It is possible to carve out a career in diving that affords you a middle-class lifestyle, but the same effort if applied to a career in a more mainstream business would yield an upper middle-class or very affluent lifestyle.
Let me tell you a story about two girls who were best friends and worked as diving instructors on an island. The first one, Cristina Zenato, is a bit of a celebrity now and is truly one of the absolute best divers in the world. She started out working in the hotel industry in Italy after having grown up in the Congo in Africa. Her father had been a frogman in the Italian Navy before moving to Africa to work as an engineer so the water was definitely in her blood. It was during a trip to the Bahamas on vacation where she became certified and fell in love with Grand Bahama. She moved there and became a NAUI instructor then crossed to PADI. In addition, she became a freediving instructor with the IAFD, cave diving instructor with the NSS-CDS, and learned to wrangle sharks. She's most famous for her work with sharks often appearing on TV and film around the world, but she also recently made the connection between Mermaid's cave and the sea in sidemount - a cave connection thought not to exist that took her 5 years due to work obligations. I could write a book on how amazing this woman is, all she's seen and done from sea level exploration to mountaineering.
Her best friend also worked at the same resort as an instructor for several years living her diving dreams until deciding to leave diving and get a "real" job while still living on the islands. I never had the opportunity to meet Cristina's best friend because she was killed in a car accident right after she was hired. It may even have been her first day at work? I'm not sure, but it was soon after anyway.
The point is that hard work, finding a niche in the sport, and following your dreams might allow you to thrive like in any other occupation. As we know, there are no free rides due to a degree anymore and it will take hard work, smart work, dedication, and a bit of luck and divine blessing to make a job or career financially rewarding.
But, what if someone decided to postpone his or her dreams for something "safer" rather than live them today? If Cristina's friend had not lived her dreams first, her death would have been a greater tragedy. She was able to live her life to the fullest while alive and see and do things few others get to do and do them EVERY DAY - not just once in a while or while on vacation.
You need to follow the path you think is right for you, but just like in the business world you can become more successful by training and working with the right people - people with true experience, reputations, and clout and not just a podunk dive shop in Anytown, USA.
Also, if you want to see the world, date flight attendants. I spent most of my youth working as a dive instructor and lifeguard and fortunately my flight attendant fetish paid off. PM me if you want to know the secret to picking up a flight attendant.
