"Working" Divemaster?

[mheaster]

Do I get the HONOR of first post?

THANKS to everyone who made this happen!

I am currently a PADI Divemaster (since August 2005).
I carry my own Insurance and "work" only occasionally still with my Instructor/friend and Dive Buddy when he conducts classes. I make nothing but sometimes get my air, Quarry entrance fees covered but that is all I expect at this stage. (We do most training at a local Quarry. I dive there when we can't get away to better diving. We do a lot of trips to Florida, NC and better dive locations whenever possible. I am not Quarry Bound only!)

I am curious how many people get their Divemaster certification and then never do anything with it professionally?

We had a 7 member class and I think I am only one now who even carries Insurance and "works".

One lady flat out stated she wanted to get DM just so she got to park closer at the local Quarry! (Instructors/DM's get prime parking locations - less distance to caryy wet/heavy gear!)

Dive HARD but SAFE!

 

[diverdown247]

I've actually discovered that there are a number of folks who do not use their DM or instructor status. Some will even give it the old "Eh, I'm done" and give it up faster than they earned it.

If you are current, but not practicing/using it, then you only cheat yourself. After all, if you are paying for your insurance (as you should be), then you are losing money. My lead instructor tells his less interested candidates that you should at least try to take on enough classes to make enough $$ to pay for your insurance to stay current.

By the way, if YOU are a working dive pro, thank you for helping our growing family.

 

[Joe-Diver]

I plan on going to AI, then IDC rather quickly after completing DM. My goal is OWSI so while I'll still do things a DM would do, it's only a stepping stone for me.

 

[Hoyden]

My divemaster class had 5 students. One did not finish. The other 4 of us are all "working". The trend at my LDS is that folks will divemaster for a year or two and then go on to instructor, burn out or relocate (I live in a very transient area). We have about 9 instructors and 8 AIs and DMs, but some of those aren't very active. Three of the instructors and two of the DMs work at the shop in addition to teaching.

Jackie Cooper
VA Scuba

 

[gafftape42]

I find a lot of people get the DM card and never work and never carry insurance. I am a working AI who will be finishing my IDC this summer hopefully. I was very surprised by this trend. I was talking about it on a trip once with some buddies and we realized that practically everyone on the trip had a DM card, but less than half were using it.

 

[gangrel441]

I've actually discovered that there are a number of folks who do not use their DM or instructor status. Some will even give it the old "Eh, I'm done" and give it up faster than they earned it.

If you are current, but not practicing/using it, then you only cheat yourself. After all, if you are paying for your insurance (as you should be), then you are losing money. My lead instructor tells his less interested candidates that you should at least try to take on enough classes to make enough $$ to pay for your insurance to stay current.

By the way, if YOU are a working dive pro, thank you for helping our growing family.

Ok, so as a DM in the midwest, how many classes would one need to assist in order to make enough to break even on insurance and dues? How about as an instructor? I am doing my DM independantly through a non-shop-affiliated club, but may take on some work through a local shop as well. I plan to buy my own insurance, as the club does not provide or reimburse it, and I don't want to be beholden to a shop for my insurance. I am not concerned about making an income diving, only with covering the additional cost of being a pro....

 

[diverdown247]

Ok, so as a DM in the midwest, how many classes would one need to assist in order to make enough to break even on insurance and dues? How about as an instructor? I am doing my DM independantly through a non-shop-affiliated club, but may take on some work through a local shop as well. I plan to buy my own insurance, as the club does not provide or reimburse it, and I don't want to be beholden to a shop for my insurance. I am not concerned about making an income diving, only with covering the additional cost of being a pro....

Since I am not supposed to disclose what I get paid per student/class, I can only say this: figure what your insurance and equipment maintenance (and any other overhead you might have) costs you annually then divide that by what you are paid per student/class and you know how many students/classes you should need to break even.

As for being going pro, I've always suggested to those interested in going pro at any level to talk to instructors and see if any are willing to do an internship type program to keep the cost to the student down. Granted, you might work for free for a number of sessions, but is your time worth getting a pro course for the costs of materials plus a little extra? I have had this opportunity and it actually allows you to gain more experience in some cases, and the money I saved was astonishing!

If you're a good candidate or DM, you're worth the time, patience, and discount(s) that might be presented. There can be a lot of perks, so I'm not afraid to donate my time once in a while as long as it's not abused and my overhead is covered.

 

[gangrel441]

Since I am not supposed to disclose what I get paid per student/class, I can only say this: figure what your insurance and equipment maintenance (and any other overhead you might have) costs you annually then divide that by what you are paid per student/class and you know how many students/classes you should need to break even.

I am an MBA. The above statement is remedial business. It is also very good advice. Unfortunately, the variable I am trying to put a value on is the one you are not supposed to disclose. I can appreciate that. Thanks anyways.

As for being going pro, I've always suggested to those interested in going pro at any level to talk to instructors and see if any are willing to do an internship type program to keep the cost to the student down. Granted, you might work for free for a number of sessions, but is your time worth getting a pro course for the costs of materials plus a little extra? I have had this opportunity and it actually allows you to gain more experience in some cases, and the money I saved was astonishing!

If you're a good candidate or DM, you're worth the time, patience, and discount(s) that might be presented. There can be a lot of perks, so I'm not afraid to donate my time once in a while as long as it's not abused and my overhead is covered.

I am already doing my DM as an internship. I will never get paid for work done through the club, nor do I want to. Our club is a non-profit, so all income gets reinvested in club activities. If I want to offset the costs of dues and insurance, I will need to work through a LDS. Problem is finding one I want to work for and that will work around my regular, well-paying 9-5 gig...

As for going on to instruct, I guess where I do IDC will help determine whether I do an internship and how much I can make afterwords, as our club is not an IDC.

 

[tedtim]

<snipped>
I am already doing my DM as an internship. I will never get paid for work done through the club, nor do I want to. Our club is a non-profit, so all income gets reinvested in club activities. If I want to offset the costs of dues and insurance, I will need to work through a LDS. Problem is finding one I want to work for and that will work around my regular, well-paying 9-5 gig...<snipped>

As an alternative, if your club charges you annual dues, registration, or you have to pay for some services, they can reimburse you "in kind" for the cost of your insurance. My LDS gives a store credit for the insurance cost that I use against things like annual maintenance of gear. All I need to do is provide them with a copy of the insurance renewal.

 

[gangrel441]

As an alternative, if your club charges you annual dues, registration, or you have to pay for some services, they can reimburse you "in kind" for the cost of your insurance. My LDS gives a store credit for the insurance cost that I use against things like annual maintenance of gear. All I need to do is provide them with a copy of the insurance renewal.

Understood, but my annual dues will come no where near what I will be paying in insurance. There is a little more club politics involved in this issue as well, but I don't really care to get into that issue. Long story short, if I want to work off my insurance and PADI Pro dues, I'll have to do it on my own. For me, not a huge deal, but I would rather find a way for going pro to at least pay for itself...