What constitutes professionalism?

[MXGratefulDiver]

Just before the Dive Training Philosophy thread disappeared, Dumpster Diver questioned my professionalism because I said I don't teach for the money. Now, I'm not questioning his right to that opinion, because I sorta understand where he's coming from.

But it brings up an interesting topic all its own ... what constitutes professionalism in scuba training? Does one truly measure it by the amount one earns doing it? Or is there some other quality by which it's defined ... expertise, a self-imposed standard of care toward your students, a certain style or manner of behavior that commands respect ... what is it?

To my concern, it's difficult to consider a lot of scuba instructors as professional when the qualifications for the job are so dismally low. I mean, a person can, literally, be teaching scuba with just a handful of classes and little to no practical experience. Would you trust your car to an auto mechanic who, six months earlier had never picked up a wrench or who perhaps hadn't actually driven one? Would you take skiing lessons from someone who was barely themselves out of the snowplow?

How professional is the scuba instructor who got his certification after spending several days at the quarry, doing multiple dives a day to get in the requisite 100 dives? How professional is the instructor who cannot even keep his own fins off the bottom, much less teach someone else how it's done? Or who has so little understanding of what he's supposed to be teaching that he has to rely on a little slate that he got from his agency? How professional is the instructor who anchors his students firmly to the bottom so they don't have to worry about actually DIVING while they're demonstrating mask clear and reg recovery?

I mean ... is it really all about the money? What say you? What do you see in an instructor that causes you to think of him or her as a dive professional?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Sas]

I mean ... is it really all about the money? What say you? What do you see in an instructor that causes you to think of him or her as a dive professional?

No I don't see it as anything to do with money. My favourite instructor is a volunteer instructor (in the club I'm in where it's all volunteer) so only gets costs covered (like boat trips) and I think out of all of the instructors I've had he puts the most effort into being an instructor as he answers millions of questions from me about all aspects of diving, not just the coursework as well as sends me a lot of interesting things about diving and also has much higher standards for passing than most of the other instructors I've had (where I've pretty much just bought a card rather than earned it). And he's the only one I have dived with as a buddy not a student now and then.

So yea to me I see professional instructors as ones who have a lot of experience* in many different environments, who make you earn a card, not buy one, and who go above and beyond course standards, as most seem to be pretty low. And it helps if they dive with you for fun as well but that's just a bonus, not something I expect from instructors.

*I know it is difficult to put an exact number on what constitutes enough dives logged, but I would be unlikely to consider an instructor with <500 dives or one that didn't do similar diving to what I am aspiring to.

 

[boulderjohn]

Professional is one of those words that has several meanings, and people can talk past each other by arguing from different starting points.

In one strict definition, a professional is someone who earns money doing what he or she is doing. That is a simple, foolproof definition that means zero in the context of your question.

Professionalism can also mean something that has nothing to do with earning money. It usually refers to a high level of competence and, most especially, an attitude of seeking to do the best possible job. Someone who is professional is above pettiness, vindictiveness, and ego tripping. A professional has high ethical standards.

From what I have gathered about you from your participation in ScubaBoard, I would expect to find you to be among the most professional of instructors, regardless of any financial perspective.

 

[cool_hardware52]

Professional is one of those words that has several meanings, and people can talk past each other by arguing from different starting points.

In one strict definition, a professional is someone who earns money doing what he or she is doing.

I agree with your definition, but if you expand it to include those worthy of being paid, whether or not money changes hands, the unpaid volunteer is covered.

For Bob the "consideration" he receives in exchange for his services is the satisfaction of giving back to the community.

Hard to price, but of great value none the less.

Tobin

 

[LeadTurn_SD]

...I mean ... is it really all about the money? What say you? What do you see in an instructor that causes you to think of him or her as a dive professional?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

It shouldn't be about the money, and I have trouble believing that there are instructors that make enough money from just teaching for it to actually be about the money...

The points you make are valid.

Having the desire to be the instructor does not always equal the aptitude to be an instructor. Being certified does always mean one is qualified.

There are often rants about declining quality of OW scuba divers, declining quality of instruction, lowered standards... but my feeling is that it starts and ends with the professionalism of the instructor. And I would define professionalism the same way Bob does.

It ain't the money; its the attitude, depth of experience, and ability to effectively teach that makes an instructor a professional.

Best wishes.

 

[TSandM]

Being a professional means holding yourself to a significant set of standards.

Being professional means having a mastery of your subject material. It means being on time and organized, and having thought through what you are going to do before you do it. It means maintaining a pleasant and disciplined demeanor even when you are frustrated or irritated, unless changing that demeanor is what you deem best to motivate or inspire the student. It means having the self-confidence to admit when you don't know something, and making the effort to find the answer for the student if it can be found. It means disciplining yourself to demonstrate the behaviors you want the students to learn (buddy checks, anybody?) and that also includes communicating to the students that your OWN education is never-ending. It means taking responsibility for anything that goes wrong, even if it wasn't through your own actions, because the class is ostensibly under your control. It means soliciting feedback from your students and then seriously considering that feedback and making appropriate changes as a result of it. It means making the effort to improve yourself in any area where you don't feel you are the best role model.

It has nothing whatsoever to do with how much you charge, or even if you charge.

 

[tstormdiver]

Great topic discussion:cool2:. I generally agree with the others opinions.

Just before the Dive Training Philosophy thread disappeared, Dumpster Diver questioned my professionalism because I said I don't teach for the money. Now, I'm not questioning his right to that opinion, because I sorta understand where he's coming from.

But it brings up an interesting topic all its own ... what constitutes professionalism in scuba training? Does one truly measure it by the amount one earns doing it? Or is there some other quality by which it's defined ... expertise, a self-imposed standard of care toward your students, a certain style or manner of behavior that commands respect ... what is it?

I think the others have quite eloquently put it forth. Yes, the exchange of money is the actual definition of a professional by the dictionary. But it is not the money that defines professionalism it is the attitude & demeanor of the dive leader & how it is transferred to the student. I say dive leader because professionalism can also extend to DM's, Dive Cons, & Assistant Instructors, not just & entirely to the Instructors. I hate to say it, but look at sports. There are certainly many out there who are professional sports players, but lack any semblance of professionalism in their demeanor.

To my concern, it's difficult to consider a lot of scuba instructors as professional when the qualifications for the job are so dismally low. I mean, a person can, literally, be teaching scuba with just a handful of classes and little to no practical experience. Would you trust your car to an auto mechanic who, six months earlier had never picked up a wrench or who perhaps hadn't actually driven one? Would you take skiing lessons from someone who was barely themselves out of the snowplow?

The only thing I worry about this statement is,... what about the newer instructor, I'm talking about those instructors fresh out of their course. I am truly blessed to have been trained by an IT/IC who actually cares that he turns out excellent instructors, who in turn, turn out excellent students. Not saying there aren't others, as we all know, there are those who do not teach for necessarily the best quality. I instruct under him, so he constantly monitors me & the quality of my teaching & gives me constant feed back & suggestions to further improve. We have to start somewhere (inexperience). I was also fortunate to be able to intern the better part of a year with a well seasoned instructor couple to gain experience. Not everyone has that option. I am not saying in any manner that I am yet all that experienced, but I'm learning & adapting to what I'm learning. When an instructor "thinks" they learned all there is to learn or that they do not need to learn any more,... then it is probably time for them to hang up their "instructor hat" & leave the profession. Sometimes the knowledge that you've taught your students well, far exceeds the benefit of payment of services.

How professional is the scuba instructor who got his certification after spending several days at the quarry, doing multiple dives a day to get in the requisite 100 dives? How professional is the instructor who cannot even keep his own fins off the bottom, much less teach someone else how it's done? Or who has so little understanding of what he's supposed to be teaching that he has to rely on a little slate that he got from his agency? How professional is the instructor who anchors his students firmly to the bottom so they don't have to worry about actually DIVING while they're demonstrating mask clear and reg recovery?

This series of question has a lot of variables. Are you talking about the instructor who just goes to the quarry & does multiple "bounce dives" (15ft for 15 min) just to get his count up, with no type of skills or practice? Or how about the Instructor who does multiple dives, but diligently practices his skills & hones them to a razor's edge? As for buoyancy control & actual real world demonstration of techniques, I can see a new instructor maybe not having everything absolutely 100%, but they should be very close at the time the instructor course ends & working on perfecting those skills which are weak until they are perfected. Our shop's IT/IC actually made all the instructors in the shop go through a cavern course at no charge by him. He saw that buoyancy control & critical thinking behavior of some the instructors under him was not where he wanted it to be whether through inexperience, at times laziness or carelessness. He made everyone go through it so as not to single any one person(s) out. From what I've seen, it made a huge difference in the quality of teaching (& that's from a newer instructor who's waaaay down on the totem pole). I have been sitting through an on- going instructor class right now. There are 3 students, all at the Dive Con level. 1 is doing very well & will probably make it. The other 2 are struggling immensely. One has the knowledge & skills, but doesn't have any confidence in himself to convey them. The last has absolutely no concept of the physics of diving or even how to teach dive tables. It raised a few eyebrows when one of the first things he said when doing his classroom presentation on dive tables was, " I don't remember anything about tables because I haven't done them since Open Water". Unfortunately his diving skills really aren't that much more than those of an ordinary OW diver.

I mean ... is it really all about the money? What say you? What do you see in an instructor that causes you to think of him or her as a dive professional?
... Bob (Grateful Diver)

It is not just about the money in my opinion. Yes, I do get paid a small amount for what I do, but there are still things I do that I do not charge for. One of my favorite things to do is the "try Scuba" session. Our shop offers it free, meaning the Instructors & Dive Cons performing the service do not get paid. It is one of my favorites because I get to introduce someone to the world of being able to breathe underwater. The looks on people's faces when they start to realize the potentials that can come from learning this sport is immeasurable. I also take great satisfaction at working with students who need some extra 1 on 1 attention, as long as the student's motives are the right ones (they are doing it for themselves, not to please another). The satisfaction that comes from mentoring new divers or just guiding a store customer around the local quarry is well beyond the scope of any payment I could receive. I do not charge for doing any of these services. In fact, to me, I'm am paying back some of the debt I owe to a sport that has given me so much pleasure. Does that make me a "non- professional"? Perhaps in the eyes of of some who want to look at the literal translation. What matters most to me in this is not if I am a literal professional, but that I let my professionalism shine through.

 

[burna]

I was once told (in another industry) that I ought to wear a neck tie to show people I was a 'professional'.

I laughed at him so hard I think a little bit of wee came out!!

That industry was not too dissimilar to diving in a lot of respects.

For me, nothing makes me more cynical of an organisation than to have 'instructors', who don't really have that much experience themselves, teaching the noobies how to be professional. It's not until later on, when you've gained a lot of experience yourself, that you realise two significant things.

1. Just when you thought you knew it all you realise you know nothing and are now just really starting to learn, then you wonder how you managed to survive this long. :shocked2:

2. Those gurus whom you thought at the time as being all knowledgeable really didn't know much at all. All those pearls of wisdom they gave you, you start to wonder about and then realise it was just stuff they regurgitated after hearing about it from someone else and didn't really understand the whys themselves.

If I am looking for instruction (in anything) these days, I gravitate to those who have been around long enough to actually have experience and (for me) someone who is instructing because they love it rather than they are getting paid for it, would be much more appealing.

My 2 cents.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Professionalism is much different than being a professional. Tammy brought up athletes. they may be pros but the last one who to me demonstarted true professionalism on and off the field, court, course etc died bringing aid to Nicarauga back ib the 70's. that was Roberto Clemente.

As to what constitutes it among instructors I also agree it has nothing to do with money. Making money is nice but when it's done at the expense of student competence, skill, education, and safety it simply becomes greed. I finished up negotiating the first stage of a contract yesterday that is going to result in me getting anywhere from 80-120 kids to train in snorkeling and skin diving between now and the fall. Along with that will be the opportunity to get their parents, friends, siblings, etc involved. Not only with those activities but also expose them to scuba.

I'm making enough to cover my expenses and a little more. What I'm also gaining is the opportunity to demonstrate my idea of professionalism by creating a fun, safe, and educational program that the organizers feel has the opportunity to change the life of at least one person. I think that's a bit of dreaming on their part but isn;t that where many great things start? With a dream. In any case in our discussions it came up as to just how busy did I want to be, how big of a class would be best, and how much time would each one get.

My answer is that all of that would depend on the students themselves but I would like enough time, space, and numbers to insure that every one gets the opportunity to learn something meaningful and have fun. So we decided on classroom and pool sizes that will allow that. this meant instead of me doing 2 sessions with each group it will mean 3 or perhaps 4. I could make more money doing 2 as it would mean less travel, gas, and time but it would also shortchange the kids. Not worth it to me.

In this business a professional looks at what the students will look like at the end of his/her class and decide if those are the people he would want to advertise by example his/her training and be satisfied with that representation. I don;t want a diver tearing up the bottom, or snorkeler flailing around like a wounded fish as the representation of my training and skills. I want someone to look at them and say that is the kind of training I want.

If I were to hit the lottery tonite I'd teach for free just to do it. Unfortunately I need to pay insurance, dues, maintain gear etc. So until then I'll do what I do and worry about the example I set with my students abilities as opposed to how rich I can get off of them.

 

[Doc]

Professional &#8800; Professionalism

Now, I'm not questioning his right to that opinion, because I sorta understand where he's coming from.

But it brings up an interesting topic all its own ... what constitutes professionalism in scuba training?

Just like your "now sorta understanding where he's coming from"....

Professionalism? You'll know it when you see it.