I've talked to a few people who've become DMs or instructors and have been surprised at the costs involved. It seems that I can only get a straight answer about the course fees. I have a few questions about the costs of being a working DM/Instructor:
What are the yearly dues for the various agencies? My web search found $90/$145 for NAUI DM/Instructor and $100/$190 for PADI. Are SDI/SEI/etc similar? Do you have to pay for both DM and Instructor if you're rated as an instructor but also wish to work as a DM?
It looks like insurance is in the range of $300/$500 for DM/Instructor. Will boats/shops cover you under their insurance or is this your responsibility? I assume this varies a bit with location.
What costs are involved with teaching classes not through an LDS? Rental of a classroom, pool, etc? I assume that the costs in renting gear would be prohibitive, so you'd need to purchase and maintain a few sets of gear and tanks as well? Is there additional insurance involved in this?
I'm basically curious if it's possible to break even on teaching or DMing as a hobby. It seems that there are people on SB that do casual weekend teaching, but it seems that if you're only certifying a few divers, or DMing occasionally, you'd actually be losing money.
What are the yearly dues for the various agencies? My web search found $90/$145 for NAUI DM/Instructor and $100/$190 for PADI. Are SDI/SEI/etc similar? Do you have to pay for both DM and Instructor if you're rated as an instructor but also wish to work as a DM?
It looks like insurance is in the range of $300/$500 for DM/Instructor. Will boats/shops cover you under their insurance or is this your responsibility? I assume this varies a bit with location.
What costs are involved with teaching classes not through an LDS? Rental of a classroom, pool, etc? I assume that the costs in renting gear would be prohibitive, so you'd need to purchase and maintain a few sets of gear and tanks as well? Is there additional insurance involved in this?
I'm basically curious if it's possible to break even on teaching or DMing as a hobby. It seems that there are people on SB that do casual weekend teaching, but it seems that if you're only certifying a few divers, or DMing occasionally, you'd actually be losing money.