Before you can get a scuba diving job, you must first become certified as a scuba diving instructor. There are hundreds of certified schools all over the United States that will certify someone as a teacher after you have logged in the hours in the water and taken all the tests.
You must first pass a physical exam, not just the written one that they give to the dive students, but you must be in excellent physical and mental shape. Mental shape because something could go wrong while you are with your students, one could panic and you need to be able to keep your wits about you so you can safely get them up to the surface. If you have any fears or begin to panic then there are going to be two people who need saving. People depend on the instructor and this is why you need to be in great physical and mental shape.
Next you will have to pass a rigorous swimming exam, one in which you will have to tread water and swim for a long period of time, and at some point in the exercise, you will be asked to ‘save’ someone who is in panic mode. You will be exhausted and probably have a hard time with the rescue but you must prove that you can handle a situation such as this one. And then hope that it never happens on a real scuba diving expedition.
There are many textbooks about scuba diving and you will need to commit them to memory and pass several written examinations regarding the reading material before you can move on to the water/diving portion of the testing. Proving you can swim and save someone if they are in distress doesn’t mean you have the smarts to teach someone how to dive or take a group of divers down below and keep an eye on each and every one of them. There are rules and regulations that must be adhered to.
Once you pass the written portion of the certification course, you must log in the water hours. There are so many hours you must have logged in the pool as practice time and so many hours logged in the open waters as practical time. You will have to go along with another teacher as an intern for several trips before you are certified to get your own scuba diving job.
When you pass the written and water portions of the scuba diving exam, you will then receive you scuba diving certification and be ready to find a scuba diving job. You will be able to be an instructor at a scuba diving certification clinic and help others to become certified scuba divers. Or you can go to one of the coasts and become a tour guide and take people down on scuba diving tours. The choice is yours. Either way, it takes long hours, discipline and dedication to the sport of scuba diving to become a certified teacher or guide and once you have your certification and license, the world is yours to explore.