Getting Tips As an Instructor

I was wondering if any instructors out there (or anyone else) could comment on how tipping works for instructors and divemasters. I never even knew this was the norm until I started posting here (don't have much dive experience). Is there a percentage that is expected? Do instructors really have to "earn" their tips by going many extra miles, or is it just the expected thing when you do your job properly? I guess it's pretty important when considering a dive career as tips make up most of your earnings...

Thanks,
Aujax

Ah .. the age old debate !

divemaster as in the person who is on the boat - assisting with your gear, leading the dives etc etc ( these are often instructors but operating in a DM capacity ) A lot of divemasters earn a significant percentage of their salary from tips - right or wrong - thats the way it is. Rule of thumb $5 per dive tip is reasonable. If you feel someone has gone to extra effort - given you some personal tuition - lent you equipment - taken you to a very specific spot to see something you really wanted then a little extra is in order. If they have been a really bad crew then you can withhold the tip.


Instructors as in the person who is certifying you.

This is a tougher call - no instructor is getting rich doing this and it is always **really** nice to get tipped by a student after a class. Not just for the money but more for the indication that that person feels they got good service

If the class and dives were carried out locally I would say that a tip is not expected. Very few students tip the instructor who does their pool / lecture.

If the dives are carried out on an instructor escorted trip so the instructor is acting as group leader for the trip and doing DM duties on the boat as well then a tip is in order - the amount is really up to you - consider - how many dives the instructor did with you both for and after the certification, the number of days you were on the trip, did they do you pool / classroom work as well - not to mention of course your own financial situation. I`d say $40 - $100 depending on the circumstances for a O/W cert.

Again in all the above scenarios if the instructor has gone to extra effort - lent you gear, did extra dives to catch you up if you arrived late etc then a ( additional ) tip is in order

I've had a couple of students tip me as their instructor, but it was in the way of buying me dinner or lunch. When they have offered cash I explained that the DMs are volunteering and ask the student to give the tips directly to them.

I am getting paid to teach them and I don't expect tips on top of my class fees.

As an independent, and only conducting Private lessons, I often get large tips. Best yet was $200.00 I would think if the student is looking for the 99.00 classes they may not be thinking of a Tip at the end of their class. On the boats I always leave a 10 in the Jar.

The best tip I can get is when a student comes to me after they've been on a few dives and tells me that I prepared them well enough to handle a difficult situation that they had run into. Of course a soft drink or hamburger is nice occasionally too.

Hi,

I'm not sure if you are asking what is the norm for tips, or what to expect in the way of tips if you decide to get into scuba for a career. My best advice if you are thinking of a dive career is for you to do your best to be in a position not to rely on tips for income. In general, even though it is greatly appreciated, I wouldn't expect to get tipped as an instructor.

As an instructor in Hawaii I've received far less frequent tips than when I'm doing DM work even though the work is more demanding and the responsibility is greater for the same hourly wage. It's simply a matter of the student not knowing about tipping. I do know a couple of instructors who try to work tips into the lectures when boats are mentioned and they tend to do fairly well on tips for themselves, but I think it's kind of tacky if not presented correctly.

A lot of instructors here work their way into a DM or Captain position (seems reverse of what it should be) because it is easier and a bit more lucrative because of the tips.

Doing instructor work you are likely more often get the offer of beer or dinner. This is great if you are single, like to drink and have nothing else you have to do following work, but for a fair portion of the instructors I know it is more impractical or inconvenient for any number of reasons.

A scuba career can be quite rewarding, but more often than not it the working with people that is the reward.

Steve

So, friscuba, are you saying that being a DM can earn you more cash than being an instructor? Obviously, I'm not considering this career path to make big bucks, but I'm curious as to how this works. I was under the impression that instructors make a little money and DM's make next to nothing. Maybe you're saying that it's a good idea to do DM work as an instructor when you can to get the added income from tips but that you're better off as an instructor...?

Thanks,
Aujax

aujax once bubbled...
So, friscuba, are you saying that being a DM can earn you more cash than being an instructor? Obviously, I'm not considering this career path to make big bucks, but I'm curious as to how this works. I was under the impression that instructors make a little money and DM's make next to nothing. Maybe you're saying that it's a good idea to do DM work as an instructor when you can to get the added income from tips but that you're better off as an instructor...?

Thanks,
Aujax

Click to expand...

LOL. Being a vagrant or hobo can earn you more cash than being an instructor.

Around here the norm for tips is nothing but I get bought lunch once in a while. I have former students who bring a six pack with them when they stop by. My best tip was when a former student and freind paid most of the expenses for a week of cave diving in Florida for my wife and I.

My personal opinion is that tips are a conflict of interest.

If a person/student has deep pockets, let them pay for a private class.

Short of that extreme, they can show their appreciation by offering to buy lunch.

MikeF's example of a prepaid cave diving trip falls in the category of buying lunch. Wow! The more I hear about these timeless IANTD instructors, who have had to weather the scorn of TDI and GUE and almost every agency that has come after them, the more I must pause to admire.

aujax once bubbled...
So, friscuba, are you saying that being a DM can earn you more cash than being an instructor? Obviously, I'm not considering this career path to make big bucks, but I'm curious as to how this works. I was under the impression that instructors make a little money and DM's make next to nothing. Maybe you're saying that it's a good idea to do DM work as an instructor when you can to get the added income from tips but that you're better off as an instructor...?

Thanks,
Aujax

Click to expand...

Actualy pay for instructors varies incredibly depending on where you are teaching and who you are teaching for.

In Kona most, not all, of the shops pay a flat hourly rate if you are on the boat. The rate often only varies depending on how long you have worked for the company. Lets say a boat goes out and all the employees are being paid roughly 12 bucks an hour for a 5-6 hour day...who has the hardest job... the guy doing intros with 3 or 4 non-divers, the DM who is just showing critters to divers who supposedly can take care of themselves, or the captain who helps people in and out of the water and reads a book or listens to music for 45 minutes while everyone is off the boat? Now , who gets tipped? I've got hundreds of intro divers under my belt and I believe I've been tipped by 5 or 6 of them. Open Water students have a minimally greater tipping frequency. As a DM I see at least some tips almost every time I go out. I am oversimplifying the description of the workload a bit, but on any given day I'm not that far off. Very few "DMs" out here don't have Instructor cerdentials. Oftentimes the new instructors get most of the teaching work, as their ears get bad (CESA's take their tolll over time) or they start to get tired of the teaching they move on to DM or Captain work.

Mainland shops likely have a completely different pay scale. Most of the shops where I came from only ran a class or two a month and their Instructors/DMs had other sources of income as opposed to here where you are working 6-7 days a week to try to make ends meet. Many mainland shops pay an instructor X dollars per class or student and such. My guess is that few do much for their DM's other than discounts.

Not sure what the story is like in Mexico and other areas. Each area may be completely different in how the pay scale runs. The one thing I probably can say with fair certainty is that you are more likely to get some kind of "paying job" as an Instructor than as a DM, especially in resort areas where DM's are a dime a dozen. In these areas even an Instructor certification is no guarantee of finding steady work (there are lots of ex-scuba instructor Realtors in Kona).

good luck

Steve