krawlings
Contributor
I am curious... Who told you you could support a wife and three kids being a Instructor?
Where did you read anything about PADI in any of his posts???
Please read story and answer questions!!!
- Thread starter jtthompson4
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I am curious... Who told you you could support a wife and three kids being a Instructor?
Where did you read anything about PADI in any of his posts???
There is a basic law of supply and demand operating here. It doesn't take very much to be a dive instructor (compared, at least, with the education required for other, higher-salary jobs). The work is viewed as pleasant (although I think, with time, that opinion may change). So you have an oversupply of people who would like to do the work . . . resulting in no need for employers to pay very much at all for people to do it. Around here, instructors are lucky if they make back their own expenses for teaching an open water class, and I often wonder why anyone does it.
There is a lot of inappropriate encouragement to diving students, to go on to "Go Pro". But I don't remember anybody ever telling me I would make any money doing it.
There is a lot of inappropriate encouragement to diving students, to go on to "Go Pro". But I don't remember anybody ever telling me I would make any money doing it.
His OP said he was a PADI DM.
---------- Post added January 9th, 2014 at 11:09 AM ----------
Sounds like it was your father that misled you. Did anyone else say you could make a living?
Almost everyone I know that is instructing (I do not live in a tropical, coastal location) has a day job, and instructs for fun and extra money.
You should have asked your question early on....certainly no one here is being dishonest!
OP
jtthompson4
Registered
It wasn't that anyone told me I could make a living. It was all pretty much a fling idea. I had the money ,so I decided to dive. No research on my part, had a couple instructors telling me I could make 30-40 grand a year at best. and not that I would finish my training and be struggling to pay the simplest of necessities. The best one I can remember is my course director telling me in the beginning it was a humble living, I figured that out after paying out the a** for everything. But seriously he could have said more. Oh well. but then again I could have done more research.
---------- Post added January 9th, 2014 at 12:52 PM ----------
Thanks yall for replying. I wanna say to I was not trying to start any arguments or nothing, just simply trying to figure out what I missed, which sounds like a lot.
---------- Post added January 9th, 2014 at 12:52 PM ----------
Thanks yall for replying. I wanna say to I was not trying to start any arguments or nothing, just simply trying to figure out what I missed, which sounds like a lot.
OP stated he was now a PADI Divemaster. For a PADI DM wanting to move on to be an instructor, staying with PADI is very common. I agree that he did not state which organization he planned to go with for his Instructor training, so it could be an incorrect assumption on my part.
Hickdive
Contributor
Virtually all "pro" programmes from all but a few agencies are ultimately just another course they want to sell you. They have absolutely no interest in market saturation.
If you buy a fast-food franchise you can expect the terms to include the parent company not selling another franchise to someone to set up across the street or within a few blocks.
There is no such protection in buying a franchise from a scuba certification agency and that is effectively what you're doing when you buy into their "pro" courses.
That means you end up competing in a saturated market but the certifying agency doesn't care - it has your money and there'll be another customer along to buy a franchise in a minute because enough people give up after discovering the awful truth to keep a constant flow into the system.
As a DM you've virtually no chance of making a living - it is a lifestyle choice for the young and unattached. The next thing you'll be told is "ah, get an instructor qualification - you'll be much more employable". So you'll buy the instructor ticket and then discover that basic instructors are ten-a-penny too. So you'll pay to qualify to teach specialities and raise your instructor level then you'll discover that most store owners aren't exactly rolling in money and can't afford to pay you that much no-matter how well qualified you are.
The instructor-trainers who sell you the instructor courses know all this but they're loathe to admit they got sucked into the system too plus teaching instructor courses are the most lucrative part of their business and they want to make at least some money back on their investment.
There are a few specialist instructors who make a decent living but the vast majority of recreational instructors certifying for the big agencies generally don't.
If you buy a fast-food franchise you can expect the terms to include the parent company not selling another franchise to someone to set up across the street or within a few blocks.
There is no such protection in buying a franchise from a scuba certification agency and that is effectively what you're doing when you buy into their "pro" courses.
That means you end up competing in a saturated market but the certifying agency doesn't care - it has your money and there'll be another customer along to buy a franchise in a minute because enough people give up after discovering the awful truth to keep a constant flow into the system.
As a DM you've virtually no chance of making a living - it is a lifestyle choice for the young and unattached. The next thing you'll be told is "ah, get an instructor qualification - you'll be much more employable". So you'll buy the instructor ticket and then discover that basic instructors are ten-a-penny too. So you'll pay to qualify to teach specialities and raise your instructor level then you'll discover that most store owners aren't exactly rolling in money and can't afford to pay you that much no-matter how well qualified you are.
The instructor-trainers who sell you the instructor courses know all this but they're loathe to admit they got sucked into the system too plus teaching instructor courses are the most lucrative part of their business and they want to make at least some money back on their investment.
There are a few specialist instructors who make a decent living but the vast majority of recreational instructors certifying for the big agencies generally don't.
Being a dive professional simply means someone might pay you for diving. Sounds like no one told you you would be making much and you didn't do much research. Now the best thing to do is decide if the DM life is what you still want. As others have said, being an instructor increases your chances of making more money, but still far from any guarantee.
I don't know where in FL you are, but in my part of TX we can dive most of the year. Even so all of the DMs I know and most of the instructors do this part time - they have another job during the week to make ends meet.
All certification agencies advertise their Professional career paths as a life-work balance, "make the sea your office", and purist phrases of the like.
Certification agencies promote their professional courses as a way for living, but this is not true. Many of us work for the pleasure of diving, though a dive professional dives for others. Perhaps he can dive gratis in his free time.
There is no money being a scuba instructor. Perhaps you can live being a dive shop owner, a dive school owner or a dive resort owner. No one will have a Mercedes Benz parked in the door (if they have, they have some other income). For this, you need a capital.
Certification agencies promote their professional courses as a way for living, but this is not true. Many of us work for the pleasure of diving, though a dive professional dives for others. Perhaps he can dive gratis in his free time.
There is no money being a scuba instructor. Perhaps you can live being a dive shop owner, a dive school owner or a dive resort owner. No one will have a Mercedes Benz parked in the door (if they have, they have some other income). For this, you need a capital.
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Ok so here is my attempt to answer your question with insight from a Dive Shop Owner / Instructor Trainer (poor country boy). Making money and supporting your family are relevant to the individual making the money or supporting their family. If it takes $100.00 to support your family and you are not making $100.00, then you have 2 choices. Choice 1, get another job. Choice 2, think about the things that you are willing to give up that are not necessities, and then see if $100.00 is enough to support your family. If so, then you can make it in the Diving Profession. Now with all that being said, (a little background) I am a Dive Shop Owner / Instructor Trainer, full time, but was once a full time Master Police Officer bringing in $40,000.00 a year (successful to me maybe not to a movie star or politician), living a pretty good life in our area. Working on the weekends for several dive shops as a dive instructor, maybe making $1,000.00 year, what I call my play money. Then my father had a great idea. Let's start a Dive Shop. So we did. Now there is more to the story. At the same time, my wife was pregnant and fixing to have our first child. Now my thought was I could quit being a Police Officer, open a Dive Shop, and be a stay at home dad. All good in theory. Except 1 major problem. There was no money. My father's other business fell victim to the economy, and there was no other income between us (what we thought) to survive on. So we did what most people do in times of distress. Prayed, Prayed, Prayed. Now I'm not telling you to go religious just bare with me. After several months of Prayer, we decided that there were things in our life that were not as important to us as we thought. Examples would be, 4 wheelers, rv campers, boats (later re-purchased), tractors (like I said country boy), etc. So after a few other items were sold to have a basic and steady foundation to start on, the next step was to determined what we had to offer the public (customers), that none of the other dive shops in our area had (kind of a big deal for you in the Florida area). After that was determined, we went for it. Now enough with the back story. How do you survive? You have to first adapt your way of living, I repeat adapt your way of living to the lifestyle of most new small business owners (even new instructors that work for dive shops). If your lifestyle is about having things that you think you need (not what you actually have to have), then you need to make sure your income is more than what they cost. Otherwise, you can't make money or support you family. Now on the other hand, if you can make just enough to actually support your family with out having all the the things we think that we need, then you are actually surviving. Now the decisions that I made (and my father) were influenced by my wife (and child) and my mother, because the decisions affected them as well as dad and I. They were very supportive in us opening our little shop, and they were willing to sacrifice just like we were. Sacrificing things, (like you moving) is a very hard decision to make, but afterwards is sometimes a rewarding decision. In the end, if you are happy with the decision you made, being that it not only affects you but also your family, then you are supporting them. Also, being successful is relevant to the individual. I'm the type of person that is happy driving a nice new pickup truck or a little junker. A person's mentality plays a big role in measuring their rate of success. Now I know this is a long drawn out answer, but you being successful is completely up to you and how you measure success. I will close by saying this. Success is in your head not what other people may think is successful. Measure your success by what you feel you need in your life. Good luck in your decisions and God Bless.
PS, the times that I feel like I need something to occupy my short time here on earth, those playthings that I describe (4 wheelers, boats, rv campers, etc.) then if it is a want and not a need to survive, I do not say I am unsuccessful because I can not afford them. I simply do what it takes to be able to afford them (part time EMT / Fireman works for me). When times come that I am not surviving, I sale those playthings to survive (my measure of being successful).
PS, the times that I feel like I need something to occupy my short time here on earth, those playthings that I describe (4 wheelers, boats, rv campers, etc.) then if it is a want and not a need to survive, I do not say I am unsuccessful because I can not afford them. I simply do what it takes to be able to afford them (part time EMT / Fireman works for me). When times come that I am not surviving, I sale those playthings to survive (my measure of being successful).
Teaching classes, for me, is completely a side-gig and something I do because I enjoy it, not because I depend on it to pay my mortgage. If it ever becomes a situation where I feel like I have to do it, rather than want to, I'm done.
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