The Lead / Pro is not about diving at a higher level. It is about taking responsibility for other people's dives — and eventually teaching them to take that responsibility themselves.
Leadership is trained, not assumed.
There are divers who want to see more, dive deeper, or stay longer. And then there are divers who want to be the one other divers look to when the plan changes. The Lead / Pro is for the second kind. It builds judgment, group awareness, and the calm consistency that separates a diver who has been on a lot of dives from one who knows how to lead them.
The pathway runs from Dive Guide — the first step toward leading certified divers — through Divemaster, Assistant Instructor, and Open Water Instructor. For those who continue, Specialty Instructor and XR Instructor credentials extend teaching capability into every course Tom's offers. Each step requires demonstrated readiness at the previous level. The assessment before enrollment is a conversation, not an obstacle.
The Moment You Are Responsible for Other Divers, Everything Changes
You plan for more than yourself
Site assessment, group evaluation, contingency planning, and briefings that account for every diver in the water — not just the dive you want to do.
You read the group, not just the water
Recognizing stress before it becomes panic. Adjusting depth or duration before someone has to ask. Knowing which diver in the group needs more attention and getting there first.
You set the standard by example
Preparedness, consistency, and calm under pressure. The divers you lead watch how you handle problems. A professional who shows poor habits teaches those habits to everyone around them.
You manage emergencies, not just dives
An incident management plan, a first aid kit, an emergency oxygen kit, and the calm to use all three correctly when things do not go as planned. Required skills, not optional preparation.
What Readiness Looks Like for Lead / Pro
The assessment before enrollment is a conversation about your dive history, your goals, and your current skill level. Tom's instructors are looking for specific things. Candidates who arrive with these in place move faster and get more from the training.
Foundation we look for before Divemaster enrollment
- Diver Stress & Rescue certification — required, no exceptions
- Science of Diving certification — required, no exceptions
- At least 60 logged dives with demonstrated comfort in deeper water, navigation, and limited visibility
- Active SSI membership in good standing
- The understanding that Lead is a responsibility, not a rank — professional attitude assessed from the first conversation
Dive Guide is a non-professional stepping stone available to divers 15 and older with 40 logged dives, DSR, and documented experience in deep, navigation, and limited-visibility diving. It is the right starting point for divers who want to lead before they are ready for Divemaster.
Dive Guide
Lead certified divers with calm control and strong judgment — without stepping into professional employment.
Dive Guide (Non-Professional)
You want to lead dives. You are not ready for Divemaster yet. This is where you start.
Dive planning, site evaluation, group briefings, supervision, and problem prevention — the core leadership skills of Lead / Pro, built in a non-professional context. Minimum age 15. Requires 40 logged dives and DSR. The natural bridge toward Divemaster for divers building toward full professional credentials.
Coming soonDivemaster
Plan and lead dives. Support training. Take real responsibility for the divers in your care.
Divemaster
The moment you are responsible for other divers, everything changes.
Site assessment, group evaluation, dive planning, briefings, in-water supervision, emergency management, and certified-assistant support during training. The course that builds professional judgment from the ground up. Requires Science of Diving, DSR, and 60 logged dives.
View course →What Divemaster prepares you for
Leading dives for Tom's. Supporting instructors during training. Earning income in the water.
Divemasters at Tom's lead certified divers on guided dives and serve as certified assistants during Open Water and continuing education courses — supporting instructors with student positioning, control, and safety. Divemaster is also the required first step toward Assistant Instructor for candidates who want to teach.
Assistant Instructor
Build demonstration-quality skills and start teaching with a real system.
Assistant Instructor
Assisting is not helping. It is learning how to teach.
Academic presentations, confined-water skill demonstrations at demonstration quality, student coaching, documentation, and the structured teaching system that SSI uses across every program. The bridge between strong diver and reliable instructor.
View Instructor pathway →What AI certification enables
You can now co-teach Open Water under direct instructor supervision.
Assistant Instructors present academics, conduct confined-water skill sessions, and support open-water training dives — with a certified Open Water Instructor maintaining direct supervision. The role builds teaching experience in a structured, accountable context.
Path from AI to OWI
AI to Open Water Instructor is the next scheduled step.
The Instructor Training Course follows directly from Assistant Instructor certification. Tom's runs ITC programs through the SSI system. Timing and scheduling are confirmed during the Divemaster-to-AI transition conversation.
Speak with Tom'sOpen Water Instructor & Advanced Credentials
Certify independently. Extend your teaching range. Build a professional career in the water.
Open Water Instructor
Teach safely, teach clearly, certify with confidence.
Run complete Open Water programs independently: academics, confined water, and open water certification dives. Follow the SSI teaching system with the supervision, documentation, and student evaluation skills that make training safe and consistent.
View course →Specialty / AOWD Instructor
Teach the continuing education courses across all four CE lanes.
Specialty Instructor credentials extend your teaching authorization into specific CE courses — Perfect Buoyancy, Nitrox, Wreck, Navigation, and others. Earned through the Specialty Instructor Seminar after OWI certification.
Coming soonXR Instructor
Teach across Precision / XR — technical and extended range.
XR Instructor authorization allows teaching XR Foundations and subsequent technical courses. Requires demonstrated technical diving credentials and instructor-level performance in XR configurations. The intersection of Lead / Pro and Precision / XR.
Coming soonInstructor & XR Instructor Trainer
Train and evaluate the next generation of SSI instructors.
Instructor Trainers run Instructor Training Courses and evaluate instructor candidates. The highest level of teaching authorization in the SSI system. Assessed and awarded through SSI directly.
Coming soonYou Are Learning to Lead at a Shop That Has Been Teaching Since 1982
Tom's has been developing divers and dive professionals in Austin longer than any other dive shop still in business here. The instructors you train alongside are the same team you would work with as a Divemaster. There is no separation between the training environment and the working environment — and that consistency is what professional development should look like.
30+ active SSI instructors
One of Austin's largest instructor teams means Divemaster candidates work alongside experienced professionals across specialties, environments, and teaching styles — not just one instructor's approach.
Active training programs year-round
Tom's runs Open Water, CE, and specialty courses continuously. Divemasters and Assistant Instructors get real supervised experience supporting active training, not theoretical scenarios.
91°F pool, on-site year-round
Confined-water skill development, demonstration practice, and student supervision training all happen in the same pool used for every other Tom's course. Consistent conditions, accessible scheduling.
SSI — certifications that travel
SSI professional credentials are recognized at dive centers in more than 110 countries. A Divemaster or Instructor certification from Tom's is a credential with global currency.
The assessment is a conversation about where you are and where you want to go.
Call or stop by. Tom's instructors will discuss your dive history, your goals, and whether the timing is right. Candidates who are close but not quite ready receive a clear development path, not a rejection.
Call (512) 451-3425 →