Instructor - Why ?

[archman]

I went back and checked my Instructor manual to ensure that I wasn't wrong.
I was correct in my statement...it's not 50 dives to get certified as a Divemaster. To qualify to begin the Divemaster course it's 20 dives. To get certified as a Divemaster you have to "show proof of 60 logged dives documenting experience in night diving, deep diving and underwater navigation".

Uh, who mentioned certification? This thread is about instructor prereqs, and the posting for DM's is in the same context. Everybody knows you can't get a DM with only 50 piddly dives . I only know one place that'll accept students for entry with less than 65. We must have over a dozen threads on this topic.

Regarding the mask comments, they were not meant to be taken so literally, certainly not enought to merit detailed reply posts. But it looks like that's alleviated.

Back to mccabecj's orginal question:

Out of the dozens of instructors I've worked with over the years, the majority of them got into the field for the allure of travel and adventure. They're mostly outdoorsy types; under 30 when they became instructors. Several of them took the IDC as that was the only way they could work as "DM's" on liveaboards. A lot of instructors rarely teach anything but fun specialties. A lot of folks will avoid teaching basic-level certifications if they can avoid it, so don't feel that being an instructor means you have to teach newbie courses. You can progress past that pretty quick if you choose to.

As others have posted, being a professional rec diver means that you have to pay annual dues, and if you ever lead or teach divers, annual group liability insurance. Insurance costs a lot more for (active) instructors than DM's, which is a major reason why many DM's er, stay DM's. You can often get around this if you work full time at nicer LDS's or liveabaords, but the price is tethering yourself to the shop/boat.

There's other options out there for great diving opportunites that do not require going pro. Ever thought of becoming a scientific diver through AAUS or NOAA? If you become one of these divers, it opens up a whole different arena. You can join research expeditions, participate in regional projects, or get access into restricted areas. Scientific diving focuses on bettering your diving skills and performing unusual underwater tasks in conceivably unusual areas. Underwater archaeology is included here. Nature-wise, organizations like Greenforce and Earthwatch offer their own research-grade diving programs, which I hear are pretty spiffy. Check out your local universities to see if they have any local or study-abroad diving offerings. Many do. I know that with Greenforce, previous students are often asked to stay on as instructors. Heck, with my own field program this summer in the Bahamas, I had a previous student return back as my marine biology intern. I had him leading other divers and co-teaching underwater lessons, and he had just turned 18!

And if it's really bettering your diving that you're after, there's always those DIR-F and related courses. Everyone seems to like them. I'm half-tempted to take one myself.

 

[mars2u]

Uh, who mentioned certification? This thread is about instructor prereqs, and the posting for DM's is in the same context. Everybody knows you can't get a DM with only 50 piddly dives . I only know one place that'll accept students for entry with less than 65. .

Actually there is a place in Florida that'll take anyone off the street with "0" dives and turn them into an instructor in 4 months....Scarry thought isn't it?:06:

Insurance costs a lot more for (active) instructors than DM's.

Thanks for reminding me:17:

And if it's really bettering your diving that you're after, there's always those DIR-F and related courses. Everyone seems to like them. I'm half-tempted to take one myself.

Not a bad idea. Although I haven't taken any courses, I have tried to incorporate some of their ideas into my diving.

 

[CDFDiveMaster]

Not knocking instructors...but having several friends that are and also those on the Police Dive Team all tell me the same thing....when you turn diving into work it's no longer any fun....check and make sure that's what you want to do. Good Luck!

 

[Hank49]

Got a question for those instructors out there:

Why did you become an instructor? I assume most of you did it for the love of teaching. But why else? I just finished my Master/Rescue, and I'm kinda toying with the idea of spending the next year just doing a lot of diving, and then maybe the year after, when I have around 200+ dives, to start the Instructor class.

But aside from the challenge, and the fact that I do like to master whatever I set out to do, I'm not coming up with a lot of reasons to pursue it. Yeah, I do like teaching, and I think I'm pretty good at it. But I'm seeing a lot of negatives, like suddenly being liable and responsible for all kinds of stuff. And after working my day job all week, having to work on the weekends might get old real quick. And since it would be only on weekends, it certainly won't be my main profession in terms of income. Maybe I could make some extra money to finance dive trips, though I don't know if teaching on weekends will do that.

Or maybe it's one of those things that if you have to ask, then you're probably not the right person to do it

I think the job would get old quick if you're teaching diving in quarries every weekend. On the other hand, living on a tropical island resort area and teaching and DMing... it would be the equivalent of teaching hiking by walking with students on a treadmill in a closet with a candle, vs hiking the Sierra Nevadas. And in many tropical countries you don't need the instructor insurance.

 

[Dive-aholic]

....when you turn diving into work it's no longer any fun....

Key phrase. You can still be an instructor and not consider it work. I taught college english in the classroom for 10 years before it became work. And it only became work because the classes I was teaching weren't really the classes I wanted to teach. So I'm not doing it anymore. I still "teach", but I do it over the Internet now. That will probably get old eventually, but until then it's not bad money for the time I devote to it.

Same thing goes for diving. I volunteer with the local search and recovery dive team. The actual recoveries aren't that great, but fortunately we don't do many of those. The monthly training dives are a blast though, even in -1 feet of viz.

My LDS doesn't teach in a quarry or lake. They only certify in Mexico. I've been trying to convince them to certify in one of the local lakes. Sure the viz isn't as good as in the Sea of Cortez and there's not much to see, but not everyone wants to or can go to Mexico for checkout dives. It's not something I would want to do on a weekly basis, but I wouldn't mind doing it on a monthly basis.

I've seen instructors at Dutch Springs on a weekly basis. I was bored my 3rd trip there. Don't get me wrong, if that was the most convenient place to dive for me, I'd be there on a regular basis, but I don't think I would be logging 300 dives a year there. There's too much water out there for that.

 

[archman]

Actually there is a place in Florida that'll take anyone off the street with "0" dives and turn them into an instructor in 4 months....Scarry thought isn't it?:06:

I think I've worked with some of these people. Ugh, bad memories...

 

[cuddlefish]

"why did you become an instructor?"...I became an instructor because I realized I was not able to confidently choose a major in college (even after four years!) and had an uncertain future. My husband and I figured...what the heck...let's become dive instructors and see what happens. Fifteen years later we are still happy as pigs in mud (or fish in water) in the dive industry. We have been successful and have enjoyed too many adventures to even begin listing. I can't imagine not being able to gaze out at the beautiful ocean every single day of my life and make a living in the diving industry. Most jobs have some sort of liability...most jobs have some repetitive, boring tasks, most jobs involve dealing with the sometimes not-so-nice public...and certainly not all jobs rake in huge bucks, just like being a dive instructor...so, for me, it was a wonderful choice and one I'll never regret.

 

[AndyNZ]

Why become an instructor?

I teach (tertiary level) for a living and am about 3/4 through my PADI IDC. I love teaching, I think it's great. Teaching diving on a part time basis is never going to be "work". It's going to provide me with a lot of fun, some free trips to some great dive sites (including truk lagoon next year if all goes well, fingers crossed!), cheaper gear and some great experiences..... I can tell you that the sight of a student divers face after their first o/w dive is more motivating that having a college student finally crack some thorny problem....

The IDC is an odd beast. Personally, I've found that it's taught me little in terms of learning "how to teach", it's certainly not taught me anything new about diving and dive theory.

Becomming an instructor is a personal choice - I don't think that I'd counsel anyone to do it. I think everyone has to question their motives and see whether it's right for them.

 

[Chad Carney]

I became an instructor in college so I could work while taking classes myself. That was in 1977, and I'm still teaching diving.

I would have burned out teaching basic scuba after a few years, if I had not found a way to diversify. Private instruction, advanced specialties, technical, freediving and spearfishing training make it work for me.

Finding additional income in the industry is tough however, and you will need a supplement.

Chad

 

[GDI]

I became an instructor because I love to share the sport and I enjoy every opportunity to go diving that I can. Unlike most instructors I have never bought into the idea of letting a dive shop pay me a bare minimum. I get paid for what I teach. The scuba class is a class not unlike a college program so instructors who permit the LDS to pay them a meager amount are not doing the sport any service and I don't care if they have other jobs that pay their bills let that job pay them and let the diving instruction cost what it is worth. The LDS is taking advantage of this situation and whether one believes it or not I think this hurts the diving industry.
The cost of becoming an instructor as already pointed out is not a cheap venture. You have the equipment and book costs the class costs, the IDC, the IE, the insurance and yes the dives required to get you there. It all adds up to BIG Spendolees $$$$
Instructors I believe mostly do so because they enjoy the sport. The pleasure in watching a student transition into a diver and in some cases a more advanced diver is really an enjoyment. BTW for what it's worth I only teach scuba (all levels) for a living, I do not sell equipment. Is it easy? NO BUT Is it Fun? YES!