Should I become an instructor?

[BradMM]

I was NAUI certified in '91 and stopped diving for a number of years although my family and I continued to go to the Caribbean every year and snorkel/free dive. Now I'm 60 y/o and working on NAUI Advanced & Master through the university where I work in Texas.

I was looking for an found the subsequent cert programs I was considering at the Florida Keys Dive Center. I really lost any interest for lake diving years ago but have to right now to finish this class. However, I would love to go down to the Keys for 8 days each time and get the DM and Instructor. It would be PADI however but I don't really care because I love the idea of being able to do this in a place where I'd actually want to dive vs the lakes in Texas.

Why? Dunno exactly... I won't be making a living at it but I like the idea of developing my dive skills. Might teach some locally if I got the cert or I might go to a resort somewhere and work for short time just for the experience. I have lots of past experience with doing classes so I've got that part down pretty well.

Any reason I should abandon this line of thinking????

 

[Akimbo]

Depends on how much you enjoy teaching. There are better ways to improve your personal skills if not.

 

[BradMM]

Yeah, I'm sure there are but those are the credentials I'm most familiar with.

 

[Akimbo]

What kind of diving are you interested in and what skills would you like to develop? The world doesn’t need any more teachers that are not interested and don’t enjoy teaching. There are a tremendous number of specialty courses for developing skills that the great majority of instructors don’t have.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

The best way to improve your dive skills is simply to dive. Why do you want to become an instructor? To me it's something that requires a little soul searching as there are costs and commitment involved whether or not you teach regularly. Association fees, insurance, professional development are just the surface of the level of commitment required. Personally, I went down the road of instructor because I happen to be an educator by profession and enjoy teaching others and am willing to undertake the daunting commitment of being a proficient instructor. Another thing to consider is will you still make a point to dive for your own enjoyment once you're an instructor? I have too many friends who are instructors who never breathe from a regulator anymore unless they're teaching a class. Just a little food for thought.

 

[BradMM]

What kind of diving are you interested in and what skills would you like to develop? The world doesn’t need any more teachers that are not interested and don’t enjoy teaching. There are a tremendous number of specialty courses for developing skills that the great majority of instructors don’t have.

Honestly, the REALLY CRAPPY instructor I have now is part of why I started thinking about this. I taught part time at the university for 9 years and have a side business where I teach another kind of skill and I believe I'm actually good at this. I would still like to pursue other avenues but, first and foremost, want to become the best diver I can be.

 

[RJP]

I won't be making a living at it but I like the idea of developing my dive skills.

Neither the DM program nor the IDC (Instructor Development Course) will do anything to improve your dive skills. They will teach you to be a DM and an instructor... and they will EVALUATE the dive skills you bring into the courses. But the courses themselves are not designed to, and will not, improve your dive skills one iota.

Having just become a PADI Instructor I can tell you that doing so is a pretty significant time, logistic, and financial commitment for someone who thinks they "might teach somewhere locally if they got the cert" especially if they readily admit that they "really lost interest in local diving years ago, but have to right now."

I would suggest you go to the Keys twice for 8 days and go diving, rather than spend a single minute or dollar pursuing DM and Instructor qualifications. If you want to improve your skills take a GUE, Cavern, or Tech course where the instructors will crack the whip on your skills.

Seriously.

 

[BradMM]

Because, as I said, I wouldn't do it to make a living, I would certainly continue to dive for pleasure. My family all loves the water and, as I also mentioned, we have gone the Caribbean for every year for many years and plan to continue. I'm sure that diving more will improve my skills but I also don't want to reinforce bad habits so more training should be beneficial ***IF*** from a good instructor.

I have two books on the way right now about diving physiology and another on my shelves. I want to learn more about the science of diving to, hopefully, improve not only my skills but make me a better diver overall. That's the kind of mindset I'd like to bring to instruction.

The best way to improve your dive skills is simply to dive. Why do you want to become an instructor? To me it's something that requires a little soul searching as there are costs and commitment involved whether or not you teach regularly. Association fees, insurance, professional development are just the surface of the level of commitment required. Personally, I went down the road of instructor because I happen to be an educator by profession and enjoy teaching others and am willing to undertake the daunting commitment of being a proficient instructor. Another thing to consider is will you still make a point to dive for your own enjoyment once you're an instructor? I have too many friends who are instructors who never breathe from a regulator anymore unless they're teaching a class. Just a little food for thought.

 

[Akimbo]

If you are interested in increasing your knowledge about diving then I would consider these courses if you have not taken them already. They will also be useful if you decided one day that you really want to teach diving.

• Nitrox and Advanced Nitrox
• Rescue
• Decompression Procedures

After that, follow your interests.

As for skills, the best course I can suggest by far is a good freediving course. The intermediate freediving course I took several years ago was the most useful diving course I have taken since being in the Navy.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

You've found the caveat that echos throughout diving, finding a good instructor that is a "good fit" to you. At the point you're at I'd say read and learn as well as find that "one" instructor or mentor and learn from them. Sometimes things become crystal clear over time. In my situation I became a DM rather quickly after diving for about 2 years(of course I had 175 dives when I began the course), then worked as a DM and dove as much as possible on the money made as a DM for a number of years before a friend and Course Director "brow beat".....well convinced me to take the ITC. In those years I learned a great deal and ultimately became a confident instructor for it.