Is this response intended to keep the less experienced divers' expectations realistic, or does it suggest that job satisfaction among dive pros is not as high as one might think?
There's one other issue, though I don't think it's as important as what the other posters have replied. I believe it's been brought up in other words on other threads. Someone recently certified who's excited about scuba would probably like to get really good at it, yes? Good enough to be proud of the accomplishment. Such a person might look at PADI's website, for example, and get the impression that if you want to grow as a diver the natural progression is...
OW - AOW - some specialties - Rescue Diver, perhaps get your Master Scuba Diver cert. (not a course), and then, uh...Dive Master and on toward Instructor.
After all, if you can teach scuba diving, you must be really good at it, and sharing something you're passionate about with others in tropical destinations while getting in hundreds more dives sounds great...
Well, actually, if you want to grow as a diver, once you hit Rescue Diver, perhaps you might consider some other paths (especially if you're mainly interested in getting good instead of teaching). After Rescue,
1.) Dive a lot, in a variety of conditions, especially with mentors above your level who can help you grow.
2.) Consider NAUI's Master Scuba Diver course (an actually course), intended to impart instructor level knowledge minus the teaching component (I have no idea how successful it is, and I don't get the impression it's as widely available as some courses, but it is reputable and I like the manual).
3.) Pursue a recreational pass in GUE Fundamentals, or similar from another agency.
4.) Take some technical diving courses (after giving your wallet some pain pills), where the bar is higher, and the deliberate planning more demanding.
5.) Practice exercising skill. Can you dive across a silty bottom, fairly close to it, without stirring it up?
6.) Take a look at some alternative skills, like frog kicking vs. flutter kicking, and gear, such as BP/W vs. a jacket BCD (to see if it aids your horizontal trim), and learn whether that helps fine tune your abilities.
7.) You can learn a lot by spending time on Scuba Board and some other online resources.
8.) Read up on good literature. I've been hitting 'here and there' the reputable
The Complete Diver, by Alex Brylske, PhD (nice little bite-size short chapters on pertinent topics and history written with an engaging personality and common sense).
Richard.
P.S.: Please don't infer that I think I am a particularly good diver, or have done much of the above. I advance slowly and sporadically. If I had the time and resources to try to fast-track it, I'd be thinking about the above approaches.