Why does every new diver want to be an instructor?

[ktkt]

Hey you... IF you don't mind fat, old, men for boyfriends I will kick the wife to the curb...! Really, I would... Just don't tell her cause she scares me!!! :scared:

Keep the wife! I need extra potential dive buddies more than I need boyfriends

 

[kelpmustache]

Just a small comment on economics. Most people who get into diving have had a mentor, friend, instructor, scientist whom they looked up to, admired for skill, and depend on in the water for safety and knowledge. For me, these people mean two things. First, they are professionals with a great deal of responsibility and experience. As a beginner, I never thought I would become like these role-models without years of practice and mentoring. Why would you want to be responsible in a possibly deadly sport for possibly unfit students unless you knew you had the training and were ready?

Secondly, these people are, as i said before, mentors...which means you want to dive with them as much as possible. How does one get to dive with them as much as possible? Well, either your rich, you have good connections, or you become their student. My young friends who have gone on to get their DM or their instructor did it in part to simply be challenged, become better divers, and to keep diving....often in beautiful places.

Its a really amazing opportunity to get a 'position' on a dive boat in a foreign country where someone else is PAYING for your diving habit. It seems some dive shops cant afford to pay both many DMs and instructors...so they go to those of us saying "what can we do to dive more, to learn from your professionals, to work in your shop, to go to the nicest dive spots...and we have no money?" and they say "we will train you if you become an instructor" -------The other "problem" with us young divers, is when we ask the dive older dive instructors "Why Not become a professional" all you get is, "you wont make any money....and its hard work." Ok, we respect this in part, but as a young diver we don't make any money as it is, we like hard work, and we just want to dive all of the time! And, we want all of our friends to dive too. So...Tell us, WHY why Why Not? The last thing I want to do is work with a mediocre instructor, and with "so may" how do we get set up in the right place?

 

[Allan C Smith]

Because we are sexy bitches!! Who dose't want to be a sexy bitch?

 

[maniago]

Ok, we respect this in part, but as a young diver we don't make any money as it is, we like hard work, and we just want to dive all of the time!

I'll take a stab at it, with a bunch of generalizations for ease of discussion (and probably get everyone on the board angry in the process). But nevermind; Im on the the other end of life from you - the retired end, so this is one way to see it looking back.

First let me say, good on ya! Go for your dreams and have a blast while youre still young. You'll never be 20-25 again so why not? Do it and enjoy! Truely.

But the burden of working for the Man shall come for you eventually. And that's probably where many who talk money are coming from. One theory goes, youre put on this earth to procreate and protect the species. Translation: you get a good job, marry a nice girl, have a two kids and a dog/cat, buy a white picket fence house with a mortgage, two cars, a few toys etc, and when you do all that, you come to the realization that you need MONEY to survive. I mean a good wage such that your expenses are less than your income. ie = savings. And kids are over the top expensive, if you have any intention to be a responsible adult and protect what you created. Gas is expensive. Milk is expensive. Taxes are expensive. And $2 six-pack low brow beer? NO way. As you get older, the tolerable beer of your youth is nothing you want to drink. You want the good micro brew hoidy-toidy stuff. Eat out? $100 for a family of four at an average restaurant. Have people over to entertain for the SuperBowl? $250 out the door, before you buy that big 1000" screen TV. Wife likes baubles and stuff....well you get the point. No lady I know doesn't like shopping of some sort (not being sexist; guys like shopping too. Its called Northern Tool, Lowes, Home Depot, Pep-Boys, The Gun Super-store, etc)

If you start working at 21 and build your wage base etc, by the time your 28+ you can "start" to do these things. Fore-go those early years, and it just sets you back the requisite amount of time. You get the picture.

Ok, I apologize to anyone who is offended by the generalizations. Again its only for conversation and not necessarily my point of view. There is more than one way to skin a cat.....just that most folks find themselves doing it the conventional way for whatever reason.

 

[Allan C Smith]

I'll take a stab at it, with a bunch of generalizations for ease of discussion (and probably get everyone on the board angry in the process). But nevermind; Im on the the other end of life from you - the retired end, so this is one way to see it looking back.

First let me say, good on ya! Go for your dreams and have a blast while youre still young. You'll never be 20-25 again so why not? Do it and enjoy! Truely.

But the burden of working for the Man shall come for you eventually. And that's probably where many who talk money are coming from. One theory goes, youre put on this earth to procreate and protect the species. Translation: you get a good job, marry a nice girl, have a two kids and a dog/cat, buy a white picket fence house with a mortgage, two cars, a few toys etc, and when you do all that, you come to the realization that you need MONEY to survive. I mean a good wage such that your expenses are less than your income. ie = savings. And kids are over the top expensive, if you have any intention to be a responsible adult and protect what you created. Gas is expensive. Milk is expensive. Taxes are expensive. And $2 six-pack low brow beer? NO way. As you get older, the tolerable beer of your youth is nothing you want to drink. You want the good micro brew hoidy-toidy stuff. Eat out? $100 for a family of four at an average restaurant. Have people over to entertain for the SuperBowl? $250 out the door, before you buy that big 1000" screen TV. Wife likes baubles and stuff....well you get the point. No lady I know doesn't like shopping of some sort (not being sexist; guys like shopping too. Its called Northern Tool, Lowes, Home Depot, Pep-Boys, The Gun Super-store, etc)

If you start working at 21 and build your wage base etc, by the time your 28+ you can "start" to do these things. Fore-go those early years, and it just sets you back the requisite amount of time. You get the picture.

Ok, I apologize to anyone who is offended by the generalizations. Again its only for conversation and not necessarily my point of view.

Or you can go my Route. Find a nice girl who loves to dive, happens to be a PHD and Dose't want kids. Drink Micro Brews live in exotic countries and your "savings" are spent on vacations to other exotic places. Still have money left over. Buy toys, help out the local kids, Surf you ass off. All while saving this poor planet from 2 more mouths to feed.

 

[maniago]

Haha! Good one. I did forget to mention that luck and/or good fortune has something to do with it. But its not something that you can plan for - it just happens. Or, it doesn't.....

 

[drrich2]

Following up what maniago posted. Be mindful that (if you don't live in a socialist country, like the U.S. is morphing into) you might ought to think about lining up a pension, or alternative means of support for when you (and perhaps a spouse) are elderly. Be mindful Social Security in the U.S. was not designed to be lived off of exclusively. And, health insurance, anyone?

Also consider the criticism about scuba instruction reminiscent of puppy mills, turning out least common denominator divers who allegedly 'met' the minimum required standards for an agency by doing each task once (more or less, which is allowed to pass for 'mastery'). At least, there seems to be a perception that some instructors do that.

Now the instructor-to-be probably wants to be one of the 'good' ones - adding content to beef up his courses, making sure his students really master the required skills, doing more than 4 OW dives, giving hand-outs and links to online resources and teaching more info. about dive planning, gas management, etc...

That's going to get in the way of handling a large case load of OW (& other) students needed to generate even a mediocre income by U.S. standards. Unless you price yourself out of the local market by charging a good deal more than most.

The above assumes you make a living as a recreational scuba instructor.

Question: How many recreational scuba instructors in the U.S. actually make a living solely (or mostly) from their scuba instructor job?

I'm under the impression that in the U.S. it's often a 2'nd job.

Richard.

 

[Quero]

Its a really amazing opportunity to get a 'position' on a dive boat in a foreign country where someone else is PAYING for your diving habit.

You're right that a lot of young divers have this idealized view of working as a dive pro. The thing that they don't take into consideration is that the dives that dive pros are getting paid to do are not meant to satisfy THEIR diving habit but rather the diving habit of the CUSTOMERS they are working with/for. Sure, it's great to look forward to going to work, but if young dive pros take the approach that they've chosen this career so that they can feed their own diving habit, they really won't be very good at the job since they are focused on themselves rather than on those under their care.