If you typically break your assorted New Year’s resolutions by the time March rolls around — including that annual promise to write a daily diary — that means you’re ready for a new resolution! A big one. As C.S. Lewis wrote: “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” Get ready to dream big.

Just as PADI Advanced Open Water Diver opens new diving opportunities and Rescue Diver gives you confidence in your skills as a diver knowing you can help others, PADI Divemaster takes everything you’ve learned to a new level. Literally. As the first level of professional training, PADI Divemasters learn, among other skills: to anticipate problems and easily solve them; about diver safety and risk management; a greater awareness of the dive environment; and how to conduct dive briefings and map open-water dive sites.

PADI Divemasters are role models who can really learn from doing — activities like (under instructor supervision) guiding Open Water Diver students on the tour portion of certain dives, and accompanying student divers on Adventure Dives or specialty-course dives. It’s a lot to take in, and it’s why some divers call the PADI Divemaster program the most challenging dive course you’ll ever take. There’s more than just the satisfaction of becoming a more aware diver and assisting instructors, of course. PADI Divemasters can teach PADI ReActivate to certified divers, and even conduct a Discover Scuba Diving course in a pool or confined open water (if qualified as a Discover Scuba Diving Leader).

READ MORE: See How PADI Updated the Advanced Open Water Diver Course

You also dive more. Whether it’s guiding certified divers on the weekend for your local PADI Dive Center or Resort, assisting an instructor with students or accompanying the dive shop on an overseas trip, you’re suddenly going to be diving a lot (and, mostly, not having to pay for it). That’s a pretty good deal.

PADI Divemasters can earn money too — you can make money while assisting an instructor or teaching the courses Divemasters are authorized to teach. Finally, achieving the PADI Divemaster rating is the first step toward becoming a PADI Instructor, which opens up even more possibilities for income and adventure in the future.

Dive more. Travel more. Experience more. What’s the catch? The good news is PADI Divemaster is more achievable than keeping a daily journal. As long as you meet the requirements (see Start Your Adventure) to start a divemaster course, all it takes is hard work and dedication. Whether you’re a PADI Open Water Diver with just a few months’ experience or a Rescue Diver who’s planned this all along, becoming a PADI Divemaster is attainable. (There is no bad news.) In the end, after your instructor shakes your hand and congratulates you on becoming a PADI Divemaster, you’re set for a lifetime of adventures. Enough adventures, perhaps, to finally succeed in that annual resolution to keep a daily diary, or at least a very full dive log.

Start Your Adventure

PADI Rescue Divers who are at least 18 years old may enroll in the PADI Divemaster course. You also need:

• Emergency First Response Primary and Secondary Care (CPR and First Aid) training within the past 24 months.

• A medical statement signed by a physician within the past year.

• At least 40 logged dives to begin the course and 60 dives to earn certification. Qualifying certifications from other training organizations may apply — ask your PADI Instructor. To learn more, visit padi.com.