Why does every new diver want to be an instructor?

[uncfnp]

As a former EMT instructor and CPR instructor, I would not encourage anyone new in any profession to become an instructor, no matter how good his classroom skills and enthusiasm for the career. I would encourage them to continue to learn and advance in the field but no one is ready to teach anything IMO until they have some life experience. And as others have stated, even the best in a profession will not necessarily make a good teacher.

Some profession you can learn in a classroom and some you start in the classroom and learn by doing. I think diving is one of these that takes experience to master and to teach (well).

 

[jar546]

Curious as to your feelings if those same new candidates came in wanting to become paramedic instructors without ever being in an ambulance before? Might be closer to the OP.

No Sir, not quite the same. A diver is the equivalent to an EMT, a Paramedic is equivalent to an instructor.

 

[uncfnp]

No Sir, not quite the same. A diver is the equivalent to an EMT, a Paramedic is equivalent to an instructor.

I'm confused, how do you equate paramedic with instructor? Is just anyone with a paramedic degree allowed to teach? Or are you saying that a Paramedic is an advanced level beyond EMT but all divers are at entry level positions.

 

[Some X Dry]

I agree a 100% that good instructors take it to the next level. For OW IMO it's not that important. You get a basic foundation to build on. Beyond that I would encourage, as I have been, to find the best instructor for what you want next. Have had 3 instructors from OW-Master-Cavern. Have interviewed a half dozen for my next challenge. Cave. Again IMO 0-hero for an OW instructor no big-deal. Beyond that. Do your home work.

 

[dpaustex]

I have to smile at many of the posts, here.

There is the joke that goes: "What's the difference between a large pepperoni pizza and a job as a dive instructor? ... A pepperoni pizza can feed a family of four.".

Dive instructors make crap money. I own two businesses (neither dive related) and the insurance, regulatory issues, etc. take too much of my time. That dive shop? You'll need $100,000 worth of inventory, instructors, a pool, an office...get the idea?

I am an instructor. I have to carry insurance, have to have O2 and first aid training (renews every 2 years), have to pay dues, etc. I am expected to have the newest and best equipment (yes, we get a discount). I start off around $600 in the hole at the start of each year. I get maybe 15 students a year, and make, on aveage, about $70 per student. Wow, I just spent 32 hours on a class I get $200 for.

Yes, I am part time, and do it simply for the love of diving, and meeting some interesting people. I really like teaching. Why did I do it? It was to become a better diver (actually, I think I just hung around the dive shop too much).

But the pie-in-the-sky idea of wanting to be an instructor? Not a good idea. Do it as a hobby. If you're 24, have no entanglements, sure you can go work at a resort and put up with unruly folks for about 20k per year. Pretty sure it will sour your outlook on diving, though.

 

[lowviz]

As a former EMT instructor ...//...

Question: Does one need to be first a practicing EMT to get to EMT instructor status?

I understand (and respect) that you are a nurse practitioner, no prob with the credentials, just asking...

...//... I think diving is one of these that takes experience to master and to teach (well).

OW is now so watered down that this may no longer be true. Please read "teach well" to mean "teach to standards".

However, I couldn't agree more about experience. Experience with both student learning styles and primary experience with underwater environments. In a word, an "exceptional" teacher.

 

[ajduplessis]

The "Scuba Pyramid Scheme"

 

[uncfnp]

Question: Does one need to be first a practicing EMT to get to EMT instructor status? ...//...

I was involved with EMS back in the 80's so I have no idea what the current legal requirements are but in my opinion, yes, one should have some real life experience before one tries to teach it. Sometimes real life situations do not follow the "textbook" and without some real experience how can an instructor hope to be at least an adequate teacher. In nursing, some schools actually require a nurse practitioner candidate to work a year as a nurse (a practice that I wholeheartedly endorse) before she can advance. While not an instructor example, it is an example that on the job experience is a worthwhile requirement.

 

[Diver0001]

.... snip .... It drives me nuts!

I think it may be time to take a break from internet diving.

I went to university for 6 years to become something I'd only ever read about in a book.

It sounded cool and some aptitude test or other said that I was enough of a misanthropic nerd that I would probably manage. What the test didn't say is that working in an office makes you feel like a caged animal with a dire need to escape, but... meh... everyone has to do something, I guess. As luck would have it, I wasn't a sociopath on top of all of my other faults or I would have ended up being a banker, which would have made me die young from the pure crushing conscious-stricken weight of the most despicably foul karma.

But I digress.

The point is, if you walk into an average class of 16 and 17 year old high-school students and ask them what they want to do with the rest of their lives, most of them will have some aspiration to become something that they don't really understand what it is. Robert, nothing about what you're saying is any different than that.

R..

 

[fnfalman]

I must admit that it takes a special breed to be a dive instructor.

The pay is crap and most people suck. I don't have what it takes to be an instructor. I'd probably got sued for assaulting students within five minutes.