Most Expedient Route to DM

[onepointfivethumbs]

(at this point just an academic exercise)

I am going to be moving in less than a year and my apartment is like two miles from an LDS. At the same time I will only be taking 3-6 credits of coursework so I will have some time on my hands and should probably be looking for income.

"Why not try to be a Divemaster/Assistant Instructor?"

I am only an PADI OWD and I keep punting AOW/EANx for cash/time reasons. I am not opposed to holding someone's hand in the pool if it means a paycheck and more opportunity to dive.

The LDS I'm looking at is a NAUI shop and doesn't seem to have a huge staff, which could be either good or bad for my employment prospects. However, I would need to go through the entire NAUI course progression (AOW, EANx, Rescue, O2/First Aid, MSD, and their Instructor Evaluation program) in order to be qualified which represents significant cost of time and expense. I have no qualms with NAUI as an organization but question whether it is worth the initial cost for a job I might work at for a year.

Pros:
More diving
Become a better diver-better buoyancy, SAC rate, skill confidence
Become a better buddy-rescue, O2/First Aid, self-sufficiency
Prerequisites for the diving I want to do- Esst. of Tech/ANDP
Not Soul-Crushing Job (I'd rather jump off a bridge than work at Wallyworld again)

Cons:
CASH
TIME

 

[squid509]

go talk to them
they are more likely to hire you if they train you
i would expect to pay to go on a few dives with them first let them see you know how to dive first

 

[tursiops]

I am not opposed to holding someone's hand in the pool if it means a paycheck

Big "if".

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Why do you think becoming a DM will improve your buoyancy?

The ROI on becoming a dive pro is quite low when you consider all the training, equipment, and insurance (including for 7 years after you stop working as a pro) that you need to pay for.

 

[onepointfivethumbs]

Why do you think becoming a DM will improve your buoyancy?

The ROI on becoming a dive pro is quite low when you consider all the training, equipment, and insurance (including for 7 years after you stop working as a pro) that you need to pay for.

Diving more = better buoyancy

I'm not expecting to be putting the down payment on a house but as far as "jobs that don't suck" goes is why I'm considering it.

Might be looking at "assistant instructor" or "training assistant" in lieu of DM for those reasons.

 

[boulderjohn]

DMs do not historically get much pay at all for assisting in instruction. If you are looking for a source of income, standing behind the counter and taking orders in a fast food restaurant would probably earn you a lot more. On the rare occasion that I got a tip when doing that kind of work, the tip was usually greater than my pay.

If the shop does not have much staff and is not actively seeking more, that is probably a sign that it does not do enough instruction to justify the additional staff. If the shop is running classes of, say, about 4 students, they likely will not have a DM working in that class.

 

[boulderjohn]

Might be looking at "assistant instructor" or "training assistant" in lieu of DM for those reasons.

I obviously don't know the specifics of this situation, but I have some experience working both as a DM and an AI in a shop. The shop paid AI's more than DMs, but not a whole lot more. While I was working there, the shop realized that the benefits to using AIs to assist in classes outweighed the extra pay because of class efficiency, and they made all DMs become AIs. With a DM assisting a class of 8 students, the DM hangs around doing nothing but watch while the instructor checks out each student's performance on a skill, one by one. With an AI in that role, the AI could assist with that, cutting the evaluation time in half.

I don't know the NAUI rules for that.

 

[hilljo88]

To assure getting paid (modestly) in Diving, you would need to become an Instructor, a diesel mechanic, a web developer and a boat captain. Those qualifications would likely get you hired almost anywhere. There are lots of DMs and AIs and very few get paid more than a very low wage plus tips. The best reason for getting DM/AI certs is that you enjoy the journey: you like learning new stuff and you're good with helping others learn. The most significant part of your compensation would be getting the shop discount on gear. But as only an Open Water diver, you are a long way from even knowing if you really like the sport. Get some more dives in and talk to as many people in the shops and on the boats as you can.

 

[michael-fisch]

Hell, Walmart is now paying $12.00 an hour. You'll never make that as a divemaster
Other jobs that pay better than working as a divemaster:
washing cars
flipping burgers
waving a sign on a streetcorner
cleaning tables in a restaurant
food service in the student union, or cafeteria
Collecting shopping carts in a parking lot
any entry level position in retail (Dollar General, Subway, McDonalds, Burger King, Sonic, Hardees, Captain D's, etc,).
Sorry to bust your bubble
Michael

 

[NothingClever]

(at this point just an academic exercise)….

< snip >

I am only an PADI OWD and I keep punting AOW/EANx for cash/time reasons.

You might consider getting some more training and experience through practical application for yourself before you take on the responsibility to train others.

My observation is PADI markets their dive instructor training pipeline really heavily, to the point divers walk away convinced the only way to become proficient is to become an instructor. This is just not the case. I’d spend some time with experienced divers to see what their thoughts are on how to develop proficiency and how teaching stacks up to pay the bills. Also, @michael-fisch makes a good point…there are inglorious options that are more lucrative. You’re young enough the job won’t define you and you’ll make enough money to afford to fill tanks to do some dives so that diving defines you.

Good luck and enjoy your journey whatever you may decide.