Mustard Dave
Contributor
At my local dive school, DMs get paid bugger all. As I live in Manchester (UK), we are a good distance from any decent dive sites and it is an hour's drive to Capernwray (a disused quarry now operated as an organised dive site). The Diving at Work Regulations mean the instructors are legally required to have two assistants - one on the shore and one in the water (they do not have to be DMs though - they will use RD and above). Due to the competitive nature of the industry and the availability of cheap holidays and training in Egypt (for example), it is difficult (if not impossile) to pay staff properly and break even.
All the instructors at my local school are part time and work on a self-employed basis. I don't know what they're paid but by doing a bit of simple maths, the margins are tiny before I even try to guess what overheads are like. Divemasters do not get paid a penny.
As soon as they knew I had 40 logged dives and Rescue Diver cert, they were trying to get me on the DM course. I told them straight - I am not paying the thick end of £1,000 for a qualification that teaches me nothing of value to myself and allows me to work for them for free. A few months later, another instructor asked me again and told me they were short of decent DMs. I gave the same answer.
When we use charters, I have never seen a DM on a boat. There will be a skipper and at least one member of crew to satisfy MCA regs. The skippers will give you advice about currents and other conditions as well as any procedures they require you to follow. There is nobody in the water guiding you or checking your kit on the boat. There are a few dive centres at places like the south coast where they operate more like a resort and provide guided dives, but not many. I don't know how they pay staff though.
At Mediteranean resorts, the DMs are still paid peanuts or nothing. A place we use in Malta takes DM interns, has them work for free for the summer and puts them through their IDC at the end of the season. I cannot see how anyone can makegood money DMing or even teaching (with the exception of highly regarded teck instructors). It might fund your back-packing but nothing more.
All the instructors at my local school are part time and work on a self-employed basis. I don't know what they're paid but by doing a bit of simple maths, the margins are tiny before I even try to guess what overheads are like. Divemasters do not get paid a penny.
As soon as they knew I had 40 logged dives and Rescue Diver cert, they were trying to get me on the DM course. I told them straight - I am not paying the thick end of £1,000 for a qualification that teaches me nothing of value to myself and allows me to work for them for free. A few months later, another instructor asked me again and told me they were short of decent DMs. I gave the same answer.
When we use charters, I have never seen a DM on a boat. There will be a skipper and at least one member of crew to satisfy MCA regs. The skippers will give you advice about currents and other conditions as well as any procedures they require you to follow. There is nobody in the water guiding you or checking your kit on the boat. There are a few dive centres at places like the south coast where they operate more like a resort and provide guided dives, but not many. I don't know how they pay staff though.
At Mediteranean resorts, the DMs are still paid peanuts or nothing. A place we use in Malta takes DM interns, has them work for free for the summer and puts them through their IDC at the end of the season. I cannot see how anyone can makegood money DMing or even teaching (with the exception of highly regarded teck instructors). It might fund your back-packing but nothing more.
95% of all statistics are made up.
as an instructor I make <2$ an hour per student so unless I have 5 students I do not make minimum wage. in a year I am lucky to break even, after insurance and gear, and not lose money.QUOTE]
Do you work for yourself or is this through a school? I have heard tales of DMs/instructors paying for their own insurance despite working for a school. My LDS has a policy that covers anybody working on their behalf which is the least anyone can do.