Diving for a career?

[To_Narced]

This is a question I cannot find a stright answer for. I am a 22yr old PADI MSDT who would like to make a choice in life. Go back to school to get a degree or pursue my passion of diving and turning it into a full time carrer. As a instructor I know I can make enough to live but if I continue my dive eductaion and become a course director is the money better? How much do course directors make? Is this a easy answer or not? Any imput would be greatly appreciated.

 

[emtdan]

MSDT? Isnt that Master Scuba Diver Trainer? Doesnt that mean they you are already an instructor?
Or do you mean Master Scuba Diver?

I, personally think that you should do the training and do instructor, but not make a career shift. I dont think that you can really make a living unless you run your own shop....

 

[DeepBlueResort]

Hi

I would suggest you finish all the education you can then become a course director so you always have something to fall back on if it dosnt work.

If you can become a course director the money can be good, but be sure you are good at marketing and customer sevice, and pick the right location, i know one course director earning approx $75,000 per year

 

[Michael Schlink]

stay in school, get a real education and use scuba as an "extra" income

 

[freediver]

You might want to complete your degree first and find a job that can pay for that COSTLY course director training!

 

[farrakhan]

I reckon if you but your mind and your heart into it diving is not a bad way to go. Although I agree you can never go wrong with education, as long as your willing to sacrifice lots of time and effort for very little money and recognition then it's well worth exploring diving as a carrer option. I've done both, I've finished two degrees and travelled to Belize, Egypt, Canada, U.S.A, Mexico, Vanuatu, and finally settled in Australia where I now own a Padi 5 Star IDC Center. It is very true that in order to make any real money in the industry is to own your own shop, but at the same time there is an awful lot of liability and responsibility most people don't see. My opinion to you is follow your heart.

 

[mike_s]

What exactly is a "Course Director"?

who do they work for? (PADI? dive shop? resort center?)

 

[SeanQ]

A Course Director is someone who can teach the Instructor Development Course. That is what a PADI Course Director does; I am not sure about other organizations.

http://www.padi.com/english/common/courses/pro/cd.asp

 

[scubadoguk]

This is a question I cannot find a stright answer for. I am a 22yr old PADI MSDT who would like to make a choice in life. Go back to school to get a degree or pursue my passion of diving and turning it into a full time carrer. As a instructor I know I can make enough to live but if I continue my dive eductaion and become a course director is the money better? How much do course directors make? Is this a easy answer or not? Any imput would be greatly appreciated.

I love my life but every time I am out of work I end up doing manual labour jobs the longest I worked doing that was 2 yrs at a place in the UK I have no money no poscesions that I bought other than some dive gear, I also have no education and no job skill worthy of note I was a coal miner till 1986.
Since I made my choice not to do a computer degree but a scuba course Divemaster through Instructor.
My first job after finishing my IDC was in Grenada and lots of the people over the 5 yrs I was there were people my age who were bankers and computer guys, bankers and such.
After I had to go back after 5 yrs and I had to have a job there are no jobs for scuba instructors in the UK so I do the manual labour places and the guys I had led dives for were still making money because they had the education.
I would not change my life but would do things a little different if I had the chance but as we know its not possible it is very hard without a education to get any kind of well paying job even more so by the rolling stone type of life.
CD training is about 15 thou once you meet the prereqs.
Get the education do diving as a hobby have fun and money

 

[opiniongirl]

here here!

You can always become a course director. What you make is dependant on where you live, and how saturated (ha ha) the market is with CD's, as well as what type of job LDS are doing with producing.

Use diving to pay for school, and then let it be a pleasant side-dish. Or, do it for a couple of years, and then go back.

The problem is, if you get injured, and your career is teaching, your HOOPED...and (depending on where you live) owning a dive store is simply buying yourself a job, and owning a shoe store is a lot less hassle!

My advice, get the fallback first - I was trained in the financial services, went back to diving full time (the money was too good to pass up) then I got hurt..If I didn't have the nerd job I'd be working at Home depot.

Kinda like riding a skateboard to work - great if you do it because you want to, stinks if you do it because you have to.