Why can't you make a living as an Instructor?

[k ellis]

I do agree I have seen some weekend warriors who should not have become instructors. But I have also see instructores who have dove 30 plus years who I would never trust to teach anything. I honestly believe that despite the fact the market is over saturated with instructors I am pleased so many people take the sport seriously enough to want to be a part of other peoples learning experience. Despite the industry allowing the standards to go lax I still think they are doing an awesome job making the sport available to everyone.

I really see little that should be changed other then maybe require 200 dives versus 100 dives.

 

[TMHeimer]

Doriadiver11, I too admit I haven't read this thread except recent posts, but I tend to agree with much of what you say. My experience as a musician is about the same as yours in diving. Like dive instructors, there are too many musicians out there trying to make it a living. Difference may be that (almost) all of these guys are, in fact, great players, as possibly in contrast to dive instructors. Dive pros working for peanuts ("to support my hobby") has been a pet peeve with me. I have yet to get any DM work, so I'm not in your league to really comment. This subject has been recently discussed on Going Pro. Another part of the comparison may be that diving, like music, is something "fun". "Oh, you play clarinet--what a great hobby". I guess the case with most jobs/careers in this world is that you're not supposed to enjoy doing them, especially if you make big bucks. That put's the "fun" jobs in a separate place in the way others view them

 

[k ellis]

Doriadiver11, I too admit I haven't read this thread except recent posts, but I tend to agree with much of what you say. My experience as a musician is about the same as yours in diving. Like dive instructors, there are too many musicians out there trying to make it a living. Difference may be that (almost) all of these guys are, in fact, great players, as possibly in contrast to dive instructors. Dive pros working for peanuts ("to support my hobby") has been a pet peeve with me. I have yet to get any DM work, so I'm not in your league to really comment. This subject has been recently discussed on Going Pro. Another part of the comparison may be that diving, like music, is something "fun". "Oh, you play clarinet--what a great hobby". I guess the case with most jobs/careers in this world is that you're not supposed to enjoy doing them, especially if you make big bucks. That put's the "fun" jobs in a separate place in the way others view them

Honestly the over saturation is not just in scuba diving or musicians. It appears to be every profession out there is becoming over populated with people wanting to make it a living. Auto Mechanics are a dime a dozen, musicians are a dime a dozen, fitness trainers are a dime a dozen and the list goes on indefinately. We all want to make money doing what we love but as I said earlier in my post there is a tendancy to over value ourselves and our products and because of that dont realize the scope of our targeted clientel. Go to say Panama City Florida for example and see how many dive shops there are in the area. This is a great thing for the divers who visit the area as there are more then a handful to choose from. But if one instructor thinks hes worth 70 dollars an hour will he get it if the next guy down the road charges 50 dollars per hour?

What people fail to recognize is that no matter how experienced they are or are not they are only worth what their clients are willing to pay. I feel I am worth $100.00 per hour in my line of work however I would be looking for a long time probably till the day I die to get anyone to pay that. So the sad truth is I have to settle for what I make and that is the real value of my time until I convince people I am worth more.

I am no college graduate nor am I any one who has any specialized training outside of law enforcement but what I can tell you is America is changing from the ways of the past. The days when people demanded large salaries and received them are coming to a close as companies are pinching closer and closer to either paying minimum wages or simply shutting their doors here and shipping jobs over seas. I honestly think people should be looking at adjusting to the possibility they may have to live on minum wage and be prepared should the worst come to pass rather then living it up now and mocking others for not making huge sums of money.

My intent here is not to argue or debate this topic but simply state my opinion. I am proud of the agencies for breaking scuba down to be affordable. Unlike so many people in this world I realize I am not a member of the elite wealthy people but I do like to dive and I enjoy diving. I am thankful it was made affordable as I would not afford an over priced fee for it. I am thankful that the standards are easy to get a ccard as I could not swim when I started. Had I not became a diver I would not have learned to swim. See its not about what I can boast that I deserve a large wealth in. I am proud that I can share my experiences with other divers. I am proud of the huge investment I have made in learning to dive and learning to swim. I am proud that I have spent much of my time these last couple of years and vast sums of my resources into being who I am.

I am a true professional at what I do (In my opinion) because I am courteous to those who want to dive. I inspire people to want to dive through my welcoming them in to the classes. I dont tell people they cant dive because they live paycheck to paycheck I tell them they can do it and help show them plans that help them obtain their goal. A professional is not someone who makes a ton of money. A professional is someone that sees peoples hardships and instead of bashing them they help them over come those hardships and achieve what they came to you for.

These are only my opinions guys and there is no need to really debate them for I am a believer in people. I am a believer that no man should be turned away because of their finacial situation. I too want to make money in life but I want to do it in a way I can look back and be proud of the memories I have made. Not the hate I left in my wake.

 

[kierentec]

well, that was an interesting read.
I may not have been diving since the first regulator was forged. but I consider myself to know a fair bit about the sport/industry. it has been my sole income for the past 3 1/2 years, and I'm surviving just damn fine. now, I dont have cable, a new car, fancy clothes or go out to dinner 5 nights a week; but I do have over 15 grand worth of dive kit and a rebreather on its way, and I have single handedly brought technical training to the virgin islands.
I decided to go off the grid and become an instructor in 2008. I was OW certified with 12 dives logged, and I was going to be a PROFESSIONAL scuba diver! in 3 months I went from OW in Wisconsin to OWSI in St Croix. 3 1/2 years later and I've held the same job, gotten my captains license, traveled the caribbean, gotten tec certified, became a tec instructor, and built a tec program from the ground up out of my own pocket. all on the near minimum wage income of a dive pro/captain.
now, I haven't been in this business for 30+ years (I'm not that old), but I have a decent feeling of whether it's possible to make a living doing it. has the industry been saturated with dumb kids like me that don't know their ass from a hole in the ground and will likely kill more people than they certify? maybe. but if you're on holiday and up for a RECREATIONAL activity, who would you rather experience it with? the kid with the ear to ear grin or the cranky old bastard that won't shut up about how much he has accomplished and "the good 'ol days" when you had to tread water for 12 hours holding a tank over your head before anybody would let you touch a regulator? I know who I would pick. Just because one has been doing it longer than the other doesn't mean he's more in touch with what the sport is all about (yes, it is a sport). so if someone is really that fed up with the industry, then honestly, we're better off that they are retired. nobody likes having the old whiny guy on the boat.



---
I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=17.744797,-64.705621

 

[TMHeimer]

(yes, it is a sport).

Disagree. A sport involves some sort of competition. IMO it is an activity that can be strenuous or not.

 

[TMHeimer]

k, I also agree with much of what you say (making me a wuss perhaps). Maybe Instructor course should require 200 dives. They changed DM entry to 40 from 20. Both seem way too few. Maybe my sympathizing with Doriadiver11 is because he speaks of how things should be. Oversaturation: Has been the case with musicians for many decades. Scuba instructors (in PCB): maybe a union would keep the price at $70 instead of $50--maybe not. Only worth what clients will pay--for sure--what will Madonna make for the half time show Sunday? America changing--yes. In the mid '80s people who worked their entire lives were being phased out by the tech. revolution. Now my step daughter beats the bushes to find work in the computer world despite having a degree. Minimum wage for all of us eventually--possibly, with the world becoming one economy and integrated markets. "I wouldn't want to be starting out in life nowadays"--oh wait, that's what they said in 1972 when I was 18. Only thing I really question is your being a pro because you're courteous to those wanting to dive. "Professional" is a word I kind of dislike. One meaning is someone who gets paid for what they do and usually makes a living at it. Another "stereotype" is Doctor, Lawyer, Dentist...people doing good things (lawyer?) and getting pretty big bucks. Another definition is those with a degree. During my career teaching we were called professionals--I guess that means people with college degrees working as unionized public servants making half what some of the local miners make. My brother-in-law, an engineer who didn't finish college worked for the mine and made over 100K. So in the scheme of things, where does that put a dive instructor? Oh, I'm not sure about your not wanting to turn away anyone because of their financial situation. We do that all the time in out Western World. That it how businesses grow. Not sure if it's right or not, but that's capitalism (we know what the alternative is--er was). To further play devil's advocate--If you were a shop owner and someone could only afford half the OW fee (or couldn't afford any amount), am I safe to assume you would turn them away? It's a pandora's box these days. I guess all we can do is hope the Giants win....(we watch despite the outrageous money they make--but as you say, they get what the market will bear).

 

[Scubagolf]

People in the "leisure" activities have never made a substantial living unless either (1)they became a media level star, or (2) they became successful from building a substantial business, not just giving lessons or teaching for an hourly fee. Golf pro (teacher), tennis instructor, fitness guru, you name it. Same with scuba instructors, never mind DMs who don't really get paid.

 

[TMHeimer]

People in the "leisure" activities have never made a substantial living unless either (1)they became a media level star, or (2) they became successful from building a substantial business, not just giving lessons or teaching for an hourly fee. Golf pro (teacher), tennis instructor, fitness guru, you name it. Same with scuba instructors, never mind DMs who don't really get paid.

Very good point. I suppose there are some who manage to make a name for themselves or find some sort of niche, but that's the way it is. Too bad, as this supports my thought that a majority of people really don't like the jobs they have.

 

[Doriadiver11]

Actually, Doriadiver11, Padi requires at least 60 logged dives for divemaster and at least 100 logged dives to take the instructor evaluation. I don't think its as bad as you make it seem. There are good and bad instructors in every activity. It doesn't take thousands of dives to master and instruct basic recreational skills.

You are not the only person with advanced degrees who posts here. They don't make you a better diver or instructor.

I'm quire sure that I'm not the only person here with a graduate level education....I certainly hope not. This discussion wasn’t intended to be about qualifications or experience related to instructing, it was about the economics of instructing and why it is virtually impossible to earn a living as an instructor. But since you digress; let me beg to differ with your statement. Indeed……an advanced education, along with REAL experience, knowledge, and skills certainly DO make one a better instructor. Are you suggesting that someone who LACKS in these aforementioned attributes would make a better instructor than one who actually has them ? That is ludicrous.

Furthermore, you mention proudly that PADI requires someone to have logged 100 dives before they can become “qualified” as an instructor.

I don’t consider someone with 100 dives as being highly experienced…..far from it. And it depends on the kind of diving of which that 100 dives consisted. Was it really 100 dives….or was it 1 Dive conducted 100 times ? PADI evidently never cared much about that, and unfortunately, all of the other training agencies have followed suit. I know quite a few “instructors” who have made no more than 150 dives all in the same quarry, and who have never been on a boat. I don’t consider them to be terribly knowledgeable.

Until the early 1980s, NAUI and YMCA required individuals to have logged AT LEAST 250 dives, AFTER attaining the Advanced Diver certification and specialties in Rescue, and Night diving, in addition to having earned certification from Red Cross as a professionally certified Lifeguard (then itself a 2-week training course); along with advanced first aid and CPR; all as prerequisites to participating in an ITC (instructor training course). These prerequisites are no longer required. In addition, they required that some quantity of those logged dives were OCEAN dives, with several being at night, low visibility, etc. ITC’s then would last at least 6 weeks, (8 weeks if you had weekends off), and during which one could expect to do another 50 or so dives in rather adverse conditions during the ITC. Today, it’s no longer called “Instructor Training”……..it is instead called an IQC (Instructor Qualification Course). Qualifying someone, and Training someone, are two very different things. These IQC’s now last about 7 or 8 days, and a participant is unlikely to do more than 10 dives during that time, half of them likely in a swimming pool. Instructors aren’t TRAINED any longer….they are simply “validated” in accordance with a set of standards that are nothing compared to what they were 2 decades ago. 100 dives ?? So What ? I certainly wouldn’t allow someone with that level of education, experience, and “training” teach my child, my wife, or anyone I care about how to dive.

My point from my earlier “diatribe” (as another poster so eloquently called my comments), were simply to state the FACTS, which have led to the current BROKEN economic model that is dive instructing, in that the training agencies have intentionally DUMBED DOWN, ALL of their training standards at every level, including instructor training; so that today ANYBODY who can inhale, exhale, and write a check for the fee, can get an instructor rating; so there are simply WAY TOO MANY INSTRUCTORS. I’m sorry if my telling an UNPOPULAR TRUTH “hurts your feelings”, but MOST (that means more than 50%) of instructors and dive-masters who are certified nowadays are marginally competent at best, and I wouldn’t hire them to clean my boat hull. And I’ll say it again…. 100 dives logged, does not necessarily make someone competent to be an instructor, charged with the health, well being, and safety of people venturing underwater on compressed air. In accordance with your previous statement, I would be particularly suspicious of such an in-experienced instructor who also lacks formal education.

Here’s a REAL LIFE story for you to reinforce my point: Several years ago, I went on a “fun” charter dive to the artificial reef - Oriskany off Pensacola, FL. Aboard the dive boat was a newly minted PADI instructor in his early 30s. He was a nice enough guy, so after later discussion with him I learned that he had logged all of 115 dives (fitting exactly the category of “instructor” you mentioned). He had his first 4 students with him on our trip, a family who were earning their “advanced open water” certs. The 16 year-old daughter was the one with the least experience, so our heroic “instructor” made her his buddy for their “training dive”. She was equipped with a steel 100 tank, while our highly “qualified” PADI instructor (twice her size) dove an AL-80. His poor choices in training sites and equipment notwithstanding; he further allowed this girl to conduct the dive wearing just a bikini. Anyone care to comment on the value of instructors having REAL OFFSHORE EXPERIENCE here?

Most of the rest of this story I learned from the “instructor” himself, since I only observed them near the end of their dive…..so I’m NOT making this up. While diving around the upper structure of the wreck at a depth of about 75 feet, the so-called “instructor” realized he was about to run out of gas. He immediately began taking his “student” up the mooring line (rather quickly I might add) and only made it to about the 50 foot level before he sucked his last breath from his tank. She was evidently as poorly trained as he was, and lacking a proper pre-dive briefing, she didn’t understand his hand signals to share air. He began groping for her octopus, but being a bikini-clad teenager she was taken aback assuming he was attempting instead to fondle her nubile breasts……..so she pushed him away. Bear in mind that the current at Oriskany on the mooring line on this day was just over 1.5 kt., which would blow even Michael Phelps off the mooring line, so if either of them had let go of the mooring…..it’s bye bye Charlie……25 miles off shore. In a bikini, how long do you think she’d last ? Can you spell HYPOTHERMIA ? Anyway……Desperate, ---- our highly-experienced 115-logged dives –“ instructor” ---- grabbed her again and finally managed to wrest from her the octopus which was UNDER her waist strap, and he finally was able to start taking air. It was at this point that I came upon them during my own ascent, and saw wide-eyed panic in both of their eyes, and just that moment the girl let go and got blown off of the mooring line and started waving like a flag in the wind, suspended by the octopus regulator hose, whose second stage end was clenched in the teeth of our “highly qualified” instructor with his 115 logged dives…..…..who then couldn’t even manage to rope her back in by the hose of the reg since he couldn’t let go of the mooring lest they both be lost in the current. I wound up pulling her back to the mooring line so she could grab on for the rest of their safety stop. He is extremely fortunate that the mouthpiece of the regulator didn’t pop off of its spout, or he might have drowned, and she would have gone drifting out to sea, 25 miles off-shore in nothing but a bikini, with a half-boat load of divers still on the bottom. I am NOT MAKING THIS UP, or EMBELLISHING any detail THIS STORY ONE BIT.

Fortunately, they managed to then regain their composure, calm down, and then make their way to the 15-foot safety stop on their own accord. This could have ended VERY BADLY.

To get back on topic…..do you REALLY think that is in the best interests of the future of this sport, to continue diminishing the standards of training and qualification; JUST so Diving can be CHEAP and Affordable for ANYONE ? Why should it be CHEAP and as you say…. “affordable” for anyone ? Why should REAL instructors accept being paid NOTHING to provide a quality and SAFE standard of training? These are only rhetorical questions.

I am simply saying what NEEDS TO BE SAID, even it if is an unpopular TRUTH. Diving Training SHOULD NOT be CHEAP, and Instructors should start having a little self-respect and STOP giving away their skills and training for nothing like a bunch of cheap hookers . As other people have stated in this thread……Golf and Tennis pros earn a lot more than SCUBA instructors, and if you were paying attention to the story above… THIS IS NOT GOLF, or TENNIS, OR BOWLING. People DO DIE and are seriously injured while Diving. Have you yourself ever witnessed a fatal diving accident ? I have. It is NOT pretty. And Trivializing the risks, DUMBING down the training, and MAKING IT CHEAP, is the WORST thing that has happened to this sport in its entire history.

The training agency executives, and live-aboard dive travel industry people have made their careers out of trivializing the risks associated with diving, and now they’re even “certifying” 10-year olds. Would any of you REALLY put your young 10 year old child under the care and authority of an under paid, under qualified, un-professional, and maybe even UN - EDUCATED so-called “instructor” ? ….. all in the name of “making diving affordable for everyone” and getting as many people as possible into this sport.

Just because EVERYBODY WANTS to call themselves a scuba instructor….doesn’t mean that just ANYBODY should actually be one.

 

[herbdb]

I'm quire sure that I'm not the only person here with a graduate level education....I certainly hope not. This discussion wasn’t intended to be about qualifications or experience related to instructing, it was about the economics of instructing and why it is virtually impossible to earn a living as an instructor. But since you digress; ​​(You brought YOUR education into the discussion presumably to show how PROFESSIONAL you are ) let me beg to differ with your statement. Indeed……an advanced education, along with REAL experience, knowledge, and skills certainly DO make one a better instructor. Are you suggesting that someone who LACKS in these aforementioned attributes would make a better instructor than one who actually has them ? That is ludicrous. ​​(Likewise having these things does not a good instructor make. I have had more than one brilliant, experienced professor who was an awful teacher)

Furthermore, you mention proudly that PADI requires someone to have logged 100 dives before they can become “qualified” as an instructor. ​​Proudly? I was merely correcting your assertion that someone could become an instructor with fewer dives. In the context of your response to a poster new to diving, you made a statement that they were part of the problem and with another 20 dives would be an instructor.)

I don’t consider someone with 100 dives as being highly experienced…..far from it. And it depends on the kind of diving of which that 100 dives consisted. Was it really 100 dives….or was it 1 Dive conducted 100 times ? PADI evidently never cared much about that, and unfortunately, all of the other training agencies have followed suit. I know quite a few “instructors” who have made no more than 150 dives all in the same quarry, and who have never been on a boat. I don’t consider them to be terribly knowledgeable. ​​Nor do I consider them BROADLY experienced. The number of dives is less important than the quality, but how can you quantify it?)

Until the early 1980s, NAUI and YMCA required individuals to have logged AT LEAST 250 dives, AFTER attaining the Advanced Diver certification and specialties in Rescue, and Night diving, in addition to having earned certification from Red Cross as a professionally certified Lifeguard (then itself a 2-week training course); along with advanced first aid and CPR; all as prerequisites to participating in an ITC (instructor training course). These prerequisites are no longer required. In addition, they required that some quantity of those logged dives were OCEAN dives, with several being at night, low visibility, etc. ITC’s then would last at least 6 weeks, (8 weeks if you had weekends off), and during which one could expect to do another 50 or so dives in rather adverse conditions during the ITC. Today, it’s no longer called “Instructor Training”……..it is instead called an IQC (Instructor Qualification Course). Qualifying someone, and Training someone, are two very different things. These IQC’s now last about 7 or 8 days, and a participant is unlikely to do more than 10 dives during that time, half of them likely in a swimming pool. Instructors aren’t TRAINED any longer….they are simply “validated” in accordance with a set of standards that are nothing compared to what they were 2 decades ago. 100 dives ?? So What ? I certainly wouldn’t allow someone with that level of education, experience, and “training” teach my child, my wife, or anyone I care about how to dive.
​​(the Instructor training is conducted by a Course Director who is charged with preparing the instructor candidate for evaluation. The actual qualification is done by a PADI evaluator.)
My point from my earlier “diatribe” (as another poster so eloquently called my comments), were simply to state the FACTS, which have led to the current BROKEN economic model that is dive instructing, in that the training agencies have intentionally DUMBED DOWN, ALL of their training standards at every level, including instructor training; so that today ANYBODY who can inhale, exhale, and write a check for the fee, can get an instructor rating; so there are simply WAY TOO MANY INSTRUCTORS. I’m sorry if my telling an UNPOPULAR TRUTH “hurts your feelings”, ​​No hurt feelings, I am not an instructor and don't intend to become one. I just found your attitude patronizing and insulting to the dedicated, enthusiastic instructors I have met in my diving.) but MOST (that means more than 50%) of instructors and dive-masters who are certified nowadays are marginally competent at best, and I wouldn’t hire them to clean my boat hull. And I’ll say it again…. 100 dives logged, does not necessarily make someone competent to be an instructor, charged with the health, well being, and safety of people venturing underwater on compressed air. In accordance with your previous statement, I would be particularly suspicious of such an in-experienced instructor who also lacks formal education.

Here’s a REAL LIFE story for you to reinforce my point: Several years ago, I went on a “fun” charter dive to the artificial reef - Oriskany off Pensacola, FL. Aboard the dive boat was a newly minted PADI instructor in his early 30s. He was a nice enough guy, so after later discussion with him I learned that he had logged all of 115 dives (fitting exactly the category of “instructor” you mentioned). He had his first 4 students with him on our trip, a family who were earning their “advanced open water” certs. The 16 year-old daughter was the one with the least experience, so our heroic “instructor” made her his buddy for their “training dive”. She was equipped with a steel 100 tank, while our highly “qualified” PADI instructor (twice her size) dove an AL-80. His poor choices in training sites and equipment notwithstanding; he further allowed this girl to conduct the dive wearing just a bikini. Anyone care to comment on the value of instructors having REAL OFFSHORE EXPERIENCE here?

Most of the rest of this story I learned from the “instructor” himself, since I only observed them near the end of their dive…..so I’m NOT making this up. While diving around the upper structure of the wreck at a depth of about 75 feet, the so-called “instructor” realized he was about to run out of gas. He immediately began taking his “student” up the mooring line (rather quickly I might add) and only made it to about the 50 foot level before he sucked his last breath from his tank. She was evidently as poorly trained as he was, and lacking a proper pre-dive briefing, she didn’t understand his hand signals to share air. He began groping for her octopus, but being a bikini-clad teenager she was taken aback assuming he was attempting instead to fondle her nubile breasts……..so she pushed him away. Bear in mind that the current at Oriskany on the mooring line on this day was just over 1.5 kt., which would blow even Michael Phelps off the mooring line, so if either of them had let go of the mooring…..it’s bye bye Charlie……25 miles off shore. In a bikini, how long do you think she’d last ? Can you spell HYPOTHERMIA ? Anyway……Desperate, ---- our highly-experienced 115-logged dives –“ instructor” ---- grabbed her again and finally managed to wrest from her the octopus which was UNDER her waist strap, and he finally was able to start taking air. It was at this point that I came upon them during my own ascent, and saw wide-eyed panic in both of their eyes, and just that moment the girl let go and got blown off of the mooring line and started waving like a flag in the wind, suspended by the octopus regulator hose, whose second stage end was clenched in the teeth of our “highly qualified” instructor with his 115 logged dives…..…..who then couldn’t even manage to rope her back in by the hose of the reg since he couldn’t let go of the mooring lest they both be lost in the current. I wound up pulling her back to the mooring line so she could grab on for the rest of their safety stop. He is extremely fortunate that the mouthpiece of the regulator didn’t pop off of its spout, or he might have drowned, and she would have gone drifting out to sea, 25 miles off-shore in nothing but a bikini, with a half-boat load of divers still on the bottom. I am NOT MAKING THIS UP, or EMBELLISHING any detail THIS STORY ONE BIT.

Fortunately, they managed to then regain their composure, calm down, and then make their way to the 15-foot safety stop on their own accord. This could have ended VERY BADLY.

To get back on topic…..do you REALLY think that is in the best interests of the future of this sport, to continue diminishing the standards of training and qualification; JUST so Diving can be CHEAP and Affordable for ANYONE ? Why should it be CHEAP and as you say…. “affordable” for anyone ? Why should REAL instructors accept being paid NOTHING to provide a quality and SAFE standard of training? These are only rhetorical questions.

I am simply saying what NEEDS TO BE SAID, even it if is an unpopular TRUTH. Diving Training SHOULD NOT be CHEAP, and Instructors should start having a little self-respect and STOP giving away their skills and training for nothing like a bunch of cheap hookers . As other people have stated in this thread……Golf and Tennis pros earn a lot more than SCUBA instructors, and if you were paying attention to the story above… THIS IS NOT GOLF, or TENNIS, OR BOWLING. People DO DIE and are seriously injured while Diving. Have you yourself ever witnessed a fatal diving accident ? I have. It is NOT pretty. And Trivializing the risks, DUMBING down the training, and MAKING IT CHEAP, is the WORST thing that has happened to this sport in its entire history. ​​All the training in the world can't fix poor judgement. I have seen divers of all stripes do things I consider ill advised. That does not mean they were poorly taught.

The training agency executives, and live-aboard dive travel industry people have made their careers out of trivializing the risks associated with diving, and now they’re even “certifying” 10-year olds. Would any of you REALLY put your young 10 year old child under the care and authority of an under paid, under qualified, un-professional, and maybe even UN - EDUCATED so-called “instructor” ? ….. all in the name of “making diving affordable for everyone” and getting as many people as possible into this sport. ​​One should always check the qualifications of anyone they hire for any task. My grandson was qualified by a hand picked instructor in private lessons. We certainly recognize that the qualification has limits and carefully supervise his diving.

Just because EVERYBODY WANTS to call themselves a scuba instructor….doesn’t mean that just ANYBODY should actually be one.

The stem of your last statement is untrue, but I do agree that Instructors should be well qualified. I have never had any problems with the qualification of my instructors, even those part-timers who instruct not so much for compensation but to share their love for diving.