Cost for Instructor Rating

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centralhome

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I have my open water and advanced open water. I am looking at getting all the way up to PADI instructor. I got a quote of $4000.00 to get me from where I am now, all the way to instructor. Does this sound like a good price?
Thanks
 
Just counting,

Rescue+EFR 500
DM 600
IDC 900
IE 600

But I do have to take a look at it
 
dont forget books, gear, air, etc.
 
For me...
Including training materials, books, etc. (SSI)

Stress & Rescue $250
First Aid, CPR, AED and Emerg. O2 training: $100
DiveCon (SSI's DM + AI) $1000
ITC/IE $1700

Other things you will need for both your DM/DiveCon and ITC...
Insurance (Standard Instructor rate is $542, but we buy a group policy for about $160 each)
Doctors release (At least for SSI, you must have an actual doctor's release, even if you are in perfect condition.)

Insurance must be renewed every year.
You must pay agency dues every year. (For SSI, $105)
You must maintain your F/A, CPR, AED and O2 certifications in active status. So generally this means retaking the courses or exams every 2 years.

And with SSI, you must have all your own gear "Of instructor quality".
 
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Get through 100 dives and your Rescue+EFR... assist with classes to find out if you actually want to teach. The DM and OWSI certiications are designedfor people who want to teach. If you simply want to increase your knowledge, there are other courses you can consider... Adv Nitrox and Deco Procedures is one... and there are many others.
 
Get through 100 dives and your Rescue+EFR... assist with classes to find out if you actually want to teach. The DM and OWSI certiications are designedfor people who want to teach. If you simply want to increase your knowledge, there are other courses you can consider... Adv Nitrox and Deco Procedures is one... and there are many others.

that is actually a VERY good point, some dive shops will "package" together classes and get all your $$$ upfront, while you are full of enthusiasm, knowing alot of times people commit to way more than they can do, and knowing that alot of student washout will occur, I can think of dozens of students, just in the last 2 years that cant finish DM, or cant get a weekend to finish the rescue dives, so not to dissuade you but slow down, take it one step at a time, and most importantly get alot of diving in, that will be key no matter what road you take...
 
What he said up there^

Why not spend the 4k on diving?
 
I agree with the 2 previous posts, take a breath and slow down. If you invest $4000 and for any reason don't complete then what? Even if you save a few hundred.
You have your OW, and AOW, you are still enthusiastic, go and enjoy a some dives with a buddy (no instructor). Plan and execute those dives yourself, gain the experience.

Spend some time diving, Do not get "hung up" taking course after course, you are not collecting pretty cards, you are going to get real diving experience.
Often schools will bundle courses together to save you money, just do not buy too many at once and only do the ones you are interested in.

Do not choose your dive school on price, some large schools turn out DM and instructors by the score, anyone who drops out, drops out and is money gained (for them). You will need good tuition and lots of support to become an Instructor, this is more important to you than the cost in $$$. Once you have your Rescue Diver a good school should allow you to assist with classes a couple of times before you sign up for the DM course. A lot of schools find their new staff members from the students they bring along, so they should have an interest in what sort of DM you are going to be.
You also need lots of diving experience, away from the instructors. You need to be more than comfortable in the water, you need confidence and the experience to "understand what you don't know"

Lets look at Padi courses for a typical student.
Open Water 4 dives
Advanced open water 5 dives
Rescue diver 4 dives
Along the way they may do say, A Nitrox course, (2 dives usually), A drysuit course (if from colder climates) and Peak performance Bouyancy (which lots of schools offer as a special price add on to OW).
That's a total of 19 dives, all under supervision and you only need 20 dives to enter the Divemaster course.
So you are taking the big first step to being a Dive Professional and actually what diving have you done? yes you have the dive requirements, but what experience do you actually have?

I have had DM students who have taken this route, paid a lot of money upfront and then really struggled with the reality of assisting new divers and having the confidence to be an effective Divemaster. They would be the first to "drop out" because the enthusiam has been drained from them because the DM course is the first time they have had to think for themselves. I used to counsel them to put the course "on hold" go and do some diving and then restart the course.

Please do not let any of this put you off your ambition of being a scuba instructor. I am just saying there is much more to it than paying out $4,000 and taking a load of courses. Hard to say whether that is a good or a bad price though, it all depends on what is included in it. Padi course materials cost are a large investment for both DM and Instructors. Others will comment on other agency costs.
I wish you the best in your ambition, there is very little in this world more satisfying than taking people underwater for the first time.

T
 
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I am always astounded to see people at entry-level in diving, with virtually no experience, planning to become instructors!

Given that you know nothing about the industry.... how can you predict that you would want to work in it?

Don't have any illusions about what conditions are like in the dive industry. What you see as a customer, is smiley, happy,eager dive staff.... but that is the 'public face'. What you don't see is outrageously poor salaries and shocking working hours!

People who become instructors...without first developing a deep and abiding love of being underwater (and I am talking about 500+ dives) tend to burn out very quickly in the industry.

The ludicrously under-demanding PADI entry requirements for pro level courses mean that you 'could' plan to become a DM within 2 months, and an instructor within 4 months. But, if you did so, you would find it extremely hard to earn any respect in the dive community...and you would have far too little experience to be the sort of dive instructor that could offer good, expanded, courses for his students.
 
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