From the instructor's point of view

[White Knight]

I am not an instructor nor a dive shop owner and I intend on keeping it that way. But I am interested in learning what instructor's are up against as they try to make a living. As I believe I am learning with PADI, there seems to be a huge "Amway" style down line kind of thing going on. The fraternity of Regional level operators appears to be unfair to new people trying to rise through the ranks? Please correct me PADI if I am wrong--I mean you no harm. That said, out of the various certifying agencies which one(s) provide for the best level playing field? Will any of them allow an experienced LDS owner/SCUBA diver to contract with them directly? Pay a franchise fee and be in business? Or do all the certifying agencies have regional style “middle men” business models? Thanks…….

[oly5050user]

Anyone with some $$ can open a facility.Do not have to be an instructor to open a PADI facility.
There are yearly dues .I do not know about the "Amway" thing you wrote about.Just like any other business ,success is never guaranteed,but hard work and honesty hopefully will be rewarded.

[NetDoc]

Very few agencies seem oriented to the independent instructor and NAUI seems to stand out in that regard.

Right now our biggest problem (universally) is that discretionary spending is way down. You don't have to learn to Scuba, but you do have to eat and pay the mortgage.

[Walter]

None of the agencies are set up as multilevel marketing such as Amway.

That said, out of the various certifying agencies which one(s) provide for the best level playing field?

Level in what way?

Will any of them allow an experienced LDS owner/SCUBA diver to contract with them directly?

I believe most, if not all agencies deal directly with shops and instructors.

Pay a franchise fee and be in business? Or do all the certifying agencies have regional style “middle men” business models?

I'm not aware of any that use such a method, but I'm not that familiar with that part of the business with most of the agencies.

Since you are not an instructor and don't plan to even be one, I'm not sure exactly what you want. Agencies don't generally sell anything you need.

[White Knight]

Thank you for the words of wisdom. My question pertained to personal knoweldge an direction of SCUBA in general. It was relayed to me that it was almost impossible to work one's way up far enough to contract directly with PADI. In other words, if an instructor received a fee from me, he/she had to share it always with someone above them? That has nothing to do with the economy. Do I undersand this right, or could (say I) open my own dive shop and contract directly with PADI (without having to pay someone off) as a PADI instructor and not be forced to share my fees with anyone "between" me and the PADI home office? I am sensing this is, in fact, the case and my original "source" was mistaken?

[fdog]

As a NAUI instructor, all I pay "up front" is:

• Annual Dues
• Insurance

If I think I will make enough over the year to cover that, the rest is all for me.

For example: if I can find someone that values my skillz enough to pay $1,000 for an OW class, from that, I have to "tithe" nothing to NAUI.

All the best, James

[NetDoc]

Thank you for the words of wisdom. My question pertained to personal knoweldge an direction of SCUBA in general. It was relayed to me that it was almost impossible to work one's way up far enough to contract directly with PADI. In other words, if an instructor received a fee from me, he/she had to share it always with someone above them? That has nothing to do with the economy. Do I undersand this right, or could (say I) open my own dive shop and contract directly with PADI (without having to pay someone off) as a PADI instructor and not be forced to share my fees with anyone "between" me and the PADI home office? I am sensing this is, in fact, the case and my original "source" was mistaken?

Yeah. You will work directly with PADI, or NAUI or SDI or... you name it. There is no pyramid scheme amongst the agencies that I am aware of.

[ReefHound]

Thank you for the words of wisdom. My question pertained to personal knoweldge an direction of SCUBA in general. It was relayed to me that it was almost impossible to work one's way up far enough to contract directly with PADI. In other words, if an instructor received a fee from me, he/she had to share it always with someone above them? That has nothing to do with the economy. Do I undersand this right, or could (say I) open my own dive shop and contract directly with PADI (without having to pay someone off) as a PADI instructor and not be forced to share my fees with anyone "between" me and the PADI home office? I am sensing this is, in fact, the case and my original "source" was mistaken?

First, I know a lot of instructors and I only know two that are "making a living" and they teach at the tech level. I'm sure there are some here but I don't "know them".

Second, maybe I misunderstand you? but any PADI instructor can teach independently if they can find the students and meet all the standards and criteria. Most instructors I know teach through a shop because they don't do it full time and don't want to sell/recruit students, they just want to teach. Nobody "contracts" with PADI, they teach according to PADI standards and send in the certification for the student to be processed. There is a processing fee but that is not a "middle man".

[halemanō]

As an instructor we pay the agency an annual membership; if you teach for more than one agency you pay more than one annual membership. In the North American Region we must also be insured; for some that is taken care of by the employer (shop policy) but many have their own individual coverage.

The training manuals are purchased from the agency. Due to its market share, PADI is possibly best described as a successful publishing company. We also pay a fee for each certification. There are also required and non-required training aids we purchase from the agencies. If you purchase any of these products from a dive shop they will most likely be making profit off you.

With PADI you pay less the more you buy, just like with any publisher. One of the perks of Pro training from an Instructor Factory is the ability to make PADI purchases at the Instructor Factory cost level.

There are middle man profits but no multi level pyramid. If I order enough to qualify for free drop shipping, including 10 PIC's, from Ocean Divers (my IDC location) the PIC's cost me less than if I buy them direct (my independent cost level is the highest) or from Maui Dreams Dive Shop a couple miles away (they make a profit but it's still cheaper than me buying direct).

[White Knight]

Thanks everyone. I learned a lot! I actually feel much better out the various certifying agencies and their business models. Good luck to everyone. As I said, I was only after personal knowledge. I will be no one's competition.