Advice from the Pro's

[MyDiveLog]

At 40 I was fortunate enough to be able to "retire" and work when and where I wanted to. I'm too hyper to sit for long, which means I spent some time searching for a way to combine vocation with avocation. During this same time I did the work to become a scuba instructor, using the time to talk to lots of folks about work and investing in the scuba industry. A friend who is a course director and major figure at one of the certifying agencies summed up my conclusion nicely. "Want to make a small fortune in the dive industry?" he asked. "Sure," I responded. "Then take a BIG fortune and buy a dive shop, a dive boat, or all the equipment to set up your own dive instruction business. Soon enough it'll be a SMALL fortune!" He was right: I basically lose money or break even (at best) teaching diving - I regard it as a hobby, but not something that I'd rely upon to support a family.

Can you make any real money in diving? Probably not here in California or anywhere with cold water...all the dive shop and dive boat owners I know are barely getting by. The warm water climates seem to have a better supply of customers, although I've not seen a dive operation that really seemed to realize big profits on a consistent basis. If you have the skills and the steel testicals to work as a commercial diver, there's probably the potential to make some real $$. Being at about the same stage of life as you, though, I'm betting that family concerns will negate this option.

Good luck

 

[OceanSailor]

1. I am not new to work and the "job" thing. I am 38 years old and eligible to retire from my first job (military). However, I stand by my comment of "trying to decide what to do when I grow up"!
2. It is not only myself I must consider, I have a wife and 2 children to think about. Relocation to any and all remote (albeit perfect) dive spots of the world isn't an option at this time.
3. Higher level Math and Chinese are simply NOT an option. Period! While you can teach a "not-so-new" dog new tricks, those aren't included in the manual!

Any old dog can learn new tricks. Just have to use the right reward. I'm USN retired (30 yrs). Got my engineering degree while on active duty. After retiring, went for a semester to local university to meet state requirements for a Professional Engineeer license. I'm a contract Port Engineer with clients in various shipping industries.

I like what I do, work without a tie (own more jeans than I do dress trousers) and have plenty of free time to enjoy two of my favorite things: travel and diving.

Cap'n Ed

 

[Capt Grumby]

Again, I am very grateful to all who have taken the time to post on this thread. I apprieciate every post, as it only adds to my knowledge base.
From what I have seen here, most people are saying "high tech, high paying job, allowing for the freedom to dive whenever/where ever by virtue of the income", or "Dive Instructor/Bost Captain".
I guess in my minds eye, I envision a job that will suplement my meager retirement check and let me live the dive bum lifestyle. For too long I have been in a positon of "responsibilty" and I think I would like to try a more "laid-back" career. The thought of being an engineer or some other "highly important" job holds no interest for me. Conversely, I have no desire to try to scratch out a paycheck as an Instructor. I envision the Instructor route as an uphill battle. I could see that as a possible hobby that may or may not include a paycheck.
I suppose I am searching for a happy medium. Not too much stress, a laid back pace and enviroment, and the ability to get some income and bottom-time, all in one neat little package!
Maybe it's a pipe-dream and not feasible, but I can dream, can't I? I am in a position to get around 30K for college (for free) in whatever direction I choose, so this entire thread was started as a way for me to try to narrow the field.
Well, just wanted to reply back to all in general, and thank you again for your interest.

 

[Web Monkey]

I guess in my minds eye, I envision a job that will suplement my meager retirement check and let me live the dive bum lifestyle. For too long I have been in a positon of "responsibilty" and I think I would like to try a more "laid-back" career.

If you like computers and want to get some training as a Software Engineer, or Support Technician, you can pickup contract work whever you want, and then be free when you're done.

For the contract work, there is some "responsibility", but it's not like you're on call, they just want you to show up when you're supposed to and get the work done that they hired you for.

Terry

 

[Steve_Dives]

I can appreciate your situation. I'll finish a masters soon, but have no idea if I want to stay in the industry, switch, or just start something on my own. I wish you a lot of luck in your quest, and if you find any easy answers, PM me!

 

[shellbackdiver1]

If I had to do it all over again, with the mind set of having a diving career, I would get a degree in business, international business would be best. And yes soon the mainland Chinese maybe flooding the Asian tourist areas so speaking the language would be to anyones advantage.

 

[mikerault]

Yes and 20 years ago we were all supposed to learn Japanese as they were going to take over the world...

The computer industry has been very good to me. however, with outsourcing of the low level stuff (coding, tech support, etc) it may be mkore and more difficult to get entry level jobs except at the Mom and Pop store level.

Mike