Why did YOU choose to become an Instructor?

[Neilwood]

Not a scuba instructor but have been a volunteer first aid instructor for a number of years (now lapsed) but I can echo the sentiments about seeing the look on peoples faces when they "get" something is worth the hassles and bad times.

I reckon if I ever became a scuba instructor it would be voluntary for a club for that reason and that alone. The money certainly wouldn't make it worthwhile for me however if there was payment in other ways such as cheap gear, trips etc. I know of one shop that works like that - the instructors basically get gear/trips etc at cost in return for time instructing. Works well for both the shop and the instructors (drysuits/undersuits/wetsuits/fins/masks/gloves/boots etc all at cost all adds up to the equivalent of a pretty decent amount)

 

[RainPilot]

Im lucky enough that my dryjob allows me plenty of spare time and I don't need scuba instruction to pay the bills, my usual price for training is "shouldn't cost me anything" so the students pay for travel and dives etc, I donate my time. The happiness on someones face that shines through the mask when they finally get a mask clear right or some other skill they were battling with makes it all worthwhile for me.

 

[Edward3c]

I'm interested in hearing the reason different people decided to become and instructor. Has this remained the same, has your view changed etc. And of course individual experiences through the process and beyond.

I ask this question out of interest. For years I've been happy diving and had no ambition nor enthusiasm to be an instructor. The seed has been planted by people I consider to be my peers for differing reasons, and I'm giving it consideration, as to what it will do for me and what I can do for others.

I should say at 50 I know it's not for financial gain nor is it to help me pick up hotties. I do have some thoughts which I'll keep to myself at the moment, but I'm really interested in the experiences of others and what they have got out of it.

I learned to dive in the late 70s, early 80s. There were few qualified instructors in clubs then. As a 3rd Class Diver I was asked to teach the snorkelling grade. Then as an experienced 3rd Class Diver I assisted then taught others to progress to 3rd Class Diver.

Why did I do it?
* This was the norm for the club I was in.
* It helped me improve and maintain my own rescue skills.
* I found I enjoyed it.
* Increased the number of dive buddies available.

Move forward 15 years, BSAC introduced instruction only by qualified instructors. The formal instructor training taught me:
* How to build a lesson from scratch – no instructor manual with lesson plans then.
* How to prepare a lesson for the pub, the classroom or pool.
* The skills to give presentations – helped immensely in my career.

Move on to the present, I still actively teach, why?
* I now learn so much more, from the different equipment configurations available.
* It helps me maintain my own rescue skills.
* I still enjoy it.
* Great to help BSAC move forward by developing the next generation of instructors.
* Increases the number of dive buddies available.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Thanks for all the input thus far. Some predictable responses but other very interesting comments. So why did I ask?

Short story, in that I have rediscovered training. After years of doing no formal training I've been "encouraged" to continue. People I consider my peers have heavily suggested that I consider being an instructor.

Training persons is nothing new to me. I used to train people worldwide in Aircraft Non-Destructive Inspection, and then later trained people to program the lighting for major music concerts and theater shows.

To put this into diving context, I would take OW students, so those who have completed the fundamental basics and take them to say GUE Tech 2.

I know I'm not ready to go into a commercial organisation, I'm not a fan of their course contents. For the moment would remain under the BSAC banner and thus far prefer to teach and mentor people upwards rather than teaching from scratch.

Helping people with their buoyancy and trim is perhaps my favorite pastime other than diving for enjoyment. So intersting possibilities ahead and I wonder what the up coming year will bring.

Advice and tips will be welcome of course

One of the reasons I went NAUI for my agency choice was because of their "freedom to teach" philosophy. They make it easy to be independent of dive shops. They make it possible to not just add content, but with their "loved one" standard to hold someone back if something about how they dive makes you less than confident that they would be able to apply the appropriate skills in a time of stress.

As an example, when I looked at the agency's AOW material I decided it wasn't adequate for training local (Pacific Northwest) divers to do deep dives, nor to dive in our typically low vis conditions. So I wrote my own material to supplement what the agency provided. NAUI was OK with that, as long as I stayed within the framework of their standards. The course was so successful I had students fly into Seattle from as far away as Minnesota and North Carolina to take it.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[TMHeimer]

OK, I'm only a retired active DM, but will respond anyway. A number of reasons I did the DM course, one being it was something I wanted to see if I could do in retirement. The biggest one may be I wanted to get my toe back into education in some way, being a retired teacher. It was really great to watch student development without being the guy in the place where the buck stops. That was another thought. I received the "pro" magazine for 4 years (and Dive Training Mag) and read with interest articles about what goes into being a good instructor. There are two major differences in being a scuba instructor as opposed to a school teacher. One is, it is ludicrous to compare class control and motivation with a group of maybe 6-12 (usually) adults vs. a classroom of 30 Jr. High kids, or a Band of 100 school musicians. The other difference is none of those 100 students will die if you screw up (though a handful maybe should anyway......just kidding--don't make a thing of it....).

 

[yle]

My son and I ended up in an IDC together because we took our DM course together and had a blast.

We took our DM course together because we had done our Rescue course together... and had a blast.

By the time I got to the IDC and had a moment to reflect on how I ended up there, I realized it was because all of my instructors had been people that really loved to dive and wanted to share that with people that wanted to learn to dive. And I wanted to do the same.

I explain this to my OW students at orientation, after I find out why they're taking the course, and I warn them that they're getting into something that could take their life in a new direction.

 

[TMHeimer]

Im lucky enough that my dryjob allows me plenty of spare time and I don't need scuba instruction to pay the bills, my usual price for training is "shouldn't cost me anything" so the students pay for travel and dives etc, I donate my time. The happiness on someones face that shines through the mask when they finally get a mask clear right or some other skill they were battling with makes it all worthwhile for me.

That's Great. Great for those wanting to make a living at it....."Shouldn't cost me anything (because I love it"...). So, you work for free. Yeah, I taught Band for years (in MY dry job) and saw those happy faces--and was a PAID DM and also saw those faces for 4 years. It's great your dryjob is lucrative. DONATE MY TIME???? I would guess those trying to make a living teaching scuba would thank you. Fortunately, I, like you, wasn't.

 

[RainPilot]

That's Great. Great for those wanting to make a living at it....."Shouldn't cost me anything (because I love it"...). So, you work for free. Yeah, I taught Band for years (in MY dry job) and saw those happy faces--and was a PAID DM and also saw those faces for 4 years. It's great your dryjob is lucrative. DONATE MY TIME???? I would guess those trying to make a living teaching scuba would thank you. Fortunately, I, like you, wasn't.

I (almost) only train friends and family and more often than not refer potential students to paid instructors. I would never expect anyone to donate their time, I have several friends who earn a living through instruction and I get how hard it is.

My comment, following directly from the post before it, was meant to indicate that motivation for becoming an instructor is often commercially based, I personally have a very different reason for giving instruction than someone who might be earning a living from it so needed to add the relevant background as a caveat.

Sorry if that didn't come through in the post.

 

[Compressor]

To teach others the pleasure of the underwater world. Simple but the truth. When the student wanted to learn and were eager to learn, I knew right away and that itself made the class super enjoyable.