Part time vs full time instructors

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Well said. I do the same but I will go up to 4 students if it's a family or friend group—I like the unified team aspect.

I would do that, but then I'd get an assistant whom I would pay of course. But no more than 4. My policy is to be able in an emergency to grab everyone and take them slowly to the surface. So 2 per dive pro.

 

[Miyaru]

So.. It's incredibly expensive to be an instructor. It's a thankless job, and demeaning to work at most shops. It's so bad that many shops go the extra step of illegally calling you contractors etc.

It sounds pretty horrible.

Those of you who posted about how awful it is to be an instructor. Why do you do it?

I started for myself in 2019. The reason why, was that I didn't agree with the instructors at the previous school I was teaching for.

Why I teach: the look on a students face after that 1st dive and the twinkle in their eyes.

Finance: I have a fulltime job that puts food on the table and pays the rent. Same situation for the other instructors teaching with/for me.
I invested a shitload of money in compressors, tanks, backplates, wings and regulator sets with paperwork (liability). I registered my dive center @ PADI. I pay the PADI and DAN fees for the instructors and divemasters.
Although the Covid lockdown made it challenging, we'll break even in December this year. And that's without pay-per-dive. For now.

How we teach: the floor is lava.

So until now, we don't make profits, but we dive for free, including fills. For us, the amount of fun makes starting this business worth the efforts.

 

[oya]

I'm surprised at the number of people responding, "I don't know any full-time instructors."

They do exist.

However, as a few folks have pointed out: there are caveats.

To work full-time as an instructor almost certainly means living in a tourist destination area. This leads to a couple of consequent considerations:
- The schedule is hard and the hours are long.
- The pay is almost always complete crap. (There are stories of people moving to places like Micronesia to teach... and taking years to put together enough money to finally get back off the island and go wherever home was.)
- The teaching schedule is frequently compressed to the point where students are passed just about capable of not dying underwater.
- You're usually working for a destination/resort where the owners are much more about turnover than about quality.

Much of this leads to it really being a job for the young with a high turnover rate and a high burn-out rate.

If you do not live in a tourist/destination area... then, as people have pointed out, one might work retail or production or travel planning or whatever other side-hustle within the dive industry.

There are some folks who break this mold a bit. I'm lucky enough to be one of them.

I am a full-time instructor. However the path that brought me to where I am is quite long, winding, and weird; it took more than a decade to put together the odd skill-set and the connections and the life I've randomly staggered into. Also, I specialise in technical training (particularly cave diving) where the expectations of a class are significantly different than, say, and Advanced Open Water class.

So, while it may be unusual... there is such a thing as full-time instructors.

 

[sea_ledford]

So.. It's incredibly expensive to be an instructor. It's a thankless job, and demeaning to work at most shops. It's so bad that many shops go the extra step of illegally calling you contractors etc.

It sounds pretty horrible.

Those of you who posted about how awful it is to be an instructor. Why do you do it?

I've been in the dive industry in some form or fashion for most of my life since graduating undergrad in 1997. I am currently in a university diving program as faculty and Diving Safety Officer. So I am full time, but I have considerable responsibilities outside of diving instruction.

I spent time in Hawaii, Turks and Caicos and California as a dive pro and/or dive boat captain. Most of that was guiding, not instruction though. I only spent about 1.5 years in a dive shop. They weren't a really bad shop, but it just wasn't for me, and the pay for instruction was close to idiotic, but par for the course in the area. I have worked with some amazing people and companies over the years and a few stinkers. I got out of the stinkers pretty quick (or dodged them altogether once I figured out the game).

The first place I worked in Hawaii was a little shop in a strip mall. I was a "contractor" but had to work retail 2 days/week in the shop. They were a PADI facility, and at the time (not sure anymore) PADI had given operators in Hawaii dispensation to do a 3 day OW course because the ocean was considered "Pool like conditions". So first "pool session" was doing all of the stuff, in full gear, in the ocean. With waves. And a sand bottom. Did I guess your weight wrong? Sorry, we all have to get out through the surf again. Stupid. Anyway, I was a NAUI instructor so I had to do 4 day courses. I did the math the first week I was there and the only way to pay my bills was to run 2 classes per week with at least 4 students. So thats 8 days of instruction, plus 2 days in the shop... carry the 9... 10 days per week. I quit the second week, after finding another job, and on my way out the door the owner said, "I knew you couldn't handle it." Amazingly there were guys that had been there for years. Must have been selling drugs or something...

But working at Extended Horizons on Maui was great! reasonable hours, decent pay, a great company. Other places pay well, but work you to death, with the ever present threat of "There are 50 people in line for your job", so complaints didn't go far. But I was still diving in awesome locations, making decent money, doing a bunch of stupid stuff, going on adventures, and having a great time. At the time $150-$200/ day was about average with salary and tips, so that's $40-50K/ year, but probably closer to $35-40 due to weather, taking vacation, getting sick, crappy tippers and slow weeks.

 

[TMHeimer]

So.. It's incredibly expensive to be an instructor. It's a thankless job, and demeaning to work at most shops. It's so bad that many shops go the extra step of illegally calling you contractors etc.

It sounds pretty horrible.

Those of you who posted about how awful it is to be an instructor. Why do you do it?

Of course I am not an instructor, but had I been one my reason would have been the same as being a DM. Just something to do in retirement, and I came out at least $1,000 ahead after 4 seasons. I also was a career teacher and it was nice to get a foot back into education--with the added perk of not having the buck stop with me after all those years teaching Band.
Yes, a few can make a living as instructors. Haven't heard of any getting rich (may be some exceptions somewhere?). Part time seems like an OK thing, as long as you at least come out a little ahead financially.
Yet the materials I read when I was active didn't mention the 95% of stuff you read from instructors here-- like all the difficulties financially and otherwise.
Diving is a lot of fun, and low salaries and other problems with being an instructor won't deter many. And there are SO many anyway--someone will always do it.