Overpriced OW class?

[oly5050user]

Actually, using the CPI, $50 in 1965 had the same purchasing power as $371 in 2014.

That May be right, but how I came to that number was what I was paid week in a full time job. In 1969 I was paid $86.50 a week and a scuba course was $50. Same job today pays $1400. A week. So from my view is how I came up with that number.

 

[monoxide]

I paid almost 2500 for my ow class. Only because I bought all the gear I would need new bcd tank mask find snorkel weights boots every thing. Class was only 250 bucks tho


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[oly5050user]

I paid almost 2500 for my ow class. Only because I bought all the gear I would need new bcd tank mask find snorkel weights boots every thing. Class was only 250 bucks tho


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When some one purchases all the gear we give them the class in a group setting free.

 

[Scubagolf]

That May be right, but how I came to that number was what I was paid week in a full time job. In 1969 I was paid $86.50 a week and a scuba course was $50. Same job today pays $1400. A week. So from my view is how I came up with that number.

Interesting. The $86 weekly pay in 1969 was just 1.3x the federal min wage of $1.60. The "same job" today pays $1400 week = $72,800 a year = $35 hour, which 4.8x the fed minimum wage. Could the $1400 be the monthly salary rather than weekly? That would work out to $333/week which would be close to the CPI increase. My point (related to the thread) is that if an OW cost $50 in 1969 the cost in 2014 dollars will be $320. The major LDSs here charge about $350 for the OW class, including the written materials and the DVD for the class. Equipment rental is extra. After adjusting for inflation the cost is comparable.

 

[Vicksburg Diver]

I am a PADI Instructor and the shop I teach with is $275 plus $45 for the books and other materials. You DO NOT have to buy any gear unless you want to. This price includes all the gear you will use up through your certification dives. Travel to the open water certification site is on you but this is not expensive either.

 

[Diver0001]

I recently was looking for a dive instructor for my OW class, and the one place I went to was going to charge me $500 per-person for a group class, plus I had to buy my mask, snorkel, and fins from them, which he said would cost 300 to 400 dollars. He was a PADI instructor. Does this seem overpriced?

In my mind, the answer is "it depends".

The amount of money a normal scuba course would cost if instructors were paid minimum wage for all the hours they need to put in is about $900 so the price they're asking you to pay would be right about on the mark and wouldn't leave the shop with much profit *IF* they are paying their instructors a fair wage.

The problem is, nobody likes to pay so much for the beginners course, so most shops either:

a) sell the course for well *under* what it costs them to give it and force gear down your throat to compensate. For some reason people accept this better than paying what it really costs because you get "stuff" that you can hold onto after the course. Sounds like this is what your shop is doing.

or

b) they sell the course for about the shop's break-even cost but they don't pay their instructors anywhere near minimum wage.

In the end, the quality of the course seldom corresponds well to the price. There will be cheaper alternatives that are just as good and possibly more expensive alternatives that are no better. The most important thing is that the instructor knows what he/she is doing.

R..

 

[oly5050user]

Interesting. The $86 weekly pay in 1969 was just 1.3x the federal min wage of $1.60. The "same job" today pays $1400 week = $72,800 a year = $35 hour, which 4.8x the fed minimum wage. Could the $1400 be the monthly salary rather than weekly? That would work out to $333/week which would be close to the CPI increase. My point (related to the thread) is that if an OW cost $50 in 1969 the cost in 2014 dollars will be $320. The major LDSs here charge about $350 for the OW class, including the written materials and the DVD for the class. Equipment rental is extra. After adjusting for inflation the cost is comparable.

thats what it was.. and it is weekly, not counting overtime..I am retired from Verizon and was a 30 tech...unions are at times a good thing
to take a ow course back then I had to work something like 25 hours..today it would take less than 10 hours if the course cost $269 (as that is what it cost at the lds I am associated with)..now

 

[Texanguy]

Are private lessons worth the extra money?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

They can be if the instructor teaches a good class anyway. It costs me the same to run a private class. I don't get a break on pool use, gas for checkouts, or any other expenses. The regular price ia based on two students. If I only have one by rights I should be charging double. But I am not that greedy. I need to make a certain amount over course cost and expenses to keep.doing this. Otherwise what's the use. I'm not going to devalue the rating and cheapen it by doing it for free or "for love of diving".
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[neonstingray]

There Was no boat diving just shore diving. Most other places i checked costed 350 to 450 some being as low 200 ( I don't know if i would trust a class this cheap). So I was curious if this is normal pricing elsewhere.

Just because a class is cheaper doesn't mean it isn't quality. Sometimes the cheaper classes are simply older instructors with small shops who haven't raised their prices much over the years or aren't trying to squeeze out every dollar.