I was a PADI Instructor from 1990-2005, working it as a side job from my regular day job. I can honestly say it is lot of fun and work in of itself, but worth it. And true, it is not all fun and sun. I would actually get up earlier on weekends to go to the beach or boat to do open water training dives with students. I worked nights and weekends teaching. While not teaching I was in the shop helping out. And I taught mostly in SoCal so weather was a factor, both in the immediate area and far away as the effects could create huge swell/waves at the beach even on a sunny day. Also, when you are diving in colder water you have to factor that in as well. Correct on the second point, I found it to be physically demanding. You need to stay in shape and take care of yourself. Mentally I found it to be a break from the stress of my day job so that wasn't a factor for me. But when you are in the water with students you are definitely on a different level mentally; lot more aware of what is going on with yourself, what is going on around you, and what students are doing. I was fortunate in that I taught for a shop that was very busy, and I made decent money on the side. But it took a lot of effort to make the money. And it was a secondary income that allowed me to take dive trips. The running joke in the Dive industry is "How do you make a million dollars in a dive shop... Spend 2 million." I did it for love of the sport. I did get a lot of perks; reduced prices on gear, free boat trip if I taught (get 2 dives with students, 2 on my own), free air fills (I did a lot of free time diving), free gear repair/maintenance (I learned how to do it, so I could fix my own gear, didn't have to pay for parts), and tax write offs (gear & mileage because I did it enough to be a part time job and not a hobby). Third point, agreed. Not everyone can do it or should do it. As I said before it is a physically demanding job and requires a complete ease of mind in the water. You don't have to be a complete jock, but need the physical stamina to do it. You need to be able to keep your head about you in tight situations, be able to remain calm and work the problem (both for yourself and a student). I was in the best shape of my life when I was teaching. Also, you need to bench your ego when teaching. Being able to teach requires patience and a friendly demeanor. You will have good students and bad students, you need to know how to handle them accordingly. Also, you need to be comfortable talking in front of people and being able to manage them. In regards to the amount of experience you need to go through the instructor courses I disagree. I was fortunate that I had good instructors teaching me as I went through. I did spend some extra time at the DM rank to get more experience with students in pool and open water but did so to make sure I was more comfortable with it all. I can agree that some people just rush through, but if you yourself are trained properly and are comfortable with what you've learned then you can go on to the instructor level without a huge amount of extra time. And yes, I've known/seen some instructors who could definitely use some additional training/experience. As an instructor you are also continually training/learning yourself.
Fantastic Video! A real world approach to setting great examples and calling out problems at the same time. There is a huge difference between a zero to hero instructor and someone spending months in a dive shop and learning the trade before finishing their divemaster. Which I agree the entry level requirements for an instructor are set too low in most organisations. Also even after being an instructor for a while I still get asked by my mum on a regular basis "So when are you starting a real job?" 😄
A common misconception about DI's I have heard multiple times is that if you are an Instructor you can teach all forms of diving. I have known many different levels from Rec all the way through to the commercial instructors and they are all very very different from each other. Just as much as the different types of diving can be very very unique from each other.
Just wright! Not being just another instructor: keep training, keep improving, learning the new technologies, the new trends on industry and most of all keep your love for what you do.... the money may take a while , but it will come at the proper amount and time.
As someone who's afraid of responsibility outside of my own safety and is easily overwhelmed by groups of people I don't know how you do it honestly. My kudos to your self discipline and inner strength for being able to shepherd a group of beginner divers on their way to safety and success People like me wouldn't be able to see these beautiful places without you, and I'm eternally grateful for the work you do~
Once I talked to someone who said he has the best style of communication and communicates the same way to everyone which is the best way to do it. I said what if they don’t understand it he shrugged his shoulders and said just move on not your fault. I then went on to explain how as a divemaster it’s life or death situation and when I train people underwater and they don’t understand they could die. He proceeded to walk away from the conversation. I think a lot of people think this way actually and being a diving instructor requires a lot of humility that most people are not willing to give. I actually think most people cannot teach effectively at all and dive instructors deserve a lot more respect lol to say the least
As you described the position. It sounds more like a hobbie/sales position than an actual job... congrats... And you made it VERY CLEAR the dive master position is a [pay to play] position... ... Thank you for giving your position on the difference between a low caste instructor and a high tier instructor. This was really the meat and potatoes of the video. It would be nice if you went futher into depth about how to separate the tiers of Dive Instructors. How they separate themselves internally. A good pricing index for private tours, dives and skill building would also be nice. . "ALL Dive Instructors are not created equal." . Thank you for all you do for the community!!!
This instructor shall remain un-named. I've had an instructor for deep diver, and wreck diver, who was by far the most experienced, while hving history in military, and over thousands of sky dives under his belt, he safely took me down to 40m and back, he was calm, and he barely used his air like i never seen before or since. we did 2x 45min dives, i used 2 cylinders, his 1 cylinder had 1800psi at the end WTF!?!? ..The guy was something to aspire to, but.... his accent was so thick, I couldnt understand half of what he was saying. so.... all that amazing experience, kinda wasted, cuz his english wasn't so good. I still love the guy. If i go there again, I'll go diving with him for sure. but u get the point. The best instructor you could ask for, the ONLY fault was english diction...
I would find it a daunting experience. I look forward to my ‘How’s my diving?’ T-shirt arriving from Teespring. I knew that there is not a great profit from teaching scuba diving. However, it keeps you very fit. The legal paperwork including VAT/GST returns must be a nightmare. Attending coronial inquests must also be draining on diving instructors.
I was a PADI Instructor from 1990-2005, working it as a side job from my regular day job. I can honestly say it is lot of fun and work in of itself, but worth it. And true, it is not all fun and sun. I would actually get up earlier on weekends to go to the beach or boat to do open water training dives with students. I worked nights and weekends teaching. While not teaching I was in the shop helping out. And I taught mostly in SoCal so weather was a factor, both in the immediate area and far away as the effects could create huge swell/waves at the beach even on a sunny day. Also, when you are diving in colder water you have to factor that in as well.
Correct on the second point, I found it to be physically demanding. You need to stay in shape and take care of yourself. Mentally I found it to be a break from the stress of my day job so that wasn't a factor for me. But when you are in the water with students you are definitely on a different level mentally; lot more aware of what is going on with yourself, what is going on around you, and what students are doing.
I was fortunate in that I taught for a shop that was very busy, and I made decent money on the side. But it took a lot of effort to make the money. And it was a secondary income that allowed me to take dive trips. The running joke in the Dive industry is "How do you make a million dollars in a dive shop... Spend 2 million." I did it for love of the sport. I did get a lot of perks; reduced prices on gear, free boat trip if I taught (get 2 dives with students, 2 on my own), free air fills (I did a lot of free time diving), free gear repair/maintenance (I learned how to do it, so I could fix my own gear, didn't have to pay for parts), and tax write offs (gear & mileage because I did it enough to be a part time job and not a hobby).
Third point, agreed. Not everyone can do it or should do it. As I said before it is a physically demanding job and requires a complete ease of mind in the water. You don't have to be a complete jock, but need the physical stamina to do it. You need to be able to keep your head about you in tight situations, be able to remain calm and work the problem (both for yourself and a student). I was in the best shape of my life when I was teaching. Also, you need to bench your ego when teaching. Being able to teach requires patience and a friendly demeanor. You will have good students and bad students, you need to know how to handle them accordingly. Also, you need to be comfortable talking in front of people and being able to manage them.
In regards to the amount of experience you need to go through the instructor courses I disagree. I was fortunate that I had good instructors teaching me as I went through. I did spend some extra time at the DM rank to get more experience with students in pool and open water but did so to make sure I was more comfortable with it all. I can agree that some people just rush through, but if you yourself are trained properly and are comfortable with what you've learned then you can go on to the instructor level without a huge amount of extra time. And yes, I've known/seen some instructors who could definitely use some additional training/experience. As an instructor you are also continually training/learning yourself.
Thank you 🙏
If I had a penny for each time I've been asked "but whats your proper job".....
Fantastic Video!
A real world approach to setting great examples and calling out problems at the same time.
There is a huge difference between a zero to hero instructor and someone spending months in a dive shop and learning the trade before finishing their divemaster.
Which I agree the entry level requirements for an instructor are set too low in most organisations.
Also even after being an instructor for a while I still get asked by my mum on a regular basis
"So when are you starting a real job?" 😄
A common misconception about DI's I have heard multiple times is that if you are an Instructor you can teach all forms of diving. I have known many different levels from Rec all the way through to the commercial instructors and they are all very very different from each other. Just as much as the different types of diving can be very very unique from each other.
Just wright! Not being just another instructor: keep training, keep improving, learning the new technologies, the new trends on industry and most of all keep your love for what you do.... the money may take a while , but it will come at the proper amount and time.
As someone who's afraid of responsibility outside of my own safety and is easily overwhelmed by groups of people
I don't know how you do it honestly. My kudos to your self discipline and inner strength for being able to shepherd a group of beginner divers on their way to safety and success
People like me wouldn't be able to see these beautiful places without you, and I'm eternally grateful for the work you do~
Once I talked to someone who said he has the best style of communication and communicates the same way to everyone which is the best way to do it. I said what if they don’t understand it he shrugged his shoulders and said just move on not your fault. I then went on to explain how as a divemaster it’s life or death situation and when I train people underwater and they don’t understand they could die. He proceeded to walk away from the conversation. I think a lot of people think this way actually and being a diving instructor requires a lot of humility that most people are not willing to give. I actually think most people cannot teach effectively at all and dive instructors deserve a lot more respect lol to say the least
As someone who is looking into instructing. Thank you. Honesty is needed. We hear to much it a vacation. Yes we love it but it is work. Cheers.
GREAT video! Right on point, the greatest advantage is DM’S CARRY ALL THE GEAR!! :)
As you described the position.
It sounds more like a hobbie/sales position than an actual job... congrats...
And you made it VERY CLEAR the dive master position is a [pay to play] position...
... Thank you for giving your position on the difference between a low caste instructor and a high tier instructor. This was really the meat and potatoes of the video. It would be nice if you went futher into depth about how to separate the tiers of Dive Instructors. How they separate themselves internally. A good pricing index for private tours, dives and skill building would also be nice.
.
"ALL Dive Instructors are not created equal."
.
Thank you for all you do for the community!!!
This instructor shall remain un-named. I've had an instructor for deep diver, and wreck diver, who was by far the most experienced, while hving history in military, and over thousands of sky dives under his belt, he safely took me down to 40m and back, he was calm, and he barely used his air like i never seen before or since. we did 2x 45min dives, i used 2 cylinders, his 1 cylinder had 1800psi at the end WTF!?!? ..The guy was something to aspire to, but.... his accent was so thick, I couldnt understand half of what he was saying. so.... all that amazing experience, kinda wasted, cuz his english wasn't so good. I still love the guy. If i go there again, I'll go diving with him for sure. but u get the point. The best instructor you could ask for, the ONLY fault was english diction...
Thank you for this video.
True... i totally agree with you
I am proud to be instructor:)
What's the difference between a large pizza and a dive instructor?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
A large pizza can feed a family of four.
I would find it a daunting experience. I look forward to my ‘How’s my diving?’ T-shirt arriving from Teespring. I knew that there is not a great profit from teaching scuba diving. However, it keeps you very fit. The legal paperwork including VAT/GST returns must be a nightmare. Attending coronial inquests must also be draining on diving instructors.
Shaun is the one who disliked this video
👍🏽
I heard that half of job is exell 😊