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Pervasive "Going Pro" Theme in New Divers
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I think the answer lies in how scuba training is marketed. All agencies encourage continuing education ... with some justification for doing so. Unlike other activities, scuba puts us in a world we were never designed for, and the training involves mental, as well as physical adjustments. In this respect, continuing education serves the user well.
However, there's another side to consider ... which is that scuba agencies cannot exist without a constant stream of students purchasing student kits, and a continuing inflow of instructors purchasing training, instructor kits, insurance, membership dues, and all that goes with it. The whole industry is built on a pyramid scheme. Other sports do not have analogous agencies driving the industry ... for example, the PSIA (professional skiing instructor's association) does not impact the revenue stream of the ski industry to anywhere near the degree that the major scuba training agencies impact the diving industry. Ski shops are not affiliated with the PSIA ... training and product sales are completely separated. The dive industry doesn't work that way.
The typical business model has an entry-level student being brought into diving through a relatively inexpensive initial investment ... a few hundred dollars for a class and some "personal" gear. It is only after that investment is made, and while the new diver is riding a wave of enthusiasm for this entirely new experience, that they are convinced that for only $2,000 or so they can get all their own gear and be basically "set for life". At the same time, they are being encouraged to sign up for their AOW class ... where they'll be learning how to dive in more challenging conditions ... conditions that will probably require them to purchase even more equipment, or upgrade the equipment they just purchased a short while ago because it may not be suitable for those challenging conditions ... most new divers select their initial purchases based on price, not quality.
As divers continue through the educational stream, costs increase accordingly. Divers are encouraged to become divemasters ... often without being fully informed of the annual costs for agency membership and insurance, and usually without being told that for the vast majority it's an unpaid position ... you do it for air fills and discounts on yet more scuba purchases. Instructor is where the agencies make their real money ... between the training, evaluation, certification, insurance, instructor's library, and whatever else the agency requires, it can easily run you $3000 or more ... depending on the agency and the deal you can cut with your LDS it can be much more.
So the simple answer to the question is that encouraging new divers who are often very enthusiastic about this new activity to "live the dream" is not just an easy sell ... it's a profitable one.
Unfortunately, for the majority, it's far from a good investment. The average "life expectancy" of a scuba instructor is something like 3 years ... after which the glitter wears off, and they either go back to just diving for fun, or have had all the fun sucked out of diving and have moved on to some other activity.
I personally believe that if you are considering becoming an instructor it should be for one reason only ... because you love teaching. Otherwise, it can become a very disillusioning experience ... and an expensive one ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
However, there's another side to consider ... which is that scuba agencies cannot exist without a constant stream of students purchasing student kits, and a continuing inflow of instructors purchasing training, instructor kits, insurance, membership dues, and all that goes with it. The whole industry is built on a pyramid scheme. Other sports do not have analogous agencies driving the industry ... for example, the PSIA (professional skiing instructor's association) does not impact the revenue stream of the ski industry to anywhere near the degree that the major scuba training agencies impact the diving industry. Ski shops are not affiliated with the PSIA ... training and product sales are completely separated. The dive industry doesn't work that way.
The typical business model has an entry-level student being brought into diving through a relatively inexpensive initial investment ... a few hundred dollars for a class and some "personal" gear. It is only after that investment is made, and while the new diver is riding a wave of enthusiasm for this entirely new experience, that they are convinced that for only $2,000 or so they can get all their own gear and be basically "set for life". At the same time, they are being encouraged to sign up for their AOW class ... where they'll be learning how to dive in more challenging conditions ... conditions that will probably require them to purchase even more equipment, or upgrade the equipment they just purchased a short while ago because it may not be suitable for those challenging conditions ... most new divers select their initial purchases based on price, not quality.
As divers continue through the educational stream, costs increase accordingly. Divers are encouraged to become divemasters ... often without being fully informed of the annual costs for agency membership and insurance, and usually without being told that for the vast majority it's an unpaid position ... you do it for air fills and discounts on yet more scuba purchases. Instructor is where the agencies make their real money ... between the training, evaluation, certification, insurance, instructor's library, and whatever else the agency requires, it can easily run you $3000 or more ... depending on the agency and the deal you can cut with your LDS it can be much more.
So the simple answer to the question is that encouraging new divers who are often very enthusiastic about this new activity to "live the dream" is not just an easy sell ... it's a profitable one.
Unfortunately, for the majority, it's far from a good investment. The average "life expectancy" of a scuba instructor is something like 3 years ... after which the glitter wears off, and they either go back to just diving for fun, or have had all the fun sucked out of diving and have moved on to some other activity.
I personally believe that if you are considering becoming an instructor it should be for one reason only ... because you love teaching. Otherwise, it can become a very disillusioning experience ... and an expensive one ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
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If all you want is to improve your diving skills and safety, going pro isn't going to do that very efficiently ... DM and instructor training are more about developing leadership skills than diving skills.
You'd be better off finding an instructor who can offer you skills workshops targeted toward the skills you want to improve ... I currently spend more time teaching those than classes, because it's less expensive for the student and far more targeted toward what they want to learn. Or better yet, find yourself a good mentor and just go do a lot of diving.
Before anyone pursues the dive professional route, they should seriously consider (a) why they want to do it, (b) how well it fits in with your diving goals, and (c) whether the added costs and liability are worth what you're going to get out of it ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
Hey bob-I am hearing ya but havent found that person here in Auckland. Actually in fairness The other point for me is that my kids are shaping up to be ok divers. The DM bit for me is partially fueled by the whole father thing.The next course Im planning on doing is rescue diver with that thought in mind
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A good Rescue class is worth its weight in gold. After that, if you have access to a NAUI facility ... or whatever the analogous agency is in New Zealand ... look into the Master Diver class. NAUI Master Diver is the diving component of the Divemaster training, but without all the leadership classes and expenses.
Agencies really should offer something more targeted toward skills training than the typical specialty classes ... which are more experience based. Then again, teaching skills presumes that you've acquired them ... and far too many people reach the instructor level without having done that ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
Agencies really should offer something more targeted toward skills training than the typical specialty classes ... which are more experience based. Then again, teaching skills presumes that you've acquired them ... and far too many people reach the instructor level without having done that ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
Last edited:
petrieps
Contributor
I was thinking the same thing.
I took the open water class for one reason, TO GO DIVING for fun!
Maybe some people idolize their instructor and want to be just like them. Can't be for the money.
ehamill
Registered
I have not started training yet (start NAUI OW this Friday). I first talked to a PADI training center, and they were more focused on taking me through the "entire process" to dive master....wait for it.....in under a year!
I ran from there to the LDS I am currently signed to train with. DM/instructor has never come up!
Ed Hamill
Venice, Fl
I ran from there to the LDS I am currently signed to train with. DM/instructor has never come up!
Ed Hamill
Venice, Fl
And that is how it should be. I never mention DM to new divers. Hell I only talk about con ed AFTER the OW check out dives and only in passing. I tell new divers to go out and dive. They are qualified to. I will mention that if they want to take more training I'll be happy to to do it once they have somewhat settled in with their basic skills. During the OW classroom portion I will tell them that various agencies including mine offer additional training in different areas. But that any discussion of that is for after the OW course when they have hopefully had a chance to decide what direction their diving is looking towards. Trying to sell a new OW diver an AOW class, Nitrox, Rescue, and DM before they have even had the chance to dive in open water is nothing but greed. To me it's immoral and unethical and I refuse to do it.
ehamill
Registered
Jim... Glad to hear it! If I was closer to PA, I would take a class with you in a heartbeat!, just based on the posts I have read from you! Its the same as my 9 year old son... The PADI centers (more than 1) were ready to sign him up at 9 for a "non-certified" pool class... The NAUI centers I spoke with all said "He can train at 10, but we won't train him until 12". One NAUI instructor today told me that he would prefer me push him to 14. Now, which LDS do you think I trust for advice on what products to buy? The one pushing classes on a 9 year old or the one more interested in my family's safety? No brainer for me!
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I'm not convinced it's unethical ... because at a certain level there's a logic to it. But that logic is predicated on an assumption that divers who complete OW class are either unqualified or too insecure in their training to comfortably plan and execute a dive to 60 feet or less in conditions similar to those in which they were trained. In effect, if a diver truly feels they need those five extra dives with an instructor, then they failed to meet the criteria for the certification they were just given. And in that respect, they should not have been certified ... much less encouraged to take a class that's only going to give them even more to feel uncomfortable about.
AOW classes are commonly sold as a continuation of OW. And that would be OK if they weren't also being sold as a way to get people into deeper dives ... often with little real preparation for doing those dives safely. If someone is so insecure after OW that they feel they need "five more dives with an instructor", then that tells me that particular diver has no business even contemplating deeper dives ... much less being taken there by an instructor and then handed another card that says they're qualified to do it on their own.
These two rationales for taking AOW are logically incompatible. If it's an extension of OW, then the deep portion of the class should be removed and the focus should be on the nuances of developing your basic skills for shallower dives. Alternatively, if the purpose of the class is to expand a diver's experience and knowledge base to include more challenging conditions, then it should not be offered to students who are motivated by a sense of insecurity in the skills they were supposed to have mastered in OW class.
You can't have it both ways ... this just sets students up for failure, and contributes to an appallingly high dropout rate among newly certified scuba divers.
And if you're that diver ... it's great to want to push your knowledge and experience new things. I highly encourage it. But do it in a rational manner ... get comfortable with what you've learned in your last class before thinking about taking your diving to the next level. You'll get way more out of the training if you go into your next class with a solid foundation upon which to build.
That logic applies all the way up the training ladder ... those who push to become instructors quickly will almost always be poor ones, because even if you know the instructional materials cold ... even if you can recite the presentation like a pro ... you will not have developed the experience needed to truly understand what it means. And there's a big difference between doing something and understanding it well enough to teach it to someone else.
The latter takes practice ... and that's what dives are for ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
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