Hello

[Aquasurfer]

Hi, don't know if this the right part of the forum as new here. Anyway just wondering why we as scuba instructors/pro get treated so badly and paid so bad. I mean take a look at any of the jobs on PADI and the amount they expect from you is staggering. Yes I know I have been in the industry for a while but it does not seem to get better. The amount of languages wanted, plus they want you to deal with shop, equipment, have computer skills, have any relevant quals for instance stcw95 which costs around 600GBP ontop of the training you done to get to be a pro, plus the yearly padi fees, have your own equipment which takes wear and tear, deal with customers 24/7, repair boat engines, drive the boats etc etc.... basically a flogged dog then they offer pay mainly on commission - so no customers no pay and the rate - I worked mainly in asia region as I like warm waters, is around 30 GBP per student for open water - for the whole course - around 3-4 days... I have worked in other areas and it never gets much better - why is this... I mean most jobs have an hourly rate but this is around 10 per day and we get up early and work till late and dance like monkeys afterwards to keep customers happy. Do enjoy the social activities of the job but I mean its like the worst paid job in the world - how can we every save anything - I know people who have gotten into debt trying to earn a living out of this and haven't even saved the funds to get back home or move on to the next season. Where are the best places to get paid and work, ideally looking at busy idc centres? I myself am currently looking for work again and although I love to teach it really is about time we got treated with respect esepecially for what we have to invest and deal with including responsibilities for peoples lives underwater that we are held for and any problem ultimately result in injury for customers or yourself etc etc never mind if a death, being sued - its your neck on the line at all times.I myself have never had a problem - touch wood but wanting to get into a busy idc as aiming for course director but would actually like to get a fair salary. How is this possible. It may sound like a complete rant but I do love the job and lifestyle and although I realise I will never get anywhere near being rich it would be nice to be paid fairly and live a little rather than scraping to survive. Places seem to exploit instructors for every last drop of sweat and blood.

 

[Mimal]

Hi Aquasurfer. I read your post with interest. You've been teaching for a while and I really understand your frustration. My situation is quite different. I'm looking into the whole teaching option as a 2nd career but it' not driven by financial reasons. For many years I was an exec with a large company and I left the job 2 yrs ago with all the money, challenge and stress, to look for something else, not sure yet, but certainly not the same kind of job. Diving has helped me focus on the beauty of life, not superficial things. Teaching diving part-time appeals to me, but not because of the money. Maybe because of the passion of transferring a passion and joy on to someone else. I guess if I had to depend on diving to earn a living, I wouldn't see it the same way. Cheers from Canada.

 

[vincent54]

The dive business, like any other business, is driven by profit. The overhead is crippling. and the best way to maximize profit is to minimize overhead. The salaries are the easiest to control. Dive shops aren't in the business to fund a lifestyle. If you want more pay, organize other workers and set the salary base. Hence the need for Unions. Until a coordinated effort is made, there will be someone to work for minimal pay. Unions haven't destroyed america, corporate greed has, and our apathetic acceptance of it's consequences. A service business is a constant battle of liabilities, increasing costs and usually minimal return. Cheers

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Another big reason is the puppy mills that turn out hundreds of Open Water instructors every year that really aren't worth very much and the resorts and ops know this. But they have been led to think that the lifestyle is so cool, glamorous, and fun that they will take their poor skills and work for cheap. Thinking it will get better. And it doesn't. So they bitch to management and get told to piss off as there are another hundred dumb schmucks just like they were ready to perpetuate the cycle. Couple that with people who have been led to believe by the same places that train these instructors that anyone can learn to dive quick, cheap, and easy. And you have what you see.

Then you have those who degrade the rating by teaching or assisting for free. These are the people that help keep wages low and dive pro's looked at as no big deal. They reduce a professional rating that is used to teach people to survive in an alien environment that is normally hostile to human life to less than a person who teaches someone to take a crooked stick, hit a little ball, chase after it, THEN HIT IT AGAIN, with the hopes it will go into a gopher hole! Golf instructors in my area make on average $75 for a one hour lesson. A swimming coach at one of our local places gets 110 an hour for a private session. Yet people want a full open water cert for the same money or just a little more. This is the fault of the free services people and the agencies that do nothing to improve the professional image of an instructor. Instead they push more and more to go faster and cheaper so that they maximize their profits. Screw the instructors. We'll just make more seems to be the business model.

 

[vincent54]

The above response seems to sum it up best. People will find the best deal, not necessarily the best service. A universal rate would help, but there are so many it would be hard to police. I find you get what you pay for, if it's free it is usually nothing.