how much do dive instructors get paid

[Rhone Man]

There is only one way to make a small fortune as a dive instructor, and that is to start with a large fortune.

 

[Hawkwood]

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.

PADI sells only the training materials and the certification itself.

There really is not a straight forward answer to your question because different classes have different costs for the manuals and other materials.

Additionally a facility, or Instructor, can decide to have different materials included with the "Crew Packs". Therefore, for example, an Open Water Crew Pack from one facility can be very different from that from another facility, PADI charges the facility for whatever materials the facility wants included.

To compound that, there are the options for online eLearning in which the charge is direct to PADI and the associated facility receives funds from PADI from the online fee.

Charges to the facilities, or Instructors, are also based on a sliding scale.

Costs will also be different for the different Regions around the world.

 

[BDSC]

The thread that refuses to die.

 

[tursiops]

PADI gets about 20-30USD for issuing the certification card. They also get money for any training materials that are needed. They get nothing for the actual class or dives; those prices are set by the shops, centers, instructors. Under PADI, a free-lance instructor can teach and certify without a shop. The problem free-lancers (called "independent instructors") may have is providing training materials and possible pool time. Also, if they need to provide tanks, BCDs, regs, etc, they need that equipment and possibly insurance to be able to provide it. And gas fills.

 

[kensuf]

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.

If you're talking about Dave, I've heard he's now charging $1500 a student. And he gets it. He doesn't teach a lot of classes, but he's earning around $100k a year.

 

[Slym]

seriously he charges 1500 for OW?!?

I could get like 3 or 4 courses at my LDS for that, and they are really quality courses.

 

[boulderjohn]

I do not know who we are talking about, but you have to inquire about what a course price includes when you compare. Some include only the instruction, with additional charges for things like boat fees, etc. Others include everything.

I assume that in this case, a lot of the cost is the instructor deciding that people will pay more for a class that provides more. I know of others who have a similar approach, and once you develop a reputation, it can work. Extreme Exposure in High Springs, for example, has two different versions of its PADI OW course, and you are free to choose which one you want. As the home of GUE, it also offers GUE certification at even another price. You are thus able to get your initial OW training and certification from them at 3 different price points. (None of which come close to $1,500, BTW.)

 

[kensuf]

seriously he charges 1500 for OW?!?

I could get like 3 or 4 courses at my LDS for that, and they are really quality courses.

I can buy a BMW for a lot of money, or I can buy a Hyundai for a little money. Both will get me from point A to point B. One just gets me there in better style.

 

[Neilwood]

I do not know who we are talking about, but you have to inquire about what a course price includes when you compare. Some include only the instruction, with additional charges for things like boat fees, etc. Others include everything.

I assume that in this case, a lot of the cost is the instructor deciding that people will pay more for a class that provides more. I know of others who have a similar approach, and once you develop a reputation, it can work. Extreme Exposure in High Springs, for example, has two different versions of its PADI OW course, and you are free to choose which one you want. As the home of GUE, it also offers GUE certification at even another price. You are thus able to get your initial OW training and certification from them at 3 different price points. (None of which come close to $1,500, BTW.)

The shop I trained with have 3 options for how to do OW - standard @ £325 (one evening or Saturday morning for five weeks with OW dives done on a weekend), time to suit @ £395 (as above but alternative times to suit) or One on One @ £495 (schedule to suit student). I did the one on one as I had 5 days clear in my diary so I got the benefit of 1-1 with an instructor (which I think helped a huge amount in my diving). The course cost includes all equipment required and the other benefit was they had their own purpose built pool.

 

[rivers]

The inland site I DM for has 3 options ranging in price from £420 (just open water) to £590 (includes mask, fins, and snorkel purchase and drysuit cert) for open water. The most popular option is the middle option for £500, which includes the drysuit cert. The entire cost includes all materials, pool hire, all kit hire, all open water dives, site entry (normally £17/day for non-members), year long membership (£35/year, gets you discounted site entry after your course as well as various other discounts on site), and all gas fills during the course. Our courses are a max of 4 students, usually 2-3. After paying the instructional staff, the profit margin isn't great. And our pay isn't that fantastic either (but at least we get paid).