Finished Divemaster, Did I just Make a Mistake?

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Divemastering is a calling, not a side hustle.

If the spiritual benefits of following this path of service is not enough,
If appreciation for the arts of a life saving craft was omitted from your training,
If you do not feel pride from belonging to this special group of dedicated shepherds who came before you and stand with you now…

Then yes, you made a mistake.
 
You have been a Scubaboard member since February so you might have searched the forum for threads on making money while diving, instructing or running a dive shop. You would have known you were headed for Diving Destitution.
My advice is to STOP COLD accepting any money, and maybe switch to another dive shop that has more integrity for your fun diving and never tell anyone you’re more that AOW. Otherwise you’ll turn into a crabby, salty, bitter old diver before your time.
If you wanted a risky job that pays well and leaves time for diving, i suggest commercial electrician. My brother, ( college degree in Philosophy, another career calamity) chose this path and as long as he doesn’t forget his safety checks, he gets paychecks!
 
Divemastering is a calling, not a side hustle.

If the spiritual benefits of following this path of service is not enough,
If appreciation of the arts of a life saving craft was omitted from your training,
If you do not feel pride from belonging to this special group of dedicated shepherds who came before you and stand with you now…

Then yes, you made a mistake.
Eloquently put and right on the money!
 
I think you totally rushed things. A DM with such limited experience would not be considered for a job with us even as a deckhand. Did you get conned, maybe by yourself. Diving involves building a skill set that experience is a huge factor in just like many other activities. I didn’t consider myself to be a competent diver until I had a few hundred under my belt. I am still limited as most of my diving has been under very similar conditions so I have little scope to my skill set. If you did it for the money you were extremely foolish. Slow down and let yourself become a diver then worry about progressing. It is certainly not about making money but is a calling. I love what @kablooey said. There is so much more than having a shiny new card.
 
Don't call it a mistake. Call it a learning opportunity.

You've learned something about diving, something about your shop's business model and that you aren't interested in being a dive master.

But you are a diver! Why not just dive?

We all learn about ourselves as we go through life.

I bought an expensive set of golf clubs and a bunch of stuff to go with. I paid lots of money to learn how to be a better golfer. Along the way, I learned that it's probably not a big thing in my life after all and that I wish I'd spent that money on diving.
 
I'm a fairly new DM and it's been lots of fun. Do I make enough cash to quit my day job? Of course not! And I don't get paid as a DM through the shop. I get gear discounts and a few other fringe benefits, but there is no "pay" involved per student or anything. It's strictly on a volunteer basis. I do receive tips from students, which the instructors mention to their students a few times during their course, but that's not guaranteed. The best I've done in an OW class was walking away with about $200 in my pocket after a weekend at the lake with 19 students. But that also included the previous weekend of being in the pool for 8 hours each day on Saturday & Sunday. Then of course gas to drive back and forth to the lake, which is about 75 miles from my house each way. As the DM I get free admission to the dive park where we conduct all of our training (as long as I'm actually DMing a class) and I have enough tanks that I don't have to pay for air fills at the park but still there is a cost incurred so it's never really something I do to make extra money. My LDS has classes running every weekend during the spring & summer months up until about the middle to end of October. During the winter months they slow down to I think 1 a month because the water just gets too cold and it's risky taking students that are learning to dive into 50F water in January where they're in about 10mm of neoprene and 20 lbs of lead. But I digress....

When I got my AOW I decided to set a goal of becoming a DM and then anything more would be considered afterward. But my reasoning wasn't for money....I DM as a way to give back to the community. The usher new faces into the world I love; to show them passion for something that could literally be life-changing for them. I enjoy helping with classes. I enjoy answering questions and having students look to me for answers. And it's actually a really good feeling that many times they'll come to me with questions before they will the instructor simply because as the DM I'm a little less intimidating. I enjoy being a role model and setting an example of how they should aspire to dive (not that I'm the world's greatest or an expert on buoyancy and perfect form) once they get some experience. It's just a really cool thing I get to do to give back to the diving community. And that to me is well worth the cost of admission.
 
I considered it for a brief moment but after talking to my friend who instructed my rescue course, she said it would be good if I want to be an instructor. So I never did it. I did know there was never much money. In saying that, my cousin is going on two years of diving (lives in Idaho) and dives at least 20 times a month if not more. He is going for Instructor so that he can work with wounded warriors.

A mistake I don't think so. The expectations may have been off. But you are probably a better diver now.
 
I just finished up my PADI Divemaster cert and now I think it I made a mistake.

First some backstory, I started diving in January of this year and started to progress up the ladder and really enjoyed diving. Started hanging out at the local dive shop and was convinced that I should do my Divemaster cert and start working for the shop as a contractor. So I said sure, plopped down the $800.00 and started my course. Just like many on here I have a career so this was going to be a side gig to have some fun and make a few extra bucks, or so I thought.

After completing the course the realization kicked in this may not be worth my time. Their current payout when helping with either an OW AOW, or Rescue course is $20.00 a student. Which doesn't seem too bad until you take into consideration they cert about 3 OW students every two weeks. That's $120.00 a month for 24 hours of work, 6 hours for confined water, and 8 hours a day for open water.

I got my DM cert because I enjoy diving and the dive shop, but I also enjoy making a few extra bucks when all my diving expenses are paid which have now drastically increased due to me being a dive professional. I am required to pay for my own liability insurance. I knew that I wasnt going to make much, but loving what you do can only take you so far before you feel like your being taken advantage of.

I know the obvious answer is cut my losses and move on if I'm not happy, but should I ask for an increase per student, or is this pay and situation the norm for a divemaster in a landlocked state. What's the point of continuing up the ladder when Instructor is $3000 for the course and he wants to pay $40.00 a student. You'd never break even.

Thoughts?

I completed my DM courses earlier this summer. It was a great learning experience and I think it made me a better diver. As for working part of it. It's a step in the right direction to becoming an instructor and getting involved in the dive community. Divemasters where I am from are usually on a voluntary basis. We get tips from some of the instructors, free air fills and discounted shop prices. Usually this helps covers the basic costs of going to help and allows me to dive more than I would. I enjoy working with the students or accompanying newer divers and see how thrilled they get. I do think you could have gotten more experience before hand and shops will always want Divemasters as they help the shops and classes run. That's why they probably convinced you of doing the class. I would not actually ask for a raise but I would maybe verify, my dive shop pays my liability insurance but I am only covered during their activities. This means I dont play the role of a Divemaster when I go diving for fun. That would be a start to covering your costs. I live far from the oceans so I d'ont think il ever break even as a DM. Hope this helps.
 
I appreciate everyone's feedback it has been insightful and helpful. I think it would be good to just "settle" in and get a year under my belt and see where I stand. I love diving, and I have really enjoyed working up to get my DM. It has made me a better diver. I have over 150 dives since Jan/2019 which has been a blast, and I enjoy teaching others to dive.

BUT

After reading a lot of your posts it feels like shop owners have done a excellent job of conditioning divers who turn DM to believe they should only be paid in "favors". I understand its all about the experience, but as a DM you are a diving professional, which as a professional shouldn't you be paid for your services? It appears the diving industry as a whole feeds off of well-intentioned individuals that put up hard earned money to be trained in a professional capacity only to be told "here's your free air fills and 20% off a wetsuit". This may be the widely accepted model, but why people accept it is beyond me. I really enjoy training people and being at the dive shop, but at some point you have to ask yourself whether your being properly compensated for your role and your time.

Thoughts?
 
You have been a Scubaboard member since February so you might have searched the forum for threads on making money while diving, instructing or running a dive shop. You would have known you were headed for Diving Destitution.
My advice is to STOP COLD accepting any money, and maybe switch to another dive shop that has more integrity for your fun diving and never tell anyone you’re more that AOW. Otherwise you’ll turn into a crabby, salty, bitter old diver before your time.
If you wanted a risky job that pays well and leaves time for diving, i suggest commercial electrician. My brother, ( college degree in Philosophy, another career calamity) chose this path and as long as he doesn’t forget his safety checks, he gets paychecks!

I hate to be that person but I am...when I find someone who has been diving like a year and they are dive masters...bragging no less...I tend to not hang around them on dive boats or shore diving. Oh...and they are not good at buoyancy or diving courtesies....that is irritating. Just me...
 

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