Why don't more DM's become Instructors?

[mathauck0814]

Quite a few views expressed so far, from the I figured out I don't want to teach to the why should I go in debt to maintain. Maybe the agencies should look at what they charge to stay current VS the income they get from a new diver being brought in by an instructor...crew packs.. cards... con ed sales..social groups..etc.

An alternative would be for the agencies to make being "pro" something that would be financially impossible for those who weren't going to do it full time as their sole means of feeding and housing their families. If dues were in the order of thousands of dollars/year there would be far fewer "pros" and they might be able to command a more competitive wage with their other high-end sports expert instructors (high end ski coaches, tennis and golf pros can make very good livings). That might shatter the volume of people that come through the "pro" levels... but it might also have the nice side effect of allowing the remaining professionals to be treated like professionals...

 

[endurodog]

An alternative would be for the agencies to make being "pro" something that would be financially impossible for those who weren't going to do it full time as their sole means of feeding and housing their families. If dues were in the order of thousands of dollars/year there would be far fewer "pros" and they might be able to command a more competitive wage with their other high-end sports expert instructors (high end ski coaches, tennis and golf pros can make very good livings). That might shatter the volume of people that come through the "pro" levels... but it might also have the nice side effect of allowing the remaining professionals to be treated like professionals...

I think your right in that it would decrease the amount of people working in the industry but there are some side effects to that (good or bad is another issue) . Fewer small shops would be able to stay in business, less choice for the consumer, would shrink the over all industry and availabilty of training in small towns (markets). This would have a trickle down effect to the dive charters, resorts, and manufactures. None of the major cert agencies would do this alone because it would kill their base as instructors switched to other certs to keep things on the cheap side for them.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Instructor dues are not bad. It's the insurance that kills you. I pay more than my brother in law does and he's a nurse. Another good area for tort reform! Bring the cost of insurance down to a more reasonable level. Maybe base it on number of certs per year average. More certs equals more chances for some nimrod to screw up and sue you.

 

[Coldiver1]

I have been a DM since 2001 with the thought of becoming an instructor. Being a DM kept me active as a diver assisting instructors, and gave me discounts on gear. I have decided NOT to become an instructor due to the commitment an instructor has to endure. I carry insurance, but DM keeps me a comfortable distance away from the stress of teaching.
I used to love to ski- until I became a ski instructor. My favorite pastime became work. I haven't been snow skiing in over eight years.

 

[EastEndDiver]

Duplicate

 

[EastEndDiver]

Instructor dues are not bad. It's the insurance that kills you. I pay more than my brother in law does and he's a nurse. Another good area for tort reform! Bring the cost of insurance down to a more reasonable level. Maybe base it on number of certs per year average. More certs equals more chances for some nimrod to screw up and sue you.

You refer to your students as "nimrods"?

 

[Divin'Papaw]

Simple really. You learn very quickly that the scuba instruction business model is ludicrous. Who pays $3-4k to get a card allowing you to teach, $1k annually in dues and insurance, when there is very little hope to ever break even for the vast majority of instructors?! The business model makes no financial sense!

There are WAY too many instructors relative to current and potential students. In the US at least, the market is completely over saturated with instructors. So a DM quickly asks, 'Why again did I do this?'

 

[nimoh]

I did the DM course for experience, I'll assist in teaching from time to time, but I would rather go diving. I also like the respect that you get on dive boats when you are a DM and treated like a colleague rather than just another diver.

 

[k ellis]

I did the DM course for experience, I'll assist in teaching from time to time, but I would rather go diving. I also like the respect that you get on dive boats when you are a DM and treated like a colleague rather than just another diver.

yea but sadly there are those divemasters who seem to think they are scuba gods too. Ive ran into them even on scuba board. They can be wrong about something but no matter what you tell them they will not admit that they are incorrect.

I do agree with you though as most of the time you get more respect from both dive crews and fellow divers. I too love to get out and stretch my fins once in a while

 

[Superlyte27]

You refer to your students as "nimrods"?

Just the stupid and unsafe ones with an inability to listen/learn.