Scuba Diving as a Career

[asams]

I'm new to diving (did the DSD in the Philippines, getting my OW cert in September). I'm wondering, for those of you that have made scuba diving a career, how did you go about that? I plan on completing the OW and AOW hopefully by the end of the year, then doing the other courses hopefully up to dive master next year. I feel this would be a way to couple my love of the water, adventure, and need for a job to support these obsessions.

 

[Gen San Chris]

Being a dive professional sounds good but it will cost you a lot of money to get to Instructor Status, then you have your anual fees etc! If you work with a big outfit then you have a chance of making money but its very difficult to even get back the money that the training cost you!
Good luck to you anyway, I still enjoy training people and make a bit of money at it!

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

try the search function!!!

 

[RJP]

I'm new to diving (did the DSD in the Philippines, getting my OW cert in September). I'm wondering, for those of you that have made scuba diving a career, how did you go about that? I plan on completing the OW and AOW hopefully by the end of the year, then doing the other courses hopefully up to dive master next year. I feel this would be a way to couple my love of the water, adventure, and need for a job to support these obsessions.

So, you did a DSD and now want to become an instructor?

Sort of like playing Miniature Golf once and deciding you want to join the PGA tour, no?



Seriously, get a few (hundred) dives under your belt first. Then see what you think.

 

[CamG]

Greetings asams and it is good to have you aboard! Diving is a intoxicating awesome activity that is like no other. I can appreciate your enthusiasm and love it. The best advice I would give you is to start now. Research, read, talk diving, get enrolled in a Open Water class and continue your education. The dive life is like no other and many of your questions about the future will be revealed as you go. I have been assisting with training for two and a half seasons and very happy to do so. I have learned many things about the business of diving and the training of divers. It can be very difficult at times and extremely rewarding to. I have not met a rich instructor yet and most of them have another job to supplement their income. But that is here in the US, it might be different in another location. I would worry about that after completing your DM.
Get your feet wet and observe the local dive operators to see where you fit in and could make a living. There are many different jobs in and around a dive operation.
Good luck and get that OW class going. Keep us posted on your progress.
CamG Keep diving....keep training....keep learning!

 

[tmacdiver]

Hello asams
Congrats on finishing the DSD event, welcome to fabulous world of scuba diving. If you do a search on scuba board you will find a lot of info on this exact topic. Most will suggest that you take it slow, dive as much as you can, find mentors or experienced dive buddies that can help you learn to be as comfortable as possible in all different kinds of under water environments. Most will suggest that you find a scuba instructor that you communicate well with and take some more classes, learning things like close to perfect buoyancy, and how to deal with diving at deeper depths. My opinion regarding diving as a profession is that you should strive to make it up to the dive master level, and then work as an assistant for a few years. This will help you decide if you really enjoy dealing with all the different kinds of personalities you will encounter both students and other dive professionals while teaching scuba. Sometimes, this will be a challenge and will make it hard to want to continue on. It is certainly true that those who teach scuba, or assist scuba instructors, do it because they love to teach, and love to dive, not because they are making a lot of money. These are just my thoughts, best of luck to you.

Dive safe, dive smart!
Tom

 

[El Orans]

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ba...eer-dive-instructor-realistic-idealistic.html

 

[asams]

So, you did a DSD and now want to become an instructor?

Sort of like playing Miniature Golf once and deciding you want to join the PGA tour, no?



Seriously, get a few (hundred) dives under your belt first. Then see what you think.

Yeah, bash the newbie, that's cool - I figured I would get a few of these posts. Here's my thinking: I'm not in it for the money, I would be in it to get dive and hopefully not have to shell out as much money. I also enjoy teaching (I'm a teacher) and deal with people really well. Maybe I shouldn't have said I wanted to make a career out of it, but in the Philippines the instructors I met seemed so relaxed and they were living the life just teaching scuba. I realize I'll definitely have to get plenty of dives under my belt and I'm gonna continue to work as I do this, but I don't want to look back on my life when I'm older and kick myself

 

[halocline]

So, you did a DSD and now want to become an instructor?

Sort of like playing Miniature Golf once and deciding you want to join the PGA tour, no?



Seriously, get a few (hundred) dives under your belt first. Then see what you think.

Good one, but it's not really fair to compare the level of competitiveness and dedication associated with making the PGA to that of becoming a dive instructor. Really the only thing between the OP and his goal of instructor is a few thousand bucks and a few months time. Like it or not, PADI is a pyramid scheme.

It's a nice sounding and very popular goal for some new divers, but the advice of just getting some real dive experience before pursuing 'professional' training is right on the money.

 

[cim72lando]

Hi asams,

Among the first steps you should take in your plans, is to join a dive club or be a part of a group of divers who are diving regularly. There is a lot of drop-off from this sport specially newbies for the simple reason they don't have anybody to dive with. A dive club will expose you to divers with different skills, experience, and hobbies within this hobby like spearfishing, photography, etc., and you can see where you will fit in the present and in the future. Yes, you need to take initial courses, at least to advance open water, but slow down from taking one course after another and just dive to accumulate experience, hone in your own skills, and as you said "to get plenty of dives under your belt". Dive resorts or dive shops (the good ones anyway) do not hire inexperienced divers who are willing to work in exchange for free dives. So to be "accepted" by the resort/shop owners, you have to show you are an asset rather than a liability. This means you have to spend your own money doing (and properly recording) hundreds of dives. I hope this helps.