Scuba diving is fun. Scuba diving is exciting. Scuba diving makes you stronger. Scuba diving makes you happier.

But is it still a leisure activity or a profession if you keep on enjoying it?

What’s the difference between a profession and a leisure activity anyway and why does there have to be a distinction between the two?

The textbook distinction of profession and leisure is:

• Leisure is just playing for fun or an opportunity afforded by free time to do something, even if it is a sport.
• Profession is a paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification.

The preparation can be heavy work, both for leisure and profession. You need to undergo certain training and certification, enter a diving center, and enroll in a course.

Scuba diving as leisure or recreational diving in the usual term is diving for the purpose of freedom and enjoyment, usually when using simple scuba equipment. Leisure divers mostly visit only local dive sites or dive as tourists at more distant venues known for desirable underwater environments.

Beyond the fact of being on vacation in the sunshine, diving in the warm water, and observing colorful tropical marine life, the real pleasure of recreational diving is the fantastic sensation of flying over the submarine landscape and feeling completely weightless.

On the other hand, professional diving is where the divers are paid for their work. The procedures are often regulated by legislation and codes of practice as it is an inherently hazardous occupation and the diver works as a member of a team. 

It means divers are working underwater, whether you are a welder, a deminer, a sportsman or photographer, or even a recreational diving instructor.

But with passion, even if you are driven by fears, in one little moment it will turn all-around to a very positive experience and very intense achievement - scuba diving as your life skill.

So, scuba diving is the best of both. It makes you strong, but happy. It makes you fit but relaxed. You’re at one with nature, fully immersed and surrounded by it. You forget the troubles that may be worrying you and your office job because you are in another world. Each dive is a leisure or a profession. Each dive makes us thrive and it’s the best activity in the world!