Pros and Cons of Working in a Shop Vs. Independent Instructor

[Michael Guerrero]

So the instructors keep the money they make for certifying students then?

 

[Bennno]

Please respond with your views on the pros and cons of working for a shop vs. being an independent instructor.

My initial thought is that working for a shop gives you better access to fills, gear, and students, but I'm assuming they may want you to also commit to hours and that you have to split your student fees with them.

Thoughts?

Full-time or as a hobby job?

A have not read the other posts so maybe this has been said already.
You're always much better of as an independant instructor IF you have a way to get customers. If you can't get customers, you have to work for a shop... it's never a good deal though and many shop instructors don't make any money even though they don't realise it, because they don't take into account how much they're actually spending on gas/gear/maintenance/insurance/memberships/etc.

 

[tbone1004]

You're making a lot of assumptions here TBone. Besides, I think it's a totally different thing for a diver who thinks they have the necessary skill and knowledge to be a scuba instructor to want a quick certification program than a shop to push thousands of dollars of equipment on a newly minted open water diver that many in fact never dive again.

Let's keep the threads separate if possible please so we can maintain focus. If you want to question the motivations of someone who wants to become and instructor quickly, please do it in the other thread.

Thanks,
Mike

I'm only making assumptions because you don't seem to think that the answers to my questions are relevant so you keep avoiding them. The threads are not independent, for what you want out of them, they are completely related. If you want to go work for a shop, the decision is made for you. You basically have to go PADI. If you want to work independently, then the decision has variables that are ruled out because of various reasons. The skills and knowledge aren't relevant or what makes you pass an IDC, the knowledge and ability to TEACH is what makes you eligible to pass, and you can't get that when you are trying to cut corners if you actually want to be a truly valuable instructor. You can be the best QB in the world, but that doesn't qualify you to coach, and a week long course in coaching 101 isn't going to get you there.

You keep deflecting in both threads why you want to do this and seem to be under the assumption that it isn't relevant. The truth is, why you want to do this has everything to do with what path you want to follow. Looking at biased variables about why we went the routes that we went has absolutely nothing to do with what is best for you and just because we went the route we did, has no bearing on whether we recommend that route to others based on their situation.

Here's why

We'll pitch PADI vs. NAUI. If you want to teach to make the best damned OW divers out there, then you can't teach out of a shop for agencies like PADI that handcuff you as an instructor, go to NAUI. You also can't cut corners during your instructor course because that's where they take the skills and knowledge that you have and teach you how to impart that on the students.

If however, you want to teach lots of students, then you get over it and teach out of a shop with PADI because that's where the students are. In that case, take the fastest and cheapest route because it isn't really going to matter in the long run. You'll be part of the insanely large crowd of joke instructors out there and likely have no power over how you teach your courses, who you can pass or fail as long as they check all of the boxes because the LDS owner is looking out for his pocket, and fall into the industry chasm of poor diving education that you criticized earlier because that is all those IDC's are trying to go. Get you in, get your money, get you out. They couldn't care less what you do after you get out, and frankly don't really care if you can teach or not because you checked the boxes and now you're an instructor, whether you really earned it or not.

I say that as a NAUI instructor independent from any shop who went through the ITC over several years of mentoring. I had the skills and knowledge to be an instructor the day I received my Nitrox Diver card, but that didn't qualify me to teach.

 

[Scott]

So, there are instructors who actually work for shops doing various things (I assume they get paid hourly).

You may collect additional pay in the form of a check or you may have in-store credit. Best to have that conversation before hand.
What other tasks would you get paid for besides retail sales. Service tech, pool operator, boat captain, compressor repair/maintenace, building maintenance.

These shops may impose restrictions on the equipment the instructor uses to the lines they carry (could teach in rental gear?), but the instructor may have more of an influence on how the place is run since they're a part of it.

In most cases if you're an on-staff instructor you are required to dive during classes in the gear the store carries. Some will say this is your 'uniform' and you will purchase and use it. Others will say, you can use anything in <insert store carried brand here> catalog.

Do shops pay to get their service techs certified to maintain their line(s) of equipment, inspect tanks, blend gas, perform O2 cleaning, etc? And you get under their group insurance policy.

The stores I have worked for have paid for me to attend service tech courses on the gear they carry as long as I'm doing the service for them. If I wanted to attend so I could service my own, it;s on my dime.

There are people who are "associated" with shops, where they routinely bring their students and have a relationship with the shop that is symbiotic. This is more likely in areas with lots of diving? In this scenario the instructor keeps the course fees? And you might get on their insurance.

Course fees as in tuition? You may still have to pay the store for pool time, gear use and materials.
As for insurance. I've had group insurance offered to me at the discounted price but I still had to pay for it. Granted it was less than what I would have paid individually. This may come with a caveat, that you only teach or bring your students through that facility.
They may want you to purchase the student materials also.

 

[DevonDiver]

As John said, it depends a lot on the region.

It also depends on what you classify as an 'independent' instructor. For some that means a freelancer who 'temps' on-demand for multiple shops. For others it means an instructor who attracts and trains their own clientele, using the services of hosting dive operations.

Here's my perspective, working in SE Asia...

WORKING FOR SHOP:

Pros:
- Shop supplies students
- Don't need personal reputation
- Some jobs are salaried
- Shop provides all logistics
- Shop processes certs
- More routine work, with scheduled off days
- Few financial overheads

Cons:
- Pressure to certify fast / lower standards
- Additional responsibilities (pump tanks, fix kit, pack boat etc)
- You're disposable
- Have to attend during opening hours
- Low income per student

INDEPENDENT INSTRUCTOR:

Pros:
- Ability to define training quality
- Higher % income per course
- Ability to specialize
- Ability to define your own tuition costs
- Time off when not actively running courses
- Ability to pick and choose where you choose to hold courses

Cons:
- Success is individual reputation dependant.
- Have to market yourself and attract your own clientele.
- Work harder and longer per client
- Higher costs to the client
- More complicated logistics and agency relationship
- Reliance on hosting centers/boats whose standards you can't dictate



I've been independent for over 10 years. I wouldn't want to be employed again as an instructor.

I charge a daily tuition rate for instruction and have negotiated that my students pay selected host dive operations directly for dive/gas costs etc.

When I don't have courses, I earn nothing (you need to consider other income streams).

An independent has to have justified confidence in their expertise and teaching ability. They need to take ownership of their standards and attracting clients.

I provide a more bespoke service to students. This requires real experience, as I need to identify and meet client goals. I can't just deliver 'off-the-shelf' courses like a drone. I always need to deliver significant added-value.

I also spend much more time developing relationships with my students. It's a personal service. That takes more time.. I often 'work' evenings.. hanging out with students... But it's enjoyable if you're a 'people person' and you enjoy building real relationships (friendships!) rather than just 'serving customers'.

Reputation is everything... and if you screw up or get lazy, you'll go down fast. You can't ever have a' bad day', or skip work because you're sick and exhausted. It's 100% effort and motivation regardless of personal circumstances.

As an example, from start-October to end-December 2016, I only had a total of 5 days off. Most days included 120+ minutes in-water doing very demanding lessons/diving. That leads to a special 'bone deep' lingering fatigue. Nonetheless, you have to give maximum effort and motivation every day.

When one student leaves 'exhausted', another arrives fresh...

'Work' starts at 7am...emails and messages over coffee and an egg sandwich at home. By 8.30am I'm at the dive center prepping and coordinating 'behind the scenes'. At 9am I meet students and lessons are physically and/or mentally intensive all day. I often don't get lunch. By 6pm I'm de-briefing over a beer and planning the next days training. I get home by 9-10pm for a late dinner. Then it's more emails, over coffee to stay awake, before I crash out exhausted.

Rain or shine, monsoons, typhoons, sickness and health, personal, family and relationship problems,... You still need to perform with energy, focus, motivation and enthusiasm. You're reputation is only as good as the effort you make that day.

Shop instructors are relatively anonymous. Independent instructors lose that anonymity . you're personally accountable for your performance and standard. Mistakes will haunt you... and directly effect your career and earnings.

As a PADI instructor, I have no issues certifying students personally. However, with other 'dive shop' orientated agencies there's always a way to manage this... often processing is done via a regional office.

What I love about being an independent is that I can specialise in what I teach and I set my own standards... generally far above the minimum standard required. This best suits specialist and advanced diving activities.

The drawback (?) for me is that I need to work hard to establish and maintain a reputation that justifies a higher course cost to the client. It's hard work and it doesn't cease when I go home at night. There's more pressure to stay cutting edge with professional development and knowledge. I also had to build and maintain my own website, Facebook page, Twitter account, blog, Google+ page etc etc etc. This marketing takes hours per day.

Because independent instructors are generally more expensive, they're the first to suffer downturn in the market. They can't compete on price, so they won't attract clientele who are cost focused. Quality focused clientele is more prone to demand variation and market forces.