Is there an instructor crisis?

[Eric Sedletzky]

But is the issue a lack of instructors or a lack of active divers? Would having more instructors around somehow generate more students and more overall diving activity?

It definitely sounds like it's particularly bad where you are. I believe the amount of active instructors where I live is about as low as it has always been, because it has never been a place where people would get certified, at least not at the OW level. There are definitely fewer "casual" divers who do 10-30 fun dives per year compared to 20-30 years ago. On the other hand, the amount of divers who do serious, deep technical diving has gone up. The diving community has definitely changed, but I don't know if I would call it an outright decline.

I think it’s a symptom if a larger problem.
A lack of overall diver participation leads to less demand leads to lower pay combined with increased cost of living where before instructors didn’t really make any money but they didn’t lose money either. They did it more as a public service and for fun, but somehow could afford it. I used to help with classes for a lot of them for fun. I could have been an instructor 20 times over if I wanted but I wanted to do my own dives, not teach on the limited amount of time for diving so I never did it.
Now instructors lose money and the cost of living is so high they can’t afford to lose anything so teaching is not an option.

 

[boulderjohn]

A lack of overall diver participation leads to less demand leads to lower pay combined with increased cost of living where before instructors didn’t really make any money but they didn’t lose money either. They did it more as a public service and for fun, but somehow could afford it.

It is interesting that you see this exact sentiment expressed frequently on ScubaBoard. It is almost as frequently expressed as the sentiment that instructors are money grabbing POS's who are greedily overcharging for instruction they really should be providing for free. They actually have the nerve to offer classes to students and make them pay for them when they choose to take them!

 

[berndo]

It is almost as frequently expressed as the sentiment that instructors are money grabbing POS's who are greedily overcharging for instruction they really should be providing for free.

I have yet to see someone saying instructors are money grabbing POSes. Instructors seem to be exceptionally bad at money grabbing.

 

[SlugLife]

didn’t really make any money but they didn’t lose money either. They did it more as a public service and for fun, but somehow could afford it

I personally would be okay with occasionally teaching or assisting "at cost" if nobody was making money on the class, and the cost to students was low.

It is almost as frequently expressed as the sentiment that instructors are money grabbing POS's who are greedily overcharging for instruction they really should be providing for free

Where do you see that? Facebook? I don't see that on Scubaboard.

Anyone with even a tiny bit of knowledge, knows that despite classes being expensive, most instructors are only getting a tiny cut.

 

[Edward3c]

Would the BSAC model popular in the U.K. change anything about all this? The liability and insurance concerns, would they be the same?

Historically, BSAC did have commercial centres in the US. BSAC’s membership insurance has never covered them. Because of the US’s particular legal system BSAC members living or holidaying in the US are not covered.

 

[lattehiatus]

It's not illegal or a lie to tell people they can pay 40 or 50 bucks less with SSI because they don't have to buy the book but get the exact same class. Free market, buddy .

One LDS in Northern California breaks out the online learning portion of their OW certification. Student can pick between PADI and non-PADI for online learning, with non-PADI costing $50 less. All the other instruction and training is exactly the same.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

It is interesting that you see this exact sentiment expressed frequently on ScubaBoard. It is almost as frequently expressed as the sentiment that instructors are money grabbing POS's who are greedily overcharging for instruction they really should be providing for free. They actually have the nerve to offer classes to students and make them pay for them when they choose to take them!

No one says that John. No one. What people complain about is the paying for a course with marginal or no value whatsoever. You get annoyed with the way I recommend GUE fundies (example: Question - How to improve dive skills as a rec diver - alternatives to GUE fundamentals course), but the reason I do so is because of the significant return.

The problem isn't paying, but paying and not getting much, if anything, in return.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

It is interesting that you see this exact sentiment expressed frequently on ScubaBoard. It is almost as frequently expressed as the sentiment that instructors are money grabbing POS's who are greedily overcharging for instruction they really should be providing for free. They actually have the nerve to offer classes to students and make them pay for them when they choose to take them!

I never said instructors are money grubbing pieces of sh_t, i don’t know where you got this.
If anything the shop owners are money grabbing POS or maybe it’s the agency. It certainly isn’t the instructors!
But who’s fault is that? You said the shop you used to work for had a policy that if the instructors didn’t like the pay then they could beat feet because there were ten instructors lined up to take their place. “Instructors are a dime a dozen” in your words.
So who’s fault is it for the low pay?, or by todays standards instructors are paying money out of their pockets for the pleasure of being an instructor.
I’ve had several businesses. Rule one, if something isn’t making you money or costing you money with no benefit, don’t do it. Freebies don’t pay the bills.

 

[TMHeimer]

I never said instructors are money grubbing pieces of sh_t, i don’t know where you got this.
If anything the shop owners are money grabbing POS or maybe it’s the agency. It certainly isn’t the instructors!
But who’s fault is that? You said the shop you used to work for had a policy that if the instructors didn’t like the pay then they could beat feet because there were ten instructors lined up to take their place. “Instructors are a dime a dozen” in your words.
So who’s fault is it for the low pay?, or by todays standards instructors are paying money out of their pockets for the pleasure of being an instructor.
I’ve had several businesses. Rule one, if something isn’t making you money or costing you money with no benefit, don’t do it. Freebies don’t pay the bills.

I like your Rule 1. I didn't teach Band 19 years ONLY for the love of it.

 

[boulderjohn]

I see. So no one here has ever seen any criticism of an instructor or dive shop offering a specialty class. Amazing. They have never heard of it being a "money grab." Amazing.