Should I become an instructor?

[BradMM]

I just finished a Swift Water Rescue course last weekend and, even though I'm not in the Fire/Rescue line of work, I enjoyed the experience immensely. I've heard that the Rescue cert is pretty challenging and I thought that was required to advance so I was planning to do that one.

As far as freediving, I actually prefer this to SCUBA in many situation but not so for photography. Some of my best pics were done while freediving but it was chance and not choice. I would love to know what was covered in such a class.

 

[SandPhantom]

Some good advice being given here. With that being said…not all students will be equal and I would seriously recommend DM'ing a few years religiously to understand this. If you choose to step in the Pro zone. You need to be able to react in all situations, and prepared to do so. RJP mentioned the time, funds, and taking some advanced training and practice it. I concur with this as well.

I also worked for several instructors and assisted for some of other agencies. I did this for building the groundwork and also to better develop my (personal)case to take the leap for the IE. Sort of like checking some blocks to make sure I was qualified and/or committed to all that comes with the classification of instructor.

As others have stated, work on furthering your skills and dive. I also agree with Akimbo as he has brought up similar advice in taking advanced study. An intellect will ask you about things outside of the recreation setting due to their interest. Being able to converse from your experience and training will separate you from the others who wanted to just go Pro, the direct route without experiencing actual year round instructor setting across the spectrum of the agency hierarchy.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[TMHeimer]

I agree with those saying DM course only brings your own skills to "demonstration" quality and IDC teaches you how to teach the material. Just diving or other courses are better ways to improve your own diving. You teach, so you know the story. I was a teacher too and thought being a DM would be a neat way to step a little bit back into education--which it has been. But I only assist with 3-4 OW courses each year and am developing some "planter faciitis" in my heels (really bad after hauling tanks, other crap and extra time on land kitted up helping students, etc.). I am 60 also. Depends on your health and what you really want to do.

 

[The Chairman]

A DM course should teach you how to handle people in the water. It's all about how to herd kittens safely. It's a great course if you have your neutral buoyancy, trim and propulsion techniques down. Most DMs and even instructors don't really have a good handle on this and so they turn out students with crappy trim, buoyancy and propulsion.

 

[ScubaDocER]

Since your question was should I abandon this line of thinking, I would say no. I would suggest a modification to the plan. As others have stated, the need to fortify your skills should be foremost on your list. It helps if your going to teach students to have good skills, that you possess them yourself. You mention that you are starting your Advanced. That's a good start. Take your time and become proficient in the skills you are learning. Become a good Advanced Diver. Become a good Rescue Diver. Then assess whether you want to continue up the the diving ladder. Diving does not pay my bills. So it is possible to "not make a living" at it. But I did have to subsidize my diving with other income. If you are comfortable and able to do that then it is an option.

I don't think you have a bad plan. Just an incomplete one until you have progressed further in your diving.

 

[Oldbear]

I agree ... do not abandon your line of thinking. One of the primary motivating reasons I considered to become an instructor was due to some crappy instructions along my dive career.

 

[DENLASCUBA]

Becoming an instructor as said is a big investment with the initial cost, yearly cost, and liability insurance cost of not covered by a dive center. You say you do not want to be an instructor to teach occasionally but this can be an issue depending where you live.

If the University you teach at trains divers you could consider talking with them and teaching there to start and build your instructor profile and move on from there. You could even start out working as a DM and see if you really want to go beyond that and become an instructor.

You should check with the shops where you want to teach and see how many instructors they have and if they are looking for additional instructors, and also are they looking for a brand new instructor with no teaching experience. As a new/ part time instructor you may not get many students for sometime and instead end up assisting with courses more and maybe acting as a dive guide. All instructors need to start somewhere but in smaller areas with limited shops people will know who is new and may not be comfortable being taught by you.

If you are planning on going to an area and working only for short periods of time this may not work out as well as you think, shops generally want someone who is local, knows the area well, knows the full operation of their shop, and will be around when needed. Resorts typically are looking for staff that are full time or if the resort is seasonal to work during these times. If the resort is not located in the US you will also have to consider the local labor laws. Again with the resorts they will want someone who is already familiar with the dive sites of possible, and if they have to train you for their operations and local sites they will want a longer commitment.

With all this said I am not saying to abandon your idea of becoming an instructor but as you have read there through all the posts their is alot to consider first.

 

[BradMM]

TMHeimer,

Great to hear from another 60 year old! Thanks!

---------- Post added October 14th, 2014 at 07:22 AM ----------

A DM course should teach you how to handle people in the water. It's all about how to herd kittens safely. It's a great course if you have your neutral buoyancy, trim and propulsion techniques down. Most DMs and even instructors don't really have a good handle on this and so they turn out students with crappy trim, buoyancy and propulsion.

One of the main things I wanted out of the university course I'm taking is to greatly improve my buoyancy and trim. Where I live, I have access to Spring Lake in San Marcos and I have the Scientific Diving cert so I'm working on the frog kick propulsion techniques. It was a lot of years ago but, looking back, I think my open water class was pretty worthless.

Thanks!

---------- Post added October 14th, 2014 at 07:25 AM ----------

Very good advice and very much appreciated! What I've gathered from all the much appreciated responses is that a cert class won't make you a good diver by itself. My plan is to follow your collective advice, well summarized by ScubaDocER, and continue to work on the developing my skill set. If the rest follows, so be it.

Thanks to all!

Since your question was should I abandon this line of thinking, I would say no. I would suggest a modification to the plan. As others have stated, the need to fortify your skills should be foremost on your list. It helps if your going to teach students to have good skills, that you possess them yourself. You mention that you are starting your Advanced. That's a good start. Take your time and become proficient in the skills you are learning. Become a good Advanced Diver. Become a good Rescue Diver. Then assess whether you want to continue up the the diving ladder. Diving does not pay my bills. So it is possible to "not make a living" at it. But I did have to subsidize my diving with other income. If you are comfortable and able to do that then it is an option.

I don't think you have a bad plan. Just an incomplete one until you have progressed further in your diving.

 

[robertarak]

This has been said, but let me add to it;

If you want to learn/become certified to teach, then the DM > IDC is the right path. If your goal is to become a better diver, then taking courses from a qualified instructor is the way to go. I don't teach divers to be better divers in my DM or Instructor programs. I do help them to refine their demonstration quality skills. Sometimes I even suggest some additional training to increase their general diving skill. People who come to me to improve their personal skills do so through courses designed to do exactly that, focusing on refined buoyancy, trim, and situational awareness.

 

[sheeper]

to become a better diver.... dive a lot. Dive with good, experienced divers. Take advanced classes.

i'm 56 and just about to wrap my SDI OW SI. Great experience. I'm an instructor for a number of public safety disciplines and wanted to utilize my experience as a trainer to promote the hobby I love!