ldixon
Registered
Hello
I know this is an old post. But I wanted to say that I just bought New Wave Divers about a 1 1/2 years ago and I have updated all equipment, fixed the boats that were in dry dock and sitting in the water untouched for years, hired employees and remolded the building. It is a much nicer place now and we are very busy. I will have the old website but am in the process of moving it all over to the new one. Welcome to New Wave Divers, Boracay, Philippines old one is Boracay Scuba Diving - New Wave Divers
Thanks so much and are you interested in returning to Boracay?
Lynette
I know this is an old post. But I wanted to say that I just bought New Wave Divers about a 1 1/2 years ago and I have updated all equipment, fixed the boats that were in dry dock and sitting in the water untouched for years, hired employees and remolded the building. It is a much nicer place now and we are very busy. I will have the old website but am in the process of moving it all over to the new one. Welcome to New Wave Divers, Boracay, Philippines old one is Boracay Scuba Diving - New Wave Divers
Thanks so much and are you interested in returning to Boracay?
Lynette
Teaching scuba diving should be a passion. In most places in the world, instructors do not earn as much as the minimum wage in the USA.
If you go to Asia where diving is not so bad at all, you earn even less.
In Boracay Island, Philippines, an instructor would earn based on commission. 35% of the course fee and the open water course is approximately USD $300. That gives you $105. Instructors provide their own equipment and teaching materials since most dive operation here do not have complete materials and it is expensive to invest because the visitors are mostly from different countries.
No customers, no money. To be a successful instructor, one has to be sincere in dealing with people and people come back even if they live halfway across the world. I have yet to meet a diver who did not enjoy their vacation here. That is a big plus for us. During the low season, our group seems to be the busiest operation even though the facility where I worked for before is not good or doesn't look good at all. We get lots of returning customers and referrals.
In the capital (city), there are a lot of freelance instructors. They generally earn a little bit more than instructors in Boracay but they have to do a lot more work like taking care of logistics and travelling to the nearest dive spots. They have to work first in established dive centers first and build up their own network of customers before turning freelance. Only a handful of them would be considered successful. Even so, they don't earn as much as most people in ... say USA.
My advice is pay off your debt. Protect your reputation and character, seriously consider what you want to do in life before going fulltime teaching. Teaching scuba diving will not make you rich or even allow you to save a substantial amount of money but let you have fun, meet people and feel fulfilled everytime a student says thank you. A downside is that in the unlikely event (sounds like PADI linggo) of an accident, your career is probably finished.
Hope this helps.