A Day in the Life of a SDI Scuba Instructor

Experience the daily routine of a SDI scuba instructor, from the early start to the evening wrap-up, as she guides students through a day full of underwater adventures.

By Siti NurSara

Introduction to My World

My name is Siti NurSarah, from Malaysia. I’m a professional scuba diver, one of the 2024 SDI Ambassadors, a professional rock climber, trail runner, sailor, and an adventurous human with a passion for traveling and extreme sports. All my life has been linked to nature.

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The Strength of Female Dive Instructors

Being a female is a huge privilege because women are patient, understanding, and honestly, we can make you tough. Why? Because this industry was tough on us, and we often have to quickly adopt a ‘no bullshit’ attitude if we want to make it as a dive instructor. We have to lift as many tanks as the boys, clean as many dirty regulators, and deal with all kinds of students, even those who doubt us. 80% of my students are female and they choose me as their instructor purposefully. Thanks to social media, it is much easier for us to find each other, so they can have the training experience they want.

The Beauty of Diving Instruction

Being a dive instructor in Malaysia is probably one of the best jobs in the world. Beach life, check. Paradise island, check. Amazing marine life, check. Great work-life balance, check. Challenging but rewarding daily tasks, check. There really isn’t much more we could wish for. So, what does my typical day look like as a scuba diving instructor???

Morning Routine: Energizing Start to the Day

0630: Wake up – I usually start my day with a workout at the dive center. Sometimes, on a lucky day, I go for an easy jog around the village and finish with yoga. This sounds great if I can do all this in a single morning. Such a wonderful morning.

Breakfast and Preparing for the Dive

0830: Get Breakfast – My breakfast is always simple, like milk and bread. Then I am off to swiftly set up scuba equipment after breakfast.

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Diving in Tioman Island’s Splendor

0900: Meet students for the second day – all smile-faced and eager to learn to dive. I’m sure they are very excited to be a diver soon after yesterday’s confined water session!!! We sit by the beach and run through the dive briefing and make sure everyone knows what they are doing. Getting distracted during my briefing by the Tioman Island view is normal. My students will appreciate it and can’t wait to see what mother nature will offer them later. I think Tioman Island is one of the most beautiful islands in Malaysia, either on land or underwater.

Tioman Island is a remote and duty-free island off Peninsular Malaysia’s east coast, in the Rompin district, Pahang. It was once selected by TIME magazine as one of the most beautiful islands in the world. With a land area of only 136 square kilometers, Tioman, along with eight other nearby islands, forms the Tioman Island Marine Park. There are seven villages on the island, with Kampung Tekek being the most populous. Located 32 nautical miles off the mainland, but connected through Mersing (Johor) and Tanjung Gemok (Pahang) via ferry, the island continues to enchant visitors with its warm beaches, lovely seas, and lush greenery.

As the biggest island in the marine park, Tioman is a popular tourist destination among divers and snorkelers. This remote island boasts a turf graced with many beautiful wonders, including big schools of fish, turtles, rays, and colorful corals! Diving at Tioman can also give you the opportunity of spotting the rare whale shark.

Even if you are not a diver, you can still enjoy many other activities around the island, such as kayaking and snorkeling around Tioman, near Kampung Ayer Batang jetty, and at Rengis and Tulai Islands.

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Mid-Morning Activities and Knowledge Review

0945: Dive 1, Woohoo!!! – A beautiful dive site just in front of the dive center, sandy bottom in shallow water, beautiful hard and soft coral, plus also five resident puffer fish waiting for divers underwater!

Sometimes I can see small baby sharks and turtles too. But please, watch out for sea urchins and crown-of-thorns starfish. The depth is just around 8-12 meters and this dive site is open-water friendly.

1100: Mid-morning snack and rehydrate time – Students can change to dry attire, but I choose not to. Before lunch, I usually continue my knowledge review, discussing dive conditions of the previous dive.

Bonding with Scuba Students over Diving

1300: Lunchtime – Local food is always the winner. Pick up some “nasi campur” from a famous local restaurant next to the dive center and you’ll be everyone’s favorite instructor. This is really a good time for the instructors and students to get to know each other more. I believe that after courses, they are not just your students anymore – they are a part of your community.

1430: Ready to gear up for the next dive – They look so excited for their first boat dive and we can since the anticipation.

1530: Final Dive – Get ready for our last dive of the day, Renggis Island. I love this dive site because it is full of life with a lot of fish, turtles, sharks, cuttlefish. It also has an artificial reef they call monkey bar. This site is a crowd pleaser and everyone grinning when we get back on the boat.

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Evening Routine and Sunset Moments

1730: Back to Land – Once off the boat we get straight into our equipment cleaning, followed by a long debriefing of the entire day, and before the rest of the fun continues it is time to hit the showers.

1830: Wrap it up- We continue theory class and fill in the logbooks with all the memories of the day. If we finish the review early, my students can have a longer rest at night. Night class changes with party time!!! Yeahhh!!!! This is also the best moment for sunset and I can say here is the best place to see the sunset.

Dinner Plans and Socializing

2000: What to have for dinner? – BBQ is always a winner here! Nothing makes a diver smile more than a full belly and a shiny new certification. Then I head off to the chosen shop for a catch-up with some other dive shop mates.