a student stranded without support while we fuss over our own gear. That's why the key is to give yourself enough lead time and get fully prepared before anyone else needs you. Don't let yourself be the person still slowly pulling on a wetsuit while the students and instructor have already had their equipment assembled and checked.

Beyond pre-dive preparation, the rookie Editor believes that a teaching assistant should be in a state of readiness at every moment — whether that means staying warm, maintaining good physical fitness, or being able to carry your own gear and scuba tank / cylinder independently. Getting yourself ready is what allows you to lead by example. Show students what a qualified diver looks like in practice — because you can't ask students to meet a standard you can't meet yourself.

If you're thinking about pursuing a leadership-level certification, ask yourself honestly: am I ready?

Understand the "Why" Behind Every Skill, and Everything Will Click

There are an enormous number of standard skills to learn throughout a Divemaster course. You'll need serious mental bandwidth to store them all, especially since every instructor has their own teaching style and habits. So how do you cram all those nuances into your head? The trick is this: every standard skill, every instructional choice — there's a reason behind it. Rather than trying to memorize everything by rote, try to understand why a particular approach works better. Once you grasp the logic behind each skill, you'll find that you no longer need to memorize it at all — you'll simply know what to do, instinctively.

Understanding the reasoning behind each skill doesn't just help you retain it faster — it also gives you the ability to adapt on the fly. Textbooks don't account for unexpected situations, so a single teaching method can work from start to finish on paper. In reality, however, factors like the dive site, the students, the weather, and visibility are all beyond your control, meaning you can never rely on just one approach. Knowing how to improvise is a skill in itself.

Next time you're about to turn to the instructor for an answer, pause and think it through for yourself first — consider what the answer might be and why.

Seize Every Opportunity to Practice Teaching Out Loud

You can fully understand the concepts and have listened to the explanations countless times, and still feel like it's all straightforward — until you're standing in front of students with the gear in your hands and you nearly blank on how to assemble it. Teaching and speaking in front of a group is a skill that requires practice. Beyond conveying the correct information to students, you also need to know how to hold their attention throughout the lesson and pick up on any signs that someone might be confused or struggling. None of that can be learned simply by listening.

The Editor would like to take a moment to thank my PE teacher, who — upon learning I was pursuing my Divemaster certification — generously let me sit in on school diving classes. It started with just listening, then gradually progressed to the teacher leading one session while letting me take over the next for practice. My teacher would always say: "Just give it a go — whatever you miss, I'll fill in." After a full semester of that, the rookie Editor now has far more hands-on teaching experience than most Divemaster candidates at the same stage, and the thought of standing up to explain something doesn't feel nearly as daunting anymore.

If an instructor gives you the chance to practice teaching, don't use "I'm not ready yet" as an excuse. Opportunities belong to those who are prepared.

From winter until now, the rookie Editor has followed three complete courses in full. It wasn't until I had real hands-on experience that I truly began to understand what it means to become a qualified teaching assistant. If you're currently thinking about pursuing your Divemaster certification — or you're already well along that path — I hope this article is of some use to you. Feel free to share with the rookie Editor any memorable moments you've encountered on your own road to Divemaster!

Further Reading:

• 【Taiwan Diving — Dylan Chen Column】Divemasters and Instructors Are Everywhere — How Do You Stand Out?
• 【Taiwan Diving — Dylan Chen Column】If You Want to Become a Divemaster, You Can Start Preparing in These Three Ways Right Now
• 【Taiwan Diving — Dylan Chen Column】Before You Pursue Your PADI Divemaster Certification, Make Sure You Avoid These Three Pitfalls
• "If You Can't Think Like an Instructor, You Don't Belong Here" — The Journey from Divemaster to Dive Instructor
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