Pervasive "Going Pro" Theme in New Divers

[mathauck0814]

Ok... so I might sound like a big hypocrite... because as I type this I am sitting in a wooden beach-side resort in the Philippines, enjoying a mango shake and watching the sun glitter on calm azure seas... chilling out after a 7 days of diving with customers and teaching scuba courses. That's not a bad life. That's what most of my customers see. They don't see the pressures of living here... the money issues, the relationship issues, the injuries, the exhaustion, the commitments and sacrifices I've made to be here. As they say... the grass is always greener on the other side. Sometimes I do envy those holidaymakers who come here... with money to spend...secure employment...quality healthcare...financial stability... On particularly bad days, I even think I might want to swap places with them.... but that's rare

Lest this turn into another why go pro vs. not go pro thread, I might wax poetic very similarly about my years working in the Swiss Alps - it doesn't answer the core of my question - why do untalented students feel that they CAN (and thusly should) become the instructor? It has to be more than the lifestyle... and can PADI's marketing message really be that strong? If so, those guys are seriously in the wrong business.

I wonder how much of it is socioeconomic? How many candidates are privileged kids who are blowing off a few years after university? Mid-life crisis candidates that suddenly "find" diving? It just seems that there must be something dramatically different about it.

 

[DevonDiver]

I just think diving is a fantastic experience - and many people want to do as much of it as possible. When told they can... via professional development.... they see a cost-effective long-term solution to fuel their diving addiction.

I did my DM course because it allowed me unlimited diving at a local dive site. I eeked it out for 18 months and only finalized my qualification because I was moving away. Same is true of my IDC course... it was military funded (on discharge) and I made a plan to take a career break in Thailand for 12 months. The career break was due, in part, to opportunity (end of long-term employment) coupled with a very competitive employment situation/bad economy back at home in the UK. My logic was that I'd get to do a lot of diving (1st priority) and that my overall spend (allowing for some income from diving) wouldn't be more than if I had a period of unemployment at home in a very expensive economy/high cost of living.

My case is probably different to the 'type' of diver you are referring to here on Scubaboard... because I'd been diving for over 10 years/250 dives before I did my DM course... and another 4 years/300 dives before I progressed to the IDC. I'd also done a BSAC instructor course along the way (prior to IDC).

 

[Bob DBF]

hey Jim -I get where you are coming from but there is the flip side. Diver gets their OW and starts diving on their own -Is that all there is to it ? being the possible thought process if further training isn't discussed.

I'm not Jim, but my answer is that you grab your buddy, dive and really learn all the information and skills that you were taught. And while out enjoying yourself diving find the things you like to do and if you believe a particular training program will aid you to your goal then by all means take it. There is formal training and informal training, unfortunatly (IMHO) the pressure is to sell a progression of formal classes to DM instead of finding and developing the student's own needs and goals. The discussion of further training should be about the needs of the student not the needs of the business plan.


Bob
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I may be old, but I’m not dead yet.

 

[TSandM]

Well, I hate to say it, but around here, shops couldn't run classes without volunteer help. An OW class at the shop we work with will have one instructor, but as many as four or more DMs -- none of which get anything for helping, other than a very small discount on gear. So not only does the shop make money off the fees paid by someone signing up for a DM class, they get free labor for whatever period of time it takes for someone to get tired of staying up until midnight two nights a week to help hang up wet dive gear in the gear locker, and spend a weekend day hauling equipment and doing whatever else is needed for running open water dives. As these people burn out and either don't dive, or don't DM any more, the shop needs to replace them . . . thus the steady encouragement to anyone who appears motivated, to go on to the DM level, whether or not they are ready.

When you combine this with the fact that very little diving skill is taught or required in many open water, advanced OR Rescue classes, the student a) loves diving, and b) has no idea that he hasn't a clue as to how to go about doing it well. But he wants to pass along his enthusiasm, so he goes right along with the shop's agenda of getting him to the professional level.

 

[diverrex]

I've wondered about this also. What is it that just doing the activity, diving, isn't enough and so many feel the desire to get futher credentials? Sadly I think part of it is how close you are after OW to being able to be a DM. How many other activities are there where you can learn them one month and 3 - 6 months later be guiding beginners? If the requirements to be a DM were something like 250 dives not so many people would think about it, but only doing 60 dives and a few more courses and you're a DM has an appeal to many. It fits the instant gratification world.

 

[Davemohio]

I've wondered about this also. What is it that just doing the activity, diving, isn't enough and so many feel the desire to get futher credentials? Sadly I think part of it is how close you are after OW to being able to be a DM. How many other activities are there where you can learn them one month and 3 - 6 months later be guiding beginners? If the requirements to be a DM were something like 250 dives not so many people would think about it, but only doing 60 dives and a few more courses and you're a DM has an appeal to many. It fits the instant gratification world.

Agreed. One of the agencies requires 40 dives. And I believe those can include training dives.

That, I do not comprehend.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

hey Jim -I get where you are coming from but there is the flip side. Diver gets their OW and starts diving on their own -Is that all there is to it ? being the possible thought process if further training isn't discussed.

For most people yes that is all there is to it. During classes I talk about the diving I do and what I did but do not push anyone into anything. They don't need it to begin with. If they dive regularly they soon see that there is more. But since they have been trained well they know that some of those things require more and then they call me and say "what do I need to do this?". Then we talk about their options. I don't try to steer anyone into anything. It is no secret that I like wrecks and don't care much about fish ID. Students know that from when they interview me for their OW class. But I will not push someone into a wreck class or deep class or even AOW class because of my likes. I tell all my students to join scubaboard, join DAN, and dive. Between those three they soon discover WHAT THEY LIKE and start looking for knowledge and training in those areas. They may want to pursue UW photography. Fine, I have instructors who actually make a living or partial living at it that I refer them to. But in the OW class they need to concentrate on the basics - buoyancy, trim, situational awareness, polishing their skills, and being good buddies. That is what the OW class is for. Not to sell them on becoming a DM or taking an AOW class so they can learn to deploy a stage or do deep stops or recover an item. Those are the areas and more I mention on the last day of checkouts that they can get training in. Telling someone they need to start thinking about DM before they have even done a fin pivot or buddy breathing in the pool can distract them from what they should be concentrating on at the time. Makes no sense to do that.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I'm not Jim, but my answer is that you grab your buddy, dive and really learn all the information and skills that you were taught. And while out enjoying yourself diving find the things you like to do and if you believe a particular training program will aid you to your goal then by all means take it. There is formal training and informal training, unfortunatly (IMHO) the pressure is to sell a progression of formal classes to DM instead of finding and developing the student's own needs and goals. The discussion of further training should be about the needs of the student not the needs of the business plan.


Bob
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I may be old, but I’m not dead yet.

Hear hear! Thanks Bob. See he gets it. My business is based on student needs, interests, and the means they have to achieve them. And ya know what? I seem to make a little money and do better than I expected when I stick to that. They keep coming back. For training and now gear. I try to put their interests ahead of mine and in doing so find that I do better and my customers/students are happier. pushing divers into DM to replace the ones who burn out and leave the sport as TSandM noted, in the long run hurts the shop. They just can't see that those burnouts likely will no longer buy gear, bring their friends in, encourage students to keep going, etc. Greed kills. Treating DM's like slaves is wrong and the mark of a poor human being IMO. Let alone bad business practice.

 

[rhwestfall]

When you combine this with the fact that very little diving skill is taught or required in many open water, advanced OR Rescue classes, the student a) loves diving, and b) has no idea that he hasn't a clue as to how to go about doing it well. But he wants to pass along his enthusiasm, so he goes right along with the shop's agenda of getting him to the professional level.

brilliant observation, and spot on!

 

[Bombay High]

How many times a week do we come across the "0-24 Dive" divers who are looking for advice on equipment, courses, etc. in their grand pursuit of becoming a DM/Instructor/DiveGod? I'm curious what about the scuba industry engenders this.

I was a ski instructor, racer, race coach, instructor trainer and alpine guide for over a decade and I never saw the beginners (or frankly, many students) who wanted to become instructors in that sport. Hell, we couldn't even talk the qualified professionals into to coaching anyone.

Is it PADI's marketing or the instructor's push to build a culture of continuing education?

Where else does this exist in the "action sports" world?

From what I read on this board, it is hard to make a decent living as a dive pro, so I cant imagine why people are so drawn to it.

In 20 years, I have seen wages drop steadily in the commercial diving world as well. I was making more as a Saturation diver in 1993 than I do today.

... and I would hardly refer to diving as an action sport. Its more like underwater sightseeing. Certainly not in the same league as the sports you mention (ski racing, etc.)