Dive Pros / Instructors / Industry insiders - How did you do it?

[lobbolt]

Of course, I love to dive, but just loving to dive may not be enough to succeed in the dive industry.

It's nearing the time that I made decisions regarding a career, and diving is my favorite activity; ideally, I would enjoy work the most if it's also my favorite hobby.

Your thoughts, ideas, and experiences would help me tremendously in my path; I truly appreciate it. I do not plan to sit mid-life in a career I despise and have to go though this same searching process again I'll factor in what I love now, from day one of my career, and not when "I've made my first million, cured cancer... etc."

I'd like my career to allow me to live at a comfortable standard, at the very least maintain my current standard of life. Ideally, I would lead a career that would allow me to be financially free by my early to mid thirties. I may be naive in these expectations, but I aim to aim high, and to not settle.

My experiences in the dive industry are quite varied:

The instructor who initially certified me seemed successful; he was the Taiwan dealer for Mares, and used to run a dive operation. He was also publishing his underwater photos, and was somewhat well-known in Taiwan. Now in his sixties and retired, he lives a comfortable life. I'd say, he's lived well and I would be quite satisfied in his situation.

I've dive interned the Mermaid's dive shop in Pattaya, Thailand, for 2 months. I did not take a DM course, due to time constraints. Most of the dive interns seemed to be rich kids off on their gap year, the other slightly older dive interns and instructors were either working there for no pay and with uncertain employment prospects, or in debt (one guy said, a master instructor cert. costed $30,000) paying for the dive certifications. The Mermaid's dive shop, calculated by the number of interns and cost per intern, was taking in a revenue of at least $200,000 annually. Not bad by any standard.

I'm unsure as to the most economically lucrative route to enter the dive industry; either to go the instructor route, with seemingly rare instructor positions available, even when the world economy was not in recession, or to take the entrepreneurial route and shoot for a dive operation or dealership similar to Mermaid's.

Underwater photography and videography would be the most awesome; David Doubilet lives the dream life I'd give (almost) everything for. Unfortunately, the situation is similar to the instructor dilemma: too few positions available and elusive entry.

What were the steps you took to be where you are in the dive industry today? Did you start by going pro with the PADI program and moved up to owning a dive shop or operation?

What were the vital personal qualities and skills for your success in the dive industry?

I figured, my next step would be getting the DM certification. Would this be recommended?

Thanks!

 

[ChimChim75]

There's a really great thread on this from a couple years ago. Veeeery long and locked. Maybe you or someone can find it.

 

[Diver0001]

I'll just jot down a few first impressions. Keep in mind when you read this that I'm talking about being an instructor and not being a shop owner.

First of all, you're saying that diving is your favorite activity/hobby. Spend some time reflecting on this..... Many people who make their hobby their work end up disappointed. Do you want to risk losing interest in your favorite hobby because you decided to commit all your time to it? This risk may be more real than you think. You have no idea how many burned out dive instructors are out there, a large number of whom have also (more or less) quit diving all together....

Secondly, you seem a focused the financial success. How happy would you be with yourself if you make a lot of money as an instructor but in order to do so you had to cut corners that got someone hurt... or killed. I'm not saying the world is this black and white but I want to make a point, which is that pretty much every instructor would agree that delivering top quality AND making a lot of money at it is pretty much impossible.

My point here is that the way you're looking at it, you will probably have to "settle" for delivering marginal quality in order to make a good living at it financially.... Would you be happy with yourself if this is what you ended up making out of your favorite hobby.... taking their money, pushing them through the course as fast (or faster!) than humanly possible and then hoping they don't get hurt.... ? Don't kid yourself.... there are MANY instructors out there doing this very thing some of them (like you) who started out looking for a way to make a decent living from their favorite hobby.

I'm not trying to sound negative or cynical. I just want to give you a little push-back to think about what you're doing in a slightly different light. I hope you can take something valuable from that.

 

[lobbolt]

There's a really great thread on this from a couple years ago. Veeeery long and locked. Maybe you or someone can find it.

I guess a moderator might be able to help.

Ideally, I would deliver both quality and make a decent income.

Thanks for pointing out these things to think about.

 

[oly5050user]

Get a real career going.Do not expect to make much in the dive industry unless you have alot of $$$$$$ to invest and take a chance with.
If you were in the states I would suggest get education and a job that will let you afford when and where you may wish to dive.
Even get a job where,like here in the states,where you can retire on 1/2 to 3/4 pay after 20/30 years and then go into the dive industry for additional income and enjoyment.
There are quite a few former police officers/firemen that retired from their departments here doing just that.

 

[Scott]

Turning a love of a sport into a career can be a double edged sword. If the dive industry is the career path you wish then go for it. Don't let others distract you but do your homework and do the math. You want to be financially free in 8 years then find out for yourself. What will it cost you to get into the industry, how much will you need in the 'bank' and what type of returns at age 35 do you need to support the remainig years, and at what level of life style will you need? Get specific! Descent income is not specific.

 

[lobbolt]

Turning a love of a sport into a career can be a double edged sword. If the dive industry is the career path you wish then go for it. Don't let others distract you but do your homework and do the math. You want to be financially free in 8 years then find out for yourself. What will it cost you to get into the industry, how much will you need in the 'bank' and what type of returns at age 35 do you need to support the remainig years, and at what level of life style will you need? Get specific! Descent income is not specific.

For the instructors, if it's ok for you to answer, what did it cost you for getting into the dive industry, certifications, training... etc.

This is some preliminary math I did, a rough sketch that definitely needs more calculation:

I'm estimating that it would cost around $10,000 for certifications. Cost of a dive shop / operation to purchase or start $20,000 to $50,000.

(Shop for sale in Phuket; $25,000)

Costs to enter the dive industry: $30,000 - $60,000.

A "decent" income is above $350,000 annually. I estimated this figure to include support of a small family, visit of extended family members / friends, children's education... etc.

Ideally, I would be able to cease working at age 35, and maintain the same income.

A cash balance to set aside is about $2.5 - $3 million, I would invest an amount regularly and set a portion aside and eventually work up to this goal.

 

[jagfish]

For the instructors, if it's ok for you to answer, what did it cost you for getting into the dive industry, certifications, training... etc.

This is some preliminary math I did, a rough sketch that definitely needs more calculation:

I'm estimating that it would cost around $10,000 for certifications. Cost of a dive shop / operation to purchase or start $20,000 to $50,000.

(Shop for sale in Phuket; $25,000)

Costs to enter the dive industry: $30,000 - $60,000.

A "decent" income is above $350,000 annually. I estimated this figure to include support of a small family, visit of extended family members / friends, children's education... etc.

Ideally, I would be able to cease working at age 35, and maintain the same income.

A cash balance to set aside is about $2.5 - $3 million, I would invest an amount regularly and set a portion aside and eventually work up to this goal.

I've been running my own operation for a few years now. I don't have a beach facility or boat, due to the way things are structured here in the mainland, but I do have lot of equipment.

I have a real job that pays the bills and run dive trips on weekends and vacations. Here, it would just not pay to be full time since we are not a viable, 12-month draw.

I can't really say about costs in Thailand (though I've fantasized about that route from time to time). That business costs seems low, but that is just one example. Would you want a boat? Is there a compressor? Boats are a whole world in themselves.

I think your financial analysis is very simplistic as you are naturally in the early stages. If you were serious about this and had the time, I'd do another "internship" or work with a dive op in an area you were thinking of buying into. One of the best ways to learn about and industry is to work in it.

Cut your teeth for 6 months or a year, and I guarantee you will then be able to make a better judgment and more informed decisions. You might look at is as wasted time in the end if you change your mind, but better wasted time only, rather than wasted time AND money if you bought into something foolish.

 

[rawls]

I spent about $1000 on certs...Not bad. Dive equipment...Don't even want to go there.

My DM instructor said I could go other places to get my DM quicker, but if I wanted to do it through her I would be in it for a year. During that year I Worked My Ass Off through 2 Summers of non-stop classes!!! But in the end I was damned ready and more to get my instructor cert. All of that work paid off and I feel I am a better instructor for it. Personally, I think those who go through those 5 week or 2 month DM courses then get their instructor cert are dangerous...Just mho...
So if you are going to be an instructor then do the work...bust your ass...and be a gopher. Do the time. See how you like it, then make the decision.

Diver0001 hit the nail on the head...Dive instruction is alot of work and if you don't love it then you don't need to be in it. You have got to be keenly aware of what your students are doing 110% of the time. If you are not then you could kill them. That's another reason I feel solid training is so important. And if you buy a dive shop please make sure you have solid instructors who truly did their time.

As far as money....Let's see...The shop I teach at certified about 100 students this past season between May 1st and Sept 30th...I didn't have a weekend off during that time. I made a whopping $1000 I am absolutely passionate about teaching students to dive, but I ain't quittin my day job

 

[Diver0001]

For the instructors, if it's ok for you to answer, what did it cost you for getting into the dive industry, certifications, training... etc.

This is some preliminary math I did, a rough sketch that definitely needs more calculation:

I'm estimating that it would cost around $10,000 for certifications. Cost of a dive shop / operation to purchase or start $20,000 to $50,000.

(Shop for sale in Phuket; $25,000)

Costs to enter the dive industry: $30,000 - $60,000.

A "decent" income is above $350,000 annually. I estimated this figure to include support of a small family, visit of extended family members / friends, children's education... etc.

Ideally, I would be able to cease working at age 35, and maintain the same income.

A cash balance to set aside is about $2.5 - $3 million, I would invest an amount regularly and set a portion aside and eventually work up to this goal.

You really would need to own the business to make that kind of money in 10 years. It could be done but not as simply as you think.

Just building further on your model using the same rough "suck numbers out of the thumb" technique....

Assuming the normal "net" rate is for dive shops in Thailand is about 10% (which I would expect in a market as saturated as Thailand is) and you took 1/2 of that for yourself and banked 1/2 to keep the shop alive in case of disaster then to reach your goal you're looking at netting roughly 700k per year which would require you to turn over about 7 million per year.

Or in other words, with prices the way they are you would need to find .... and be able to accomodate .... roughly 12000-15000 clients a year consistently or in terms of day to day running of the business you would have an average of 40 clients under the roof on any given day, 365 days a year for 10 years.

So the first thing to find out before you buy that shop is if they have anywhere near that number and if they have the scale to deal with it in terms of numbrs of staff, amount of rental gear, sufficient classroom space, square metres of confined water space, boats, compressor capacity, physical room in the shop itself.... etc etc. Chances are you'll need to significantly scale up the business to reach your goal because I dont think a shop of this scale would sell for 25k$

And don't forget if you start like this you don't have time to build the business if you want to retire at 35 so you need to step onto a rolling train that doen't require (much) restructuring. And don't worry about spending money on certifications. You'll be up to your eyeballs in running the business and you wno't have *any* time to dive, let alone teach diving.

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Looking from the other end, as a freelance instructor, you could do with a smaller scale. Your overhead would be less so netting 350k a year might only require you to make 500k a year in total. An open water course costs about $300 so you would only need about 1500-2000 clients a year or about 8 new clients a day assuming you're fit to dive 200 days a year. Assuming you're willing to provide minimal quality then you'll need to have an average of 3 classes running simultaneously to get this done because you can't finish OW in one day. That would require minimal work days of something between 10-16 hours depending on how good (or bad) your sources of new acquisitions are. Frankly I've never heard of a free-lancer working alone who had these kinds of numbers.... but that aside for the moment. You would need to keep this up for 200 days a year with an average of 3-5 dives per day between confined and open water. That's 1000 training dives a year. Roughly. Oh yeah and you can forget having your family over for visits because there will be no time for it. And relationships? Better just go for the one-night stands....

Just speaking for myself, I don't think I would want this life. AFter making 10000 training dives in 10 years your body will be completely knackered and working this hard will burn out just about anybody. So even if it were possible to find that many students to train, you'd be 35, a millionaire, burned out, broken, alone and probably wishing you had never learned how to dive.

Obviously these numbers are only good for a rough indicator so sit down and do your homework carefully before deciding.

R..