No, you can start with SSI’s Try Scuba program, which gives you a taster of scuba diving without committing to a full certification program. During the Try Scuba program, your instructor will introduce you to the equipment, teach you essential dive safety, and keep a very close eye on you in the water as you take your first breaths through a regulator.
This dive is carried out in shallow water (less than 12 meters/40 feet deep). If you love it and want to learn to scuba dive, you can then sign up for the Open Water Diver program and become certified.