Becoming a Successful Midwest Dive Instructor: The Weekend IDC Approach

Rich Synowiec   Mar 12, 2025

 

ANN ARBOR, MI – The path to becoming a PADI Instructor often leads candidates to popular tropical destinations, where they train in clear, warm waters with nearly ideal conditions. But for those who plan to teach, work, or run a dive business in the Midwest, that approach doesn’t always prepare them for real-world instruction in Great Lakes states. Often time leaving them out of their depth when they start to teach back home. 

Whether you’re looking to work for a dive center or build your own independent scuba business, the key to success as a Midwest diving instructor is learning how to adapt, market, and teach in the environment where you will actually work. Understanding the unique challenges and opportunities of the diving where you call home, makes success that much more guaranteed. 

That’s why the Weekend IDC at Divers Incorporated focuses on more than just passing the Instructor Examination (IE). It’s about coaching future instructors to not only be great teachers but also thriving professionals who can make a real living in diving—whether through a dive center or as an independent instructor. Becoming a good instructor makes passing the IE just a formality 

How to Succeed as a Midwest Dive Instructor
The reality is that being a PADI Instructor is more than just running classes—it’s about understanding the dive industry, building relationships, business dynamics, and student engagement. Whether you plan to work at a dive center or grow your own brand as an independent instructor, your success will come from a mix of:

• Strong Teaching Skills – Delivering courses that keep divers engaged and encourage them to continue their training with you.  Building relationships and diving opportunities along the way. 
• Understanding Local Diving Conditions – Knowing how to teach in drysuits, lower than perfect visibility, and cold water. Teaching in these conditions makes you a better instructor and your students better divers. 
• Marketing Yourself & Your Courses – Whether you work for a shop or for yourself, instructors who know how to promote training opportunities attract more students.
• Using PADI as a Marketing Agency – PADI offers tools that go beyond training materials, helping instructors reach new divers and create demand for courses.
• Offering Specialty Certifications – Expanding beyond Open Water certification by offering unique courses like Dry Suit, Wreck, Deep, and Enriched Air Nitrox makes you a more valuable instructor.

The Weekend IDC: Real-World Training for Midwest Professionals
While many instructor programs require weeks away from home in locations unrelated to Midwest diving, the Weekend IDC is built around real-world applications for those who plan to teach in the Great Lakes region.

• Three-Weekend Format – Train on-site at a Midwest PADI Instructor Development Center and a Midwest PADI Resort, gaining experience in drysuit diving, local diving challenges, and building your own Personal Brand. 
• Course Director-Led Online Training – Go beyond basic eLearning with interactive sessions that cover marketing, branding, and PADI business tools. This is accomplished online, in the evenings after work, in the comfort of your own home. 
• Drysuit Training Included – Gain hands-on experience teaching in cold-water conditions, making you a standout instructor in the Midwest.
• Flexible Schedule – Unlike traditional IDCs that pull candidates away for weeks at a time, this format allows you to train without disrupting your career, family, or business.

How Midwest Instructors Can Build a Career in Diving
One of the biggest questions prospective instructors ask is:
Can I make a living as a scuba instructor in the Midwest?

The answer: Absolutely—but only if you approach it the right way.

Whether you plan to join a dive shop or become an independent instructor, you need to understand what creates value in the industry.

1. Retail Sales & Equipment Knowledge – A successful instructor helps divers choose the right gear, maintain their equipment, and invest in their diving future.
2. Continuing Education Marketing – The difference between a one-time Open Water student and a lifelong diver is an instructor who guides them toward their next course.
3. The Value of Specialty Instruction – Offering specialty courses (like Dry Suit, Deep, and Nitrox) makes instructors more valuable to shops and more profitable as independents.
4. Growing a Personal Brand – Instructors who use social media, host dive trips, and build a loyal student base are the ones who succeed long-term.
5. Keeping your divers Diving – Divers learn to dive to go diving.  If you are able to keep them diving this is the key to make them continue training with you. 

Weekend IDC graduates are trained in these skills, setting them apart as instructors who do more than just teach classes—they grow the industry.

Is the Weekend IDC Right for You?
The Weekend IDC at Divers Incorporated is built for:

• Future dive shop instructors who want to start strong in a Midwest dive center.
• Independent professionals looking to make a profitable career in diving while maintaining flexibility.
• Divers who want real-world Midwest training rather than an IDC focused on conditions they won’t encounter at home.
• Instructor candidates who want to save the cost of Travel and lodging at a destination for an experience unrelated to how they will teach when they return home. 

The Spring Quarter IDC at Divers Incorporated begins April 8, 2025. If you're serious about becoming a Midwest dive professional, this program is designed to give you the tools you need to succeed.