Is there an instructor crisis?

[rjack321]

What is the problem you are trying to solve here? Is there an increase in deaths and injuries in diving and PADI is being sued more because of the low quality of PADI's instructors?

Yes and yes. And insurance rates are wayyyy up as a consequence (at least in USA and Canada). In part because the actual underwriters and insurers don't give a damn about what agency has blessed you as an instructor. "Scuba instruction" is one giant risk pool to them (all 2 underwriters). More payouts and claims? Higher premiums or they just say "these folks ain't worth the bother insuring" and the market contracts - a shrunken insurance market means the remaining insurers have no competition, combined with a poor (eg high) claims history as an industry... Rates climb even higher cause they can and why not? Squeeze those "risky" scuba instructors as much as they can and maximize their profits and cover the next claim with ease.

So the good instructors who taught on the side for fun are leaving since its not worth paying crazy insurance premiums annually. 'Cause then they're obligated to teach more and more classes just to break even. They are done, leaving, not bothering to renew their insurance or teach anymore.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

And those of us who didn't just teach for fun, but also because we gave a damn about our students, get/got undercut by the zero to heroes and the unethical shops they work for.
It was no longer fun anymore either because no one wanted to take their time getting a cert save for a few students.
And then we got lumped in with the ones teaching one weekend crap courses, getting students hurt or worse, and to lower standards or even no standards since violating them doesn't seem to matter if the shop or instructor is sending lots of money to the agency(s).
When I saw what my insurance was going to likely be for the amount of coverage offered, that was the icing on the cake to say "I'm done."
I just had someone today ask me if I would consider re-upping to certify him and his family because he's retiring. Sorry, nope.

 

[MidOH]

How much is the insurance?

How much would it be if the LDS was your employer instead of being independent, and only contracting for that shop?

 

[VikingDives]

How much is the insurance?

How much would it be if the LDS was your employer instead of being independent, and only contracting for that shop?

A lot of shops will cover your insurance, but then you are stuck taking what they give you.

You (likely) can't show up and tell the owner that you'll only take two students in the pool, because he or she will have 10 students that need to get certified that week...

And most of those people chose the dive shop because they could get a cheap certification... They weren't searching for quality instructors.

When I get calls where the first question the person asks is about cost, I know that I'll never hear from them again because they are bargain hunting.

 

[Pressurehead]

I just had someone today ask me if I would consider re-upping to certify him and his family because he's retiring. Sorry, nope.

I had a few ask me the same when we opened back up after covid, only a couple this year [so far], so I am fading from view.
Like you, sorry, nope, I am now an 'Emeritus Instructor'.

Emeritus Members. Non-voting instructor and leadership members who have paid annual dues and who have retired from all diving instructional, assisting, and supervisory activities, but retain all other benefits and privileges of NAUI membership except the right to vote.

 

[tomfcrist]

The few won’t don’t need the money aren’t “the few” in the Midwest. OW instructors here have other sources of income, so they’re the majority, not the few.

I think that is true most everywhere. The percentage of no kidding full time instructors in the USA is very low.

That being said, there aren’t a lot of those “don’t need the money” instructors that are going to willingly pay the crazy insurance premiums that are coming…and this will drive change. Either pay instructors more money, or they will go do other things they love. If I’m going to take a net loss on my “side hustle”, my money is better spent on Sorb and Helium.

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

In the U.S. I would not be able to teach full time. It is not an option unless I also wanted to be homeless.

Now working outside the U.S. , I see many people working their way to DM with zero intention of becoming instructors. The reasons I have heard:
-Working 6 days a week, often 10 hours a day or more (burnout is a real thing) when owners could care less about your mental and physical state...just dive
- Extremely low pay (or no pay and only commissions) that makes it difficult to buy new gear or save money, dive center owners that care more about the bottom line than their employees because "there is someone waiting to take your spot" and the last one I heard was that it is next to impossible to find a dive center that dives and teaches the way you dive and would want to teach. (i.e. high level, not herding cats, low student to instructor ratios, quality over quantity)

This is of course based off the sample size of people I have met in Bali so it could be different elsewhere

 

[scubadada]

So, if you teach somewhere where there is a relatively constant supply of students with relatively good diving, you may be able to make it as a scuba instructor, what a surprise. Few locations in the US qualify, maybe just Key Largo.

 

[AndyLewis]

What’s happening in the instructor world?
I hear there is a lack of people becoming instructors and the ones still doing it are starting to retire. My LDS used to have 10-12 instructors on their list or resources back 20 years ago. Now there is one and she’s 65 and wants to retire. They cannot find anyone that want’s to do it.
Is this a regional home town problem only and not at resorts? Do resorts still have more instructors they know what to do with who are willing to work dirt cheap or is this changing too?
I’m not seeing many if any young bloods coming into the instructor or even DM side.
People are telling me all sorts of doom and gloom stories about how the industry is going to cave in if there are no instructors.
If the local shops can’t find instructors then does that mean they just get into selling gear and trips and they will have to hope that people get certs somewhere else on vacation?
I can see how the increased cost of basic living, plus the cost of becoming an instructor, plus the cost of insurance, plus the low pay make it almost impossible to do, and that’s why nobody’s doing it.
What does this mean for the industry.
What will eventually happen?

Most of the time I find it is just lack of time or interest, when I was getting my Instructor cert I had 5 other people in the class only 2 of us got it because the others could not make the time, effort, cost, or had to miss classes due to life.
Also lately I have found its hard to get the numbers I need to keep my instructor cert, I have thought about just falling back to dive master and doing discovery dives for extra cash because it is hard to find new divers who want to learn.
Most of the students just wanted to get their OW for a trip they had coming up and that was it, and the only time they wanted to dive.
I remember diving was very popular back in the early 90s I was 12 when I got my OW. But now a day kids are more focused on video games or the latest tiktok trend.
It is like this everywhere so yes the diver world is slowing down, on top of it costing A$$$S$$$L$$$ with insurance, getting certified and it not being a real steady paycheck.

 

[tomfcrist]

So, if you teach somewhere where there is a relatively constant supply of students with relatively good diving, you may be able to make it as a scuba instructor, what a surprise.

The point is that you don’t have to “make it”. But it has to be profitable, even for the “I don’t need the money” instructors in the Midwest…or they are going to drop off like flies.