Making SCUBA a career

[BIG Tiggz]

I Live in California in the Bay Area. In the city of Berkeley. I am a Gymnastics coach and love my job. But my back injury (from a backflip in gymnastics) is keeping me from spoting my students for long periods of time. My mom and dad where divers and they met through diving and had me. So I guess diving has always been in my blood.
I can hold a tank with belt on me for a short time so no problem there. I just cant walk around like some of you hardcore divers do arund the beach.
I am 25 years old and want to know anybodys thoughts on going career. I love photography and am interested in Shark divng as well as Tech diving. My mom (thank here soul) has $$ for my scuba education so the 1000s of dollars of training is not much of a problem.

I want to know how much a year could I make and how hard or easy it is to do this. And yeah I want to own my own dive shop one day, but lets take one step at a time.


I guess I am asking if there is any diver out there that has done what I am interested in giving my whole life for.

Thanks for any helpful info or tips into this matter.

 

[String]

If you're REALLY luckily teaching scuba you may make enough money to break even.

And things like working in a dive centre and tech diving with a bad back to me sound like a very bad idea.

 

[BIG Tiggz]

If you're REALLY luckily teaching scuba you may make enough money to break even.

And things like working in a dive centre and tech diving with a bad back to me sound like a very bad idea.

I know.
But I can't do a desk job and coast guard is out. This needs to work for me. And if the back jusk can't take it. I can get sugery to help. I have a bad disk. Kinda like a flat tire I cant fix with a simple tune up. Not the biggest problem I have seen with backs.

I am interested in doing the NAUI instuctor program in florida as well.


Thanks for the input and any more is welcomed.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Gotta agree with String on this one. A bad back and teaching scuba do not mix. You will have to shlep alot of tanks and other gear before you even get to be an instructor. I'd be concerned with the rescue course as well for any agency which you need to have to progress into the pro ranks. If you cannot spot a student now, how will you haul someone out of a pool on your own? If you persue tech you are looking at around a hundred pounds or more on your back which you will have to carry up a boat ladder in pitching seas. Some back injuries, depending on the severity, may even prohibit you from certain types of diving and diving in certain conditions ( rough seas, strong surf, etc.). An instructor should be able to dive in most any conditions. Should be able to rescue and self rescue. And living in California you may need to move if you can't walk around on the beach. This is not hardcore. It is diving. I don't beach dive. My dives are in quarries and lakes where sometimes a little mountaineering skill is needed to just get in the water. In fact it has occurred to me that if your doctor will not sign off on it a good instructor will not take you on as a student with a current back injury. He/she is not even allowed to according to agency standards. Better get the back taken care of and rehabbed to the point that you can do your current job 100% before you think of diving.

Just caught your most recent post. NAUI instructor program is very tough. Similar to the YMCA instructor which I'll be doing next week. No way you'll make it with a bad back without getting hurt even more.

 

[DBailey]

Well, the back injury may prevent you from entering the instructor program. I do not know NAUI's entry requirements, but with PADI there is a physicians sign-off required to enter the program and back problems is one of the questions asked. Not being able to walk around with a tank on would be a huge disqualifier in my book.

 

[Web Monkey]

I Live in California in the Bay Area. In the city of Berkeley. I am a Gymnastics coach and love my job. But my back injury (from a backflip in gymnastics) is keeping me from spoting my students for long periods of time. My mom and dad where divers and they met through diving and had me. So I guess diving has always been in my blood.
I can hold a tank with belt on me for a short time so no problem there. I just cant walk around like some of you hardcore divers do arund the beach.

Find something else.

If you think standing and spotting were hard, try lifting and carrying dozens of tanks and weights and helping people up ladders and catching people when they fall on the boat and any of hundreds of other things.

You won't be happy and there's an excellent chance you'll find yourself permanently disabled.

Terry

 

[muddiver]

There is an article in Underwater magazine this month that states that a back problem is one of the disqualifying medical conditions for working as a diver. Granted Underwater is a commercial diving magazine, but the guy that wrote the article is a hyperbaric or Diving doctor.

 

[String]

I know.
But I can't do a desk job and coast guard is out. This needs to work for me. And if the back jusk can't take it. I can get sugery to help. I have a bad disk. Kinda like a flat tire I cant fix with a simple tune up. Not the biggest problem I have seen with backs.

I am interested in doing the NAUI instuctor program in florida as well.


Thanks for the input and any more is welcomed.

If you can get the back fixed you'd be better off spending some of that money doing so and then applying to the coastguard or whatever you want.

Diving really doesnt pay more than survival money and you WILL be lugging around heavy gear a lot of the time. Everything from simply moving tanks, filling tanks, helping trainees kit up, your own kit, helping people in and out of the water, spare weights and belts. It can be fairly physical and certainly isnt easy on the back.

 

[BIG Tiggz]

There is an article in Underwater magazine this month that states that a back problem is one of the disqualifying medical conditions for working as a diver. Granted Underwater is a commercial diving magazine, but the guy that wrote the article is a hyperbaric or Diving doctor.

No commercial diving for me.

Okay. lets try to get some where in this topic.

For the physical exam. What is needed to pass? Because if surgery can do it then I might go under the knife sooner then later. I was trying to wait till I was thirty before I got this fixed.

And if tech if out I am ok with that.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Your instructor will give you a medical release form that has guidelines for the MD doing the exam. I'll try to post some details later tonite. I have to get going. Teaching a skin and snorkel class tonite for new OW students.