go pro or not

[Divedoggie]

Double post glitch..
Actual post below..

 

[Divedoggie]

Why are you guessing Oceanic? That seems from left field to me.....

Any shop should have the instructors wearing/using the brands they sell regardless of brand.

The OP is listed at Myrtle Beach, SC, that is my sales territory and I don't think it is Oceanic here

Sorry! That was a bit too much out of left field.
I am not blasting Oceanic. I own an Oceanic Zeta Reg that has been awesome!

I have simply seen quite a few SSI stores and ALL of their Pros using Oceanic, and I thought that it was more than coincidence. I guess my tone was un-intentionally accusatory when I asked if Oceanic was the brand that was being pushed by the LDS in question.

I was just curious...no harm intended.

The Pros at my LDS use many different brands, and many brands not sold in the store, which was the basis for my comparison.

 

[cerich]

Thanks, you had me wondering.....

From my point of view I would love to see every dive pro dive Oceanic! It sounds like the instructors in your neck of the mountains aren't "forced" to use Oceanic but choose it, good taste.

However, we don't force our dealers to make their staff wear our gear, we do offer a great deal if they choose to though!

 

[LavaSurfer]

I've been thinking for awhile that I might enjoy helping others learn to dive. There's a local SSI shop that I really like and the owner/instructor seems interested in having another divecon around. The only glitch is that I'll have to push the shop's brands of equipment, which I understand, and end up buying all new stuff. I'm wondering if anyone else has been in this position and what they did and was it worth it. BTW, I'm NOT quitting my day job, this would be my side, fun job. Thoughts?
David

Personally, if they require a certain brand of gear then they should supply it, otherwide you wear what you have and move on.

My 2 psi

 

[daniel f aleman]

You're being ripped off. It's one thing to demand that instructors wear store-sold brand equipment, and another to demand that Divemaster trainies to do so. The only way this can be justified, at all, is if the shop does not charge you for the Divemaster course AND sets a reasonable time limit for course completion.

You had better talk to other local shops and compare... bigtime.

 

[rockjock3]

I didn't buy any of my gear based on what my instructor wore, and neither did my friends in the class. My wife just got certified as well and she didn't choose any of her gear that way either.

People should choose their gear on the gear they have experience with and that is the rental gear. If they don't like what that shop sells then they should rent gear, once they are certified, from different shops to find the brand/model that suits them best.

IMO it doesn't matter what the instructor wears. As to an earlier comment as well, I see no reason an instructor can't wear tech gear, unless they are unable to demonstrate certain skills with it. It is great for the students to be exposed to many types of gear so that they don't do like many of us do. For example, I started with a jacket style bc because that is what I was exposed to, not from the same dive shop though. If I would have know about BP/Ws before I would have tried those out as well and probably not have bought two pieces of gear to get where I am instead of only one piece and all inside a year.

 

[Damselfish]

I didn't buy any of my gear based on what my instructor wore, and neither did my friends in the class. My wife just got certified as well and she didn't choose any of her gear that way either.

People should choose their gear on the gear they have experience with and that is the rental gear. If they don't like what that shop sells then they should rent gear, once they are certified, from different shops to find the brand/model that suits them best.

IMO it doesn't matter what the instructor wears. As to an earlier comment as well, I see no reason an instructor can't wear tech gear, unless they are unable to demonstrate certain skills with it. It is great for the students to be exposed to many types of gear so that they don't do like many of us do. For example, I started with a jacket style bc because that is what I was exposed to, not from the same dive shop though. If I would have know about BP/Ws before I would have tried those out as well and probably not have bought two pieces of gear to get where I am instead of only one piece and all inside a year.

Sure, but the thing is, not everyone thinks this way. Ssome students will buy what their instructor is wearing without being exposed to anything else or doing any research. And some shops count on that.

 

[paolov]

BTW, I'm NOT quitting my day job, this would be my side, fun job. Thoughts?
David

go for it if that is your primary goal to help others!!!! while havign your full time weekday office job.

consider going pro your 2nd job and your office hours for it would be on the weekends.

.

 

[ae3753]

From the OW courses that I have assisted with, I would say that 10% buy the same BC as the instructor and 20% buy the same fins. When I started diving, I definitely looked at what instructors and dive masters wore as a guage of what "good" equipment was.

I enjoy assisting in diving classes and helping new divers out. However, there are days when it feels like work. I mean, it really feels like work. At that point, I do wonder why I am out there as opposed to diving on my own. But at the end of the day, getting someone new excited about diving is a unique experience. If you like to help others and to teach, then going pro may be a good decision. Of course, you can just be a mentor too. However, if you like to just dive, then I would strongly reconsider going pro.

For OW dives, we have the opportunity to dive our own gear which I prefer. If I were required to buy new gear, I would not help. For me, it's not worth the cost. I would have redundant gear and would most likely not be diving my preferred rig.

Can you tag along for a few classes and see if you would like being a divecon? Follow 2 OW courses all the way through, and then make the call.

 

[LSDeep]

From the OW courses that I have assisted with, I would say that 10% buy the same BC as the instructor and 20% buy the same fins. When I started diving, I definitely looked at what instructors and dive masters wore as a guage of what "good" equipment was.

I enjoy assisting in diving classes and helping new divers out. However, there are days when it feels like work. I mean, it really feels like work. At that point, I do wonder why I am out there as opposed to diving on my own. But at the end of the day, getting someone new excited about diving is a unique experience. If you like to help others and to teach, then going pro may be a good decision. Of course, you can just be a mentor too. However, if you like to just dive, then I would strongly reconsider going pro.

For OW dives, we have the opportunity to dive our own gear which I prefer. If I were required to buy new gear, I would not help. For me, it's not worth the cost. I would have redundant gear and would most likely not be diving my preferred rig.

Can you tag along for a few classes and see if you would like being a divecon? Follow 2 OW courses all the way through, and then make the call.

thx, my point i tried to make. if the shop doesnt pay you for it there is no reson to buy the gear, even if your wife / girlfriend is doing a course right now and you argue she could have yours - will she like it / want it??? me, as an instr, would not wear the shops selling brands if i have to pay for it! i own gear on the upper side of $15k - so why would i go to buy more? i have rec gear as well as tek. if you want me to wear shop brands, you provide it. even than, i might have a prob with some (might, not have!!!). i see the shops point no doubt, i used to partially own some, we provided the gear for our instr. where we wanted them to wear shop brands.
as for another post here, saying that students dont buy what their instr. use. youre right and wrong. sure they dont buy the exact same stuff, but in my experience many stick with brands the staff uses. that depends majorly on your staff also and how happy they are with it or not and are able to derivate from i use it every day to the student level and their poss diving profile for the near future. generally i think you can say about 75% of students will (at least strongly) consider their instr. recommandations, as long as they have the feeling this are honest recommandations. i dont try to be a "used car salesman" with my students, that means i / the shop has not what you need i will send you to (preferred) friends of us / me that have it. thats one reason you come back to me in the end .
kk, back to brands and what staff wears and tears, i used to work for a place, where all rental gear was zeagle bcd, apeks regs and forcefins (dont cry, its europe and a small shop) we poss "pushed" 90% students towards that brands and we did not sell gear at all! might be the point, they dont sell but use it and promote it. long time ago, thats how i got into forcefins and zeagle and apeks .
anyway, dont buy it if you help out there for nothing. dont buy it if they pay you some money. if they give it to you - use it if you like it. be honest to the students you are in contact with about gear - it will pay off for you and the dc in the long run!