Why can't you make a living as an Instructor?

[Diver0001]

So, chime in. Let me know why you think that being a dive pro should be more of a hobby than an actual career.

The simple clear answer to this is because it simply doesn't pay enough. I work as an instructor in Holland and if I were to charge even the legally determined minimum wage for the work I do as instructor then (a) I would be the best paid instructor in the country and (b) I *still* wouldn't make as much as someone bagging groceries at the supermarket.

The simple fact is that there are too many young single instructors who are willing to live like hobo's for the chance to make their dream come true. Employers don't give a rat's a$$ how good you are so instructors like me who have a familiy are basically sqeezed out of the game and are forced to do it as a hobby.

So why do I do it? To give back. I love the work but I essentially see myself as a volunteer. I don't mind that either. My day job pays well enough and my work as instructor covers my fees, maintenance on my gear and provides me with some perks like free air and generous discounts. It reduces the cost of my hobby to zero, which is all I need and all I want to get out of it financially.

What do you base these statements on?

facts.

And then alternately, post up what would be the ideal candidate for making a career as a dive instructor/dm/guide/captain whatever the case may be.

The only instructors I know who can live like this are (a) single and (b) working for subsistence (beach bumb) wages in tropical utopias.

R..

 

[vinegarbiscuit]

Last year, my fiance decided to quit the corporate rat-race and become a dive professional in Hawaii. Fortunately, I was able to find work here on Oahu, too (I'm a petroleum consultant by profession), so I found renters for my apartment in NY, and we made the move.

I'm not going to lie: it's been very hard, and that's even with me making a pretty decent salary. First, we had to deal with the fact that Oahu has little scope for NAUI instructors, so we had to invest the not-inconsiderable sums needed for him to make the cross-over to PADI. My fiance works so hard: on the boats, in the shop, repairing regulators, VIP'ing tanks, the lot. I'm so incredibly proud of him, and he loves the work. The fact that he's paid to do what he loves means a great deal to us both, and it delights me to see him smile so. But considering the responsibilities he shoulders, the long hours he works, and the cost of training/insurance/membership, the monetary compensation falls far short. Yes, we can live, but we're not putting nearly enough money into 401ks, and it would be difficult for us to have the family we want under these present circumstances.

 

[Doc Harry]

It is difficult to make a living as a dive instructor because PADI and other agencies have made the public believe that they can get quality instruction at a deep discount.

 

[rstofer]

I think that somewhere there is a relationship between the difficulty of entering a job/profession and the amount of money it pays. I don't think it is strictly true but it's true enough.

It is difficult and time consuming to become a physician but, as I understand it, the job pays well. In addition, the medical schools throttle the number of candidates such that the field doesn't become overpopulated.

Lawyers are somewhere in the middle (on average). Look in the Yellow Pages and see how many attorneys your town has. They are all over the place, scrabbling over divorce cases; chasing ambulances. But it still takes time and effort to get through law school even if the schools aren't doing much to throttle the flow.

Dive instructors are paid a lot less because it just isn't all that difficult to enter the field. Sure, it takes a few thousand bucks but I think you can become an instructor with 100 dives. With dedication, the program could be completed in a couple of months. And the kicker is, there is a great effort to create even more instructors. Everybody wants to offer the program and the agencies promote going pro at every opportunity. So the job doesn't pay well.

There are many very good instructors but they are competing for students with the other less qualified instructors. Yet, at the end of the day, both groups are scuba instructors.

A large number of instructors use the work to get discounts on dive gear and expect to earn just enough to pay their own dive costs. Maybe they even get a couple of trips out of the deal. But this approach leads to continued low pay. Too many instructors are doing it as a hobby!

So, it gets down to what is considered 'making a living'. Subsistence never was good enough for me!

Richard

 

[wcbdiver]

well there seems to be alot of comments on this subject. I am a divemaster, and a commercial scuba 40M, and commercial surface supply 30 M, It has cost me about 20,000 or more for my courses, and $5,000 plus for my gear. I am living in mexico, trying to make a living in playa Del carmen, at this rate of about $50 per day, or $75 per day if I want to do the night dives, which would make it 16 hour days, I will never be even able to pay my courses back, let alone my gear, and rent in a resort area is costing me 1200 us per month, plus utilities, plus cable, plus, plus, plus, as for commercial diving in mexico, there are no rules, so the mexicans without any trining are doing the jobs. Yes, I can make some fairly good money in canada, about $300 per day, but with my drysuit and 40 pounds of weights and tools, if you think that is an easy job, then you are crazy. Thats 300 per day, once or twice a week. Fulltime commercial diving work is unheard of, unless you own the company. And if you think making 2400 or 3000 per month is big money, with the cost of the gear alone, with the hard work, life on the line everyday, I have been throught 3 drysuits in one year, and thats just drysuits, at a cost of 2000 for each drysuit, and regs and etc, etc, and when you are commercial diving, your gear is breaking down all the time. I have had so many close calls, and saved a few lifes as well. I am down here in mexico, taking a break, and making **** money, thats my choice, I make as much as instructors do, and I am a divemaster, with alot less crap to deal with. Good thing I am a computer network engineer, and making money on the internet, or I would be not able to pay my rent and put food on the table.

You can make a living as an instructor, but all the instructors I know are riding peddle bikes to work. Thats an ok life if you are 20, I am 46.

J

 

[Rocketmahn]

Work to dive, don't dive for work.....


Flight instructors have the same issues as dive instructors.
Only they have a lot more $$$ wrapped up in training and the pay is about the same.
Almost every freshly minted CFI is willing to teach for free just to build flight hours.
That keeps the wages really low...

 

[scubaskipper]

Widget has some good points. As hard a pill as it is to swallow, computer skills and compressor repair will bring some of the highest dollars in the business. These skills are valued and so are paid as such. I was once told I was paid with sunshine and should be paying them to do the job. Resort areas are high cost of living areas and the pay scale will mean 10 hrs. in the business and most of the time waiting tables till the wee hours and starting over the next day, at least till high season is over. Learn to tend bar, it pays more than waiting tables. It might save you from having two room mates to make ends meet. Don't owe money to anyone or anything and have only what you can carry. If you don't want a lot or have a lot, you can make it on the 24K that tends to be about average for this line of work. I live like an Amish guy and get up everyday looking forward to going to work. Good Luck.

 

[AndyNZ]

So lets switch the subject a bit and those who have been successful or think they know what it would take, chime in and say so. We've established the pay blows. Ok, lots of competition. Alright, got it. So... how do you stand above the competition?

Put your prices up and provide value.

Discounts attract the more, ah, prudent spenders. Diving is not cheap, if someone is looking for a discounted course at the start, they will probably stop diving because it's to expensive, so your chances of getting them back for a second course is low.


So, the reason you can't really make a living as a dive instructor?? Too many people are not prepared to pay the actual cost of a course to learn to dive, and want it cheaper. It only takes one person to cut the price, then everyone has to follow.

 

[humanbeing]

I do not ever want to make my living from diving, because:

1. I do not want to teach or sell things.
2. I want to dive when/how I want.

 

[supergaijin]

This thread was left in the dust but provided some good reading. Cheers.

I've been a working instructor for 6 years now and have worked in 7 different countries. No debts, money in the bank, a belly full of good food and a roof over my head. I'm 33 years old. I consider the last 6 years as an incredible time, experiencing different peoples, foods, cultures, climates and would not have changed if I had my time again.

I don't recommend it for everyone.

For those people considering entering the industry; don't expect to retire as an OWSI if you don't have an alternate source of income for the future. I know I don't.