Bitterness of Scuba Instructors

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I think this have more to do about the bitterness toward incompetent divers by the really good, talented and passionate instructors.

ding ding ding.... we have a winner!!!!!! Incompetent may be a difficult extreme, but significantly lacking might be better of a description....
 
I think ajduplessis nailed it in his post on page 1. There is a significant subset of the community that regards modern basic OW (and AOW) training as excessively watered down with too little content (e.g.: little Rescue training beyond towing somebody by their tank valve), run too fast and passing students for demonstrating a skill 'more or less' maybe one time (perhaps while on their knees, not while in the water column) rather than demonstrating and achieving mastery, then turning these ignorant incompetents who 'don't know what they don't know' to endanger themselves, buddies, dive professions who get them in tour groups, and even our hobby by inviting governmental regulation when they get themselves killed. Oh yeah, and the coral reefs they accidentally kick or even crawl around on.

Not saying I go for all that, but I have seen that sentiment. And yes, I think there's a sentiment that some instructors are the scuba teaching equivalent of 'puppy mills,' as opposed to 'pedigree competent diver breeders.' Naturally a 'puppy mill' can mass produce a lower end product cheaper. Mainstream agencies are seen by some as sharing some of the blame for all this. I'm not saying I buy into all this, but there it is.

Other people already pointed out when you deal with the public, you get some frustratingly rude, boorish or just off-putting people. To a lesser extent, I've noticed scuba is billed as having once been the province of adventurous type folks. I'm thinking Type A personalities, etc... Overtime, it's become more 'consumer commodity' like. You've seen the term 'Vacation Diver' used on the forum, I imagine, referring to people who dive once or twice a year (or less) in tropical destination with pretty reefs & fish, and that's it. Have you noticed on the forum people speaking of cruise ship passengers in disparaging terms like 'Pod People?' What's it call to mind, a pot-bellied 40 - 60 year old American tourist in a Hawaiian shirt & Bermuda shorts with a camera on a neck strap standing about clueless about the local culture, etc...? Well, I think that's the way some people unconsciously think of the mainstream middle class, a group that the dive industry's growth, simplified 'modular format' and guide-led group dives in the Caribbean cater to. A lot of this is speculation on my part. I don't know what postings your impressions were derived from, so I'm doing some guessing.

Richard.

P.S.: Disclaimer: I've been on 3 cruises! Go Pods!!!
 
One of the things on the net is often those that post the most are very opinionated and well entrenched in thier beliefs. SB seems to be a bit more that way than other places I have been on the net, I follow photo sites, motorcycle sites, and some work related stuff and was even on usenet back in the day. Not sure why there are so many polarized opinions here.

In any of this I think the vast majority are positive and good instructors. Your just seeing a few vocal ones that hate padi, hate other instructors, hate the training and think their way is the only way.

It's worth noting who those are and getting the ton of useful info from the others on here from that represent SCUBA on a positive level, maybe even hire one of those positive instructor types you see on here.
 
My first instructor for OW was an incompetent buffoon (I found out later on.). But he was a nice and enjoyable guy who did his best considering how the shop had his hands tied. My three other instructors were competent and helpful since I hired them out of their house instead of through a shop. They got all the money not just an hourly wage.
 
This from a physician? I've watched a few episodes of HOUSE, you guys are all bitter and hate filled. :D
 
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There are many reasons why scuba instructors are bitter. Most that I have seen belong to one of the following:
#1 laid off from work spending several thousand dollars from his/her 401k to "become" a scuba instructor hoping to earn good money.
#2 no formal education working on blue collar jobs spending few years to become instructor so they could eventually leave their job for scuba diving.
#3 they are a small shop owner who is also a trainer who has direct competition with a neighbor shop which by their belief is putting them out of business.
#4 internet competition and poor state of economy directly affecting their sole source of income.

Your comment actually has more to do with local dive shop vs internet threads than with bitterness of instructors. Instructors are bitter by associaton.
 
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