Diploma to complement Scuba Instructor

[Scubacarl77]

Hi everyone!

I am very fortunate to find myself in a position where I am a Divemaster currently and would like to go up to instructor and further. Having worked as a DM I know I enjoyed this lifestyle very much and would like to go back to it. However due to life circumstances I find myself in cold Canada not willing to dive here! So, my time is now dedicated to higher education. My thoughts so far is getting a Hospitality Diploma to complement the Scuba Instructor qual.

I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks guys!

 

[261311]

That would be neat, I take it you're looking at moving abroad possibly for resorts?

That aside, you don't like diving cold water? Not even the 60-75 in the summer?!

 

[Scubacarl77]

Yeah, that kind of thing like seasonal work or so. But, diving here :/ doesn't suit my fancy...too green, too cold and not enough wildlife!

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Hospitality management is a great choice. So too would be business management or marketing, though they are less specific that Hospitality management. The hospitality programs ( there is a big one here at University of Denver) tend to focus on hotel and restaurant management. I also think an accounting degree is a good credential for getting a job or running your own business. I think there is still a specific program for Dive shop management offered as a 2 year associates degree at Florida Keys Community College. You might want to take a look.
DivemasterDennis

 

[261311]

Fair enough, I can't fault you for that

 

[Scubacarl77]

The program which I'm looking at is Hospitality Tourism and Leisure so it's for a broad range of areas and not just the standard restaurant fare. It also does have some business courses and how to set up your business kind of thing so that's useful. Thanks for the input! It's important to get other opinions on how to go about things before diving in so to speak!

 

[theduckguru]

Is there any demand for a DM/instructor with a hospitality degree?

 

[Scubacarl77]

That's what I'm trying to find out

 

[Quero]

The program which I'm looking at is Hospitality Tourism and Leisure so it's for a broad range of areas and not just the standard restaurant fare. It also does have some business courses and how to set up your business kind of thing so that's useful. Thanks for the input! It's important to get other opinions on how to go about things before diving in so to speak!

That sounds like it might work. My first reaction to the hospitality diploma was that you will study a whole lot of stuff with very limited application to scuba--mostly hotel and restaurant management. But the program you describe seems broader. Still, if I had it to do, given my 20-20 hindsight in actually setting up and running a scuba business, I would opt for a Bachelor of Independent studies degree with an individualized program focused on various aspects of a small scuba business: finance (banking/borrowing, capital investment strategies, accounting); retail (purchasing, inventory, face-to-face and online sales of goods/services); marketing (web design/SEO for small businesses, social media); equipment technician studies (regulator service, compressor maintenance, tank inspection, etc.); boating (navigation, seamanship, safety, fire emergency), medical (EMT-level courses); foreign language studies (if not for the dominant language of the customers, at least that of most local staff). I don't rent rooms or even have a snack shop, so any and all food service and hotel management courses would be a waste of time for me. And I wish I knew more Thai....

BTW, the University of Waterloo offers a BIS degree. You should look into it!

 

[Islandheart]

Numerous resorts in the Pacific and other locations are resort manager/ instructor positions.

From what I see it's a good move.