Independent/Part-Time instructors

I've noticed that most instructors that are not teaching full-time or as their main source of income seem to be some of the better instructors or at least seem to offer some of the better classes.

This makes sense in that if you are doing it for a reason other than money and if time isn't your primary concern then satisfaction is probably your primary concern. Satisfaction isn't likely to be gotten from giving a quickie or incomplete course.

I understand of course that there are full-time instructors out there that are excellent as well. I also understand that there is nothing wrong with gaining all of your income from teaching scuba.

I'm just thinking that if a new student knew nothing else about an instructor other than whether or not he derived most of his income from instructing this might be a pretty good way to improve the odds. Walter's list above would be a better way I'm sure but many people might not go through all the steps.

Has anyone ever run into a below average instructor who wasn't doing it as his primary means of deriving an income?

I don't think I've met or know of any instructors who do it full time. I know or have heard of some instructors who run or work in dive shops so diving is their full time job (but not strictly teaching). But all my instructors have been part time, as I believe the vast majority around here are.

Coldwater_Canuck:

I don't think I've met or know of any instructors who do it full time. I know or have heard of some instructors who run or work in dive shops so diving is their full time job (but not strictly teaching). But all my instructors have been part time, as I believe the vast majority around here are.

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I was more or less including those who teach out of a dive shop and work at the dive shop full-time as being full-time instructors. You are right concerning the distinction that you've made but my point was that their time is limited and their compensation comes from the dive shop whether it's for instruction or working in the store.

I'm thinking of either those who are retired or who have much better paying jobs and only teach when they feel like it.

Gray, I've been taught by full-time professionals and part-timers (and somewhere in between!). The best instruction has been from the full-timers. I've also had good instruction from some of the part-timers too (not to mention the 'tweeners).

I have recent personal experience of an instructor with a full-time day job who teaches what I would consider to be a very marginal class, and is focused on minimizing the time he puts into it.

The flip side of "I don't need to make any money at this, so I can take my time and do it right," is, "I don't make any money at this, so I don't want to spend a lot of time doing it." You see people in both camps.

Interesting. That's why I put it out there. I didn't consider that I knew the answer for sure. I had a suspicion that those who didn't have to do it would be better but that's all it was.

So, do you think this applies even at the recreational level...OW? I only know of one in this category.

I think there is the same % of good and bad instructors in full and part time employees/contractors
In general terms what makes the difference is the environment you work in as well as your personal qualities and motivation.
Also in cities you don't survive just by being a diving instructor as the cost of lodging and food is more than your salary so you have mostly part timers. In a tropical area within a resort accommodation is usually provided (though the salary is low) and you work on a full time basis.

There is a surprising share of bad apples that after having done genuine distaster are still in the industry so I would not assume that the selection process happens naturally either

And do not underestimate the number of people that believe they do a great job whilst actually don't

I have found the best instructors are those who teach because they want too, not because they have too or they can. This is not only true in diving, but in every class. School or otherwise, a teacher stoked on his job is going to be much better than the burnt out one.

Interceptor121:

And do not underestimate the number of people that believe they do a great job whilst actually don't

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Got that right.

Another flip side (potential down side) to *some* part time instructors is that they often don't have much teaching experience as their full time counter-parts. This can show up in areas like sloppy logistics, ineffective or inefficient training methods, beginners mistakes and other signs of amateurism etc.

Many full time instructors, especially instructors who teach people on their vacation destinations (aka the dreaded "resort" instructors) are frequently over-worked and are subject to brutal time constraints. They're not necessarily bad instructors, as Gray seems to be suggesting. The time constraint is the real killer, whether you're part-time or full-time.

In project managment we often talk about a triangle of Time, Money and Quality. You can pull really hard on two of those corners, but the other corner has to suffer. In many scuba courses, Money is often fixed, Time--especially in some contexts--is under a great deal of pressure and Quality easily becomes the shifting factor.

Where *some* part time instructors have an advantage is that they aren't as constrained on time so they are able to strike a slightly better balance between time and quality. The sad part is that some of the part timers--due to lack of experience--have to use that extra time to correct their *own* mistakes instead of improving quality.

So my conclusion is you can't tell anything by knowing if someone is full time or part time. You *can* tell something, though, but asking how much *time* the course takes and what the instructor will do if you find yourself unable to keep up with the tempo.

R..

Many instructors (full or part time) have never considered the possibility that there might be a better way to teach. They've never encountered a different type of class and have never thought most about the process. Those who are exposed to another way often reject it without thought because they believe teaching more results in task loading. That's what they've been taught to believe and nothing is going to change their minds. I think most instructors are teaching the very best they know how to teach. I don't think that is very good in a great many instances. I also believe that "average" in the case of dive instruction is very poor quality. I would not recommend anyone take an average class or even one that is slightly above average. When I was conducting crossovers, I had instructors in my classes who would not have been able to pass my OW class with the skills they brought to the crossover. I worked with them to bring them up to speed, but out of the starting gate, they shouldn't even have been diving, certainly not teaching.