how much do dive instructors get paid

[Octopusprime]

Rich, totally agree with your typical instructor. Many use it as an excuse to spend money and dive more. I would like to disagree that you can not be a full time dive pro and make good money. I have met a few. And I mean a few like 2. With any profession there are those that sell on price and those that sell on value. The is an Independant instructor in FL he charges over $1000 for an OW student but when the rest of the market was saying prices are going down I need to do the minimum amount of work to compete on price he said he would teach 1 or 2 divers on their schedule when ever they want and sold on value and service. However, because most dive pros do not make the leap and go full time or own a dive shop and have to keep the doors open so they can only teach on the weekends are not able to provide the service.

Many of the same shop owners will complain about online sales are killing business but they have not been able to adapt. Shop owners need to realize that people can not get certified online (yet) they need to stop giving certifications away for free and yes anything under $500 is giving it away.

As as for online competition shops need to understand human shopping behavior on BIG purchase people will shop and look for a deal. If you walk into Home Depot and buy a drill for $99 they may make $5 on the drill and that is if 2 did not get stolen. But on the $20 drill bit set they made $15. So LDS need to think like a big box. Be competitive on big items and make money on the little things. How many shops have you been to that sell the camera accessories but no clips or lanyards to secure them. They could make $40 on selling a camera housing they have had in stock for a year or sell a 40 lanyard and make $30. Hummm $40 investment to make 30, or $600 investment to make 40 after a year.

Shops need to know what their value is and make it known. It is connivance and service. Most shops if you buy a reg set from them will assemble it for free but if they buy online they will charge for it right... So why not have signs everywhere saying free assembly with purchase $60 value. The other value is conveyance you can have it today. This is big for save a dive items, broken mask order online have it in 5 days buy in a shop get it today... This is the same for fit. If you have someone in the store trying on a wet suit and they want to leave and "think about it" or "ask my wife" that is code for look online. Tell them you will give them $20 off and leave with it today or if you find it online we will beet the price and there is no shipping.


Wow wow sorry that is my rant. I'm in sales and marketing and this just drives me nuts when people have excuses it is a knowing how to sell problem not a demand problem.

HHHhhahahahhaarrr!
Let's break that $90/student down, shall we? At a four student minimum/8 student maximum - $360-720 for the class. We'll assume the dive shop pays all insurance, transportation, food & lodging on dive trips.
Classroom time (average) 12½ hours
Preparation for classroom time (average) 5 hours
Private time with the "duty 10%" (average) 2½ hours
Pool time (average) 12½ hours
Preparation for pool time (average) 2½ hours
Securing pool after sessions time (average) 1 hr.
Open water trips (since I don't know Mario's situation I'll use ours - Sat-Sun at a site 2½ hours distant on one weekend, and a four hour boat trip at a site 3½ hours distant on another weekend) - total time on-site with students plus driving time, prep time, tank and equipment loading and unloading, getting tanks refilled between dives, cleanup and stowage after the trips - (minimum) 30. (this does not include all the time away from home, or any informal instruction over dinner etc)
Beer for Assistants (entire course - 14 (cheap) beers (average) $20
So, for somewhere from $360 to $720, a typical instructor is putting in about 66 hours and $20, plus wear & tear on his own equipment, which probably averages another $100 per course.
That works out to about $3.65 to $9 an hour... a hell of a deal for the student. The instructor could make more digging ditches even if he had to provide his own shovel.
Bottom line - if you intend to be a full time instructor, realize you must live on equipment sales and not your instructor commissions. A "traveling instructor" must be independently wealthy, or prepared to lead a frugal life and pick up odd jobs at other things.
Rick

 

[Seymour Fisch]

Every time I see this thread title, I initially read it as, "How much do dive instructors get laid?"

 

[chillyinCanada]

Well Seymour, maybe that's where the passion comes in.

 

[RJP]

Well Seymour, maybe that's where the passion comes in.

Yeah, because the chicks really dig sweaty broke guys that smell of neoprene and brag about how low their "sac' is.

 

[Diver0001]

It seems like a cool side job.

It is.

As you can see you're not going to rich doing it. Many scuba instructors don't get paid money at all but are compensated "in natura". For example one of the perks I get at the shop that would have cost a customer a fair amount of money is free air or nitrox fills. With the amount I dive in a year that's already worth maybe €1200 to me even though no actual money exchanges hands.

Add to that key man discounts, access to the work bench, the odd freebee and maintenance at cost price on my stuff (and I have a lot of stuff) and it adds up fast.

So in my case, and I'm sure many instructors are in this position, I just think it's a cool side job. I don't need the money but being able to keep the costs of my hobby under control is worth it. it wouldn't feel right if it were all give and no take but the take doesn't need to be $$$. It just has to have value.

R..

---------- Post added July 3rd, 2015 at 11:01 PM ----------

Every time I see this thread title, I initially read it as, "How much do dive instructors get laid?"

I've honestly never had a student come on to me and at my age giving up on the idea is the only option still open.

Even if it happened I wouldn't be able to take them up on the offer but still.... the ego wants.... LOL

R..

 

[boulderjohn]

This thread has convinced me of two things:
1- I need to tip my dive instructors and dive masters MUCH MORE.

When I was a DM teaching Discover Scuba and Scuba Refresher classes, occasionally someone would give me a tip. I assume they meant it to be a little extra, which is what tips usually are. Every one of those tips was at least equal to what I got paid by the shop for teaching the class. They were not "a little extra."

 

[KevinNM]

My impression is that you can make an adequate living working for the dive operators in Hawaii, as Jack's in Kona has lots people who have been on the staff for many years But it seems everyone who works there is an experienced scuba instructor, and that includes the people you see working the counter and the bench techs in the back.

Again, you are not going get rich doing this, but you are getting paid to dive in Hawaii...

 

[RJP]

My impression is that you can make an adequate living working for the dive operators in Hawaii, as Jack's in Kona has lots people who have been on the staff for many years But it seems everyone who works there is an experienced scuba instructor, and that includes the people you see working the counter and the bench techs in the back.

Again, you are not going get rich doing this, but you are getting paid to dive in Hawaii...

Hawaii is also an odd sort of dynamic in the respect that most people there have first "made the primary decision to live in Hawaii" and then are willing to accept whatever wages/sacrifices necessary to do so. While the cost of living in Hawaii is higher than the cost to live in NJ (not by that much) few Hawaii instructors would trade whatever pittance they earn in Hawaii to live "better" in NJ... or elsewhere.

 

[The Kraken]

Not enough . . .

Safe dives . . . . . .
. . . safer ascents !

the K

 

[Ahmed Raza]

I want to know, How much does padi take from each certification, For example normal certification cost 490.04 dollars, but their offers in some places for almost half the prices ( they are legit places), So I was wondering how much does padi charge instructor per certification or do free lance instructor need to be working with some shops for certification?
Sorry if this is wrong question for this post.