1. Knowledge Development:
This develops your familiarity with basic principles and procedures. You learn things like how pressure affects your body, how to choose the best gear and what to consider when planning dives. At the end of the course, you take an exam that makes sure you’ve got all the key concepts and ideas down.

2. Pool Instruction
You develop basic scuba skills in a pool. Here you’ll learn everything from setting up your gear to how to easily get water out of your mask without surfacing. You’ll also practice some emergency skills, like sharing air – just in case.
There are five pool instruction dives, with each building upon the previous. Over the course of these five dives, you attain the skills you need to dive in open water.

3. Open Water Dives
There are four open water dives with your PADI Instructor at a dive site. This is where you have fun putting it all together and fully experience the underwater adventure – at the beginner level, of course.

4. Equipment
You'll need a mask, fins, snorkel, tank, regulator, buoyancy compensator, submersible pressure gauge and wet suit.

You must have completed your Open Water Certification prior to the Advance Open Water Course. During the Advanced Course, you will continue to build on your exisiting skills. You will do a deep dive, and learn naviation skills.

Rescue Diver training will prepare you to prevent problems and, if necessary, manage dive emergencies. Many divers say this is the best course they’ve ever taken. You'll need Emergency First Response training for this course. This is also taught at the dive shop. You'll cover:

PADI Divemaster training develops your leadership abilities, qualifying you to supervise dive activities and assist instructors with student divers. During the PADI Divemaster program, you learn dive leadership skills through both classroom and independent study. You complete water skills and stamina exercises, as well as training exercises that stretch your ability to organize and solve problems. You put this knowledge into action through an internship or series of practical training exercises.
Prerequists include: 60 logged dives, a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver (or qualifying certification from another training organization), and a PADI Rescue Diver (or qualifying certification from another training organization) with 20 logged dives. You must at least 18 years old.

There are many PADI certifications: