Most Expedient Route to DM

[boulderjohn]

This thread started with a diver asking questions about his potential for earning money as a scuba professional. With that start, the thread took the predictable path of telling him that he should not expect to make money as a scuba instructor. That is the common view of Scuboard participants, and it is justified.

The thread could have started a different way. It could have instead started with someone talking about having had to pay a certain amount for a scuba diving course. If it had started that way, it would have taken the predictable path of telling him that scuba dive operators who charge money for teaching are nothing but money grabbers and are beneath contempt.

 

[Marie13]

Given the OP’s location in Michigan, I doubt there’s anyway he could make anything substantial. Classes in the Great Lakes region mostly run from May (maybe late April) through sometime in October, although some shops only go through September. From what I can tell, it’s common to run pool sessions once a month in the winter for those doing their OW dives somewhere warm.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

@onepointfivethumbs,

My normal course of action is to recommend a GUE fundies (or very similar) course.

It is the most expensive recreational skills course that I know of, but it is a bargain. It is longer (four full days) than most courses but you will come away with a dramatic improvement in skills, from proper weighting to buoyancy to finning to awareness.

You really get a great return for the time and money. I can't say the same for all courses. Long term you'll pay for fewer con ed courses.

A lot of instructors resent me for this recommendation, including one who copied this course in a distinctive specialty, but the fact remains that the improvement in skills is consistently improved for those who take this course.

I am not saying that all non GUE instructors suck. I'd like to think that my suckage on a scale of 1 to GTFOH isn't too bad (but I might be the president of the Dunning-Kruger Club). There are a lot of great instructors (one of the instructors I try to emulate is Ryan Custureri), but you have to sort those out, starting with quantified recommendations (meaning with an explanation of why a person recommends a particular instructor - "they're great!" doesn't cut it. I recommend Ryan as he's so good with body mechanics that makes his students coordinated and competent in a short period of time).

Becoming a dive pro to make money is tough as there is a long investment in money and time to branch off independently and justify a reasonable hourly/daily rate.

If I wasn't going to open a dive center, becoming a dive pro was a complete waste of money.

So if you want to become a better diver, there are better options than becoming a dive pro.

If you want to make at least or more than minimum wage, you may want to research with LDSs what they will actually pay.

 

[tursiops]

If I wasn't going to open a dive center, becoming a dive pro was the worst financial decision I've made.

I don't think becoming a dive pro or not for many people is fundamentally a financial decision. I know one person with whom I started diving that turned it into his profession. Many of us became pros just to expand our horizons and open some doors. For example, it is how I have chosen to spend my entertainment/discretionary money over the years. Could have been on golf, or visiting national parks, or high-end cars, whatever. We make those choices, and sometimes they also pay off financially, but that is a bonus, not the motivation. These days I arrange and lead dive trips, with some instruction on the trips. They are great fun, mentally and physically and socially rewarding, and sometimes even pay for all or part of my diving or airfare...as a bonus, not as a motivation.

 

[Scraps]

Regarding whether the OP's plan will make him a better diver:

I respectfully dissent from the consensus that it will not.

I believe becoming a DM or AI will help you become a better diver.

It is true that there is nothing in either the DM or OWSI course requirements that makes you a better diver.

However, it is also true that "who teaches, learns". All of the following will help you become a better diver: being around a bunch of classes, getting more reps at skills you only performed a few times in your previous training, hearing different instructors explain things different ways, being aware that students are watching you, having some opportunities to work with students under supervision, seeing how different students get things right or get them wrong, hearing what suggestions instructors give to students, asking instructors to be your mentor, paying more attention to details that escaped you in your OW.

Regarding whether the OP's plan will lead to a viable part-time income stream:

I concur with the consensus that it will not.

Courses get more expensive as you climb the ladder. It is unlikely you can recoup these costs with income from the people you are paying for your training.

From the LDS's perspective, you are a customer. You remain a customer until you have completed your instructor certification and been certified in every instructor specialty they are allowed to confer. Any customer who wants to transition from being a revenue source to being an overhead expense is likely to encounter strong headwinds.

Diving is like any other activity that millions of people love to do and are willing to pay to do. If you want to make money at it, you have to do something better than other people or you have to do things associated with that activity that other people are unwilling or unable to do.

My advice: if you want to do this because you want to do this, go for it. Consider it a hobby expense. Consider any money that comes back as a partial defraying of your hobby expenses.

If you want to make money in diving, learn to do things that set you apart: fixing compressors, working on boat engines and electrical systems, driving boats. What's the hardest skill for dive operators to find? Marine mechanics. If you learn how to work on marine Diesel engines, you'll be able to set your schedule, charge what you want, and dive for free with grateful customers you moved to the front of your queue.

Have fun and be safe.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I believe becoming a DM or AI will help you become a better diver.

It is true that there is nothing in either the DM or OWSI course requirements that makes you a better diver.

However, it is also true that "who teaches, learns". All of the following will help you become a better diver: being around a bunch of classes, getting more reps at skills you only performed a few times in your previous training, hearing different instructors explain things different ways, being aware that students are watching you, having some opportunities to work with students under supervision, seeing how different students get things right or get them wrong, hearing what suggestions instructors give to students, asking instructors to be your mentor, paying more attention to details that escaped you in your OW. . . .

But one who teaches will mostly improve those skills that are taught. If, as I believe the OP said or implied, the OP's goal is to become a tech diver, the OW skills as they are widely taught will only go so far. I think it was mentioned upthread that the dive shop may very well insist that their instructors teach OW students in the traditional kneeling on the bottom mode, not hovering in neutral buoyancy, for example. IF the dive shop buys into the "teaching in neutral buoyancy" movement, the OP may find teaching that way helpful to the OP's learning. However, you can't really teach it until you master it yourself, and there is no other way to master it than to practice--a lot. Catch-22?

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I worked at a dive shop in Southern California that was located right at the landing where most of the dive boats docked. I worked as a DM on the shop charters for a year. I made $0. I did get "free" boat rides and sometimes got to make one dive.

 

[NothingClever]

Every young diver’s perception of us on SB.

 

[TMHeimer]

I worked at a dive shop in Southern California that was located right at the landing where most of the dive boats docked. I worked as a DM on the shop charters for a year. I made $0. I did get "free" boat rides and sometimes got to make one dive.

Were the free boat rides and occasional dive (were you supervising, or a fun dive for yourself?) worth it for the amount of DM work you did per boat ride?

 

[MaxBottomtime]

They were solo dives. When we went to the outer islands, we board the boat at 9:00 the night before. After getting everyone to sign the waiver and log I would get to sleep around the time the boat leaves the dock at 1:00 a.m.
I would give a pre-dive briefing before each dive and remain on deck in a wetsuit pulled halfway down all day, ready to jump in if needed. We arrived back at the dock around 6 p.m., 21 hours after I got to the boat. As the DM is part of the charter and not part of the crew, I received no tips nor any pay.
I did not renew my Divemaster rating after the first year. I went back to enjoying diving again and have been happy ever since.