Grow Your Skills. Share Your Passion. Go Further.
PSIA-AASI certification helps you become a more knowledgeable, confident, and effective snowsports instructor. Through training, assessment, and connection with experienced educators and fellow instructors, you’ll strengthen the teaching, technical, and people skills that create better experiences for every guest.
Recognized across the snowsports industry, PSIA-AASI certification demonstrates your commitment and validates what you can do. It can build professional credibility; support opportunities for increased pay and responsibility; and open doors to new disciplines, specialties, leadership roles, and a lifelong community of people who share your passion.
Choose from certification pathways in five snowsports disciplines, along with specialist credentials in children’s and freestyle instruction. Whether you teach for a season, build a career in snowsports, or simply want to keep learning and become the best instructor you can be, there is a pathway for you.
Advantages of Certification
You can start from scratch and rise through the ranks to become a resort VP with the experience you gain as a certified instructor, or transfer your skills to whatever career you find yourself in. Earning a professional credential from PSIA-AASI (or several) gives you greater confidence, connects you to a tight and passionate community, and opens doors you never could have imagined. Opportunities may include:
Higher pay as a certified instructor
more and different instructing opportunities
improveD ski / snowboard abilities
universal skills for a stronger resume
CAREER ADVANCEMENT on and off snow
opportunity to cultivate return clients
What It Takes
PSIA-AASI certification is professional credentialing for snowsports instructors. Your journey begins with free educational coursework, culminates in an on-snow exam, and continues with ongoing education once you earn your Level 1.
Choose Your Discipline
PSIA-AASI offers professional certification in all major snowsports disciplines. Start with Level I and work your way up to Level Ill, gain certification in multiple disciplines, or explore children’s and freestyle specialties. Beyond Level III, you can become an instructor trainer, join our education staff, and aim for the National Team. Choose your sport to learn more.
Professional Skills for Professional Instructors
PSIA-AASI certification is more than a measure of skiing or riding ability. It recognizes an instructor’s ability to teach effectively, connect with different people, make sound decisions, and create safe, engaging learning experiences in a dynamic environment.
Our educational resources, standards, and credentialing processes build on more than 60 years of experience and are continually refined by leading snowsports educators. With PSIA-AASI, you can develop valuable skills in communication, leadership, lesson planning, problem-solving, risk management, child development, group dynamics, adaptability, and real-time decision-making—skills that are relevant throughout the snowsports industry and transferable to many other professions.
These capabilities come together through the PSIA-AASI Learning Connection Model. The model recognizes that great instruction requires a blend of people, teaching, and technical skills. Learning to apply all three helps instructors create personalized experiences that build confidence, inspire progress, and keep guests engaged in skiing and riding.
The Best Never Stop Learning
Our culture is one of continual growth and exploration, and we are here to support your journey to becoming a more confident, creative, adaptable instructor. PSIA-AASI certification is a professional credential that requires continuing education, no matter your level. Continuing education credits can be obtained via:
- On-snow performance clinics
- Teaching workshops
- National academies
- E-Learning courses and webinars
not Yet an Instructor?
Learn More About the Job
Ski and snowboard instruction is one of the most common entry points into the outdoor recreation industry, with thousands of instructors working across the U.S. each winter season. It's a great choice for everyone from casual participants to former racers, from those looking for a seasonal job to people wanting to break into the outdoor industry, from high school students seeking important life skills to retirees who aren't ready to stop sending it. With more than 450 alpine ski and 350 cross-country ski areas in 37 states, you can find a job in more places than you might imagine, from a destination mountain town like Big Sky, MT, to a big city like Cleveland.
TURN INSTRUCTING INTO A CAREER
Build Skills for What Comes Next with Penn State
Penn State’s online Professional Snowsports Program offers practical education you can apply in your current role or use to prepare for your next one without committing to a certificate or degree. Choose coursework in professional snowsports education, leadership, or management, with topics including guest experience, staff development, safety, and resort operations.
If you already hold a PSIA-AASI certification, you may be eligible to receive college credit through Penn State’s Prior Learning Assessment process. Start with one, three-credit online course and decide how far you want to take it. You could even build toward a professional certificate or bachelor’s degree in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management.
This program is a flexible bridge between becoming a stronger instructor and building a longer-term career in the snowsports industry.
Testimonials
"I was a fast-footed rider with little teaching experience when I joined PSIA-AASI. Moving up into the snowboard school seemed to be the thing to do. I quickly found out at my Level I exam that I wasn’t as good as I thought I was. Luckily my examiner ripped! We rode a lot, but he coached us on teaching and how to become a better instructor. That’s when I found my direction in our industry. Since then, PSIA-AASI has opened many doors for me — as a supervisor, manager, school director, as well as with managing parks and consulting for resorts on park layouts and builds. PSIA-AASI can open more doors than you can even dream of. You will learn so much about this sport, get better at it, and, if you really want it, this organization can help you find a full-time career in this industry."
Tommy Morsch, Former PSIA-AASI Snowboard Team Member
"PSIA-AASI has given me so much that has translated to my 'regular life.' I can’t think of another professional organization that blends so much opportunity, good times, and benefits for its members. For new members: you get out what you put in."
Shannon Rucker: Alpine Level II, Snowboard Level I, Children’s Specialist 2, Freestyle Specialist 1. Liberty Mountain, PA
"I did try working in an office and decided that wasn’t for me, so I guess that was the first step (realizing what I didn’t want). I’ve branched out into different industries: ski instruction and coaching in the winter and outdoor guide and trip designer in the summer months. Living in Steamboat Springs, CO, I’m surrounded by people who follow their passions to live the lifestyle they want. This environment and support has made it easier to make my career happen."
EMILY LOVETT, FORMER PSIA-AASI CROSS COUNTRY TEAM MEMBER AND COACH
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