BarryNL:Same reason heroin dealers give away the first few hits free!
yup! Ever been fishing?? HOOK, LINE, SINKER!!
Scuba training costs..........
- Thread starter owlbill
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yup! Ever been fishing?? HOOK, LINE, SINKER!!
cheap so lots of people take them to catch the few who will be addicted and spend a nice summer evening on the computer talking about it.
its the equipment, man.
its the equipment, man.
SteveC
Contributor
Basicly, it's the old supply and demand thing. Diving seems to be so fun that people are willing to teach it for next to nothing. How many times have we heard of people working in the dive industry for "free air".
rocketry:
I want to see pictures!
Joe
I hate those "add water get diver" classes. I make sure my students know what they are doing, no matter how long it takes.rocketry:
Keep in mind the instuctors name goes on that card. When another dive professional looks at one of my students' cards to find out who certified them, I want it to be because they are impressed, not terrified.
BHB ScubaTroll
Contributor
Well, let's take a look at $99.00 (+ books) and remember that most instructors enjoy teaching more than the pay (just keep that in mind. .. Before I was married, I was an instructor as a second job). Also, most dive shops see it as a service to attract new clients.
Normal class around here: 6 students (we are counting gross, not net)
Class: 6x99 = $594.00
Books 6x45 = $270.00
Mask/Snorkel/Fins 6x$130 = $780.00 (I take this one as an average 40/30/60)
Everything else is provided during class (and is used again, and again) Shops usually have space for class available, so there is little overhead for that
So far Gross is at $1644.00 for a group you may never see again.
Not too shabby a way for the shop to bump gross receipts if they run two a month (we're not talking about any other shop sales/services)
If the instructor only makes 1/2 the original sign up fee ($50.00), that is $300.00 for the class (remember it's not a way to make a living, but can offset some costs of living)
There are usually other perks:
Is it a way to support a family? NO!
Is it a way to have fun doing what you love to do? YES!
===
I am not posting this to belittle any instructor or instructor service. I am sure there are other things I couldn't remember from my instructor days.
One example:
Not my class or my charter but was available to me.
$589.00 savings on one trip
Normal class around here: 6 students (we are counting gross, not net)
Class: 6x99 = $594.00
Books 6x45 = $270.00
Mask/Snorkel/Fins 6x$130 = $780.00 (I take this one as an average 40/30/60)
Everything else is provided during class (and is used again, and again) Shops usually have space for class available, so there is little overhead for that
So far Gross is at $1644.00 for a group you may never see again.
Not too shabby a way for the shop to bump gross receipts if they run two a month (we're not talking about any other shop sales/services)
If the instructor only makes 1/2 the original sign up fee ($50.00), that is $300.00 for the class (remember it's not a way to make a living, but can offset some costs of living)
There are usually other perks:
- Trips at greatly reduced prices or free
- Equipment at cost
- Many shops pay commissions on products sold by the instructor
- Many instructors also do repair
- Many instructors are NOT freelance, but employees of the shop
- Many instructors' insurance is paid by the shop
Is it a way to support a family? NO!
Is it a way to have fun doing what you love to do? YES!
===
I am not posting this to belittle any instructor or instructor service. I am sure there are other things I couldn't remember from my instructor days.
One example:
Not my class or my charter but was available to me.
- Flew to Coz
- Stayed at the Villa Blanca (when it was newer)
- Made two dives a day for three days (lunch included)
- All the shore diving you could make (including night dives)
$589.00 savings on one trip
Down here in the Southeast SC/GA area, we were pricing the costs for a ow class for my parents, and after the all costs, books, rental gear (which is not included), c-cards, and check out dives they were looking at over $500 a person. cheap? I'm not so sure.
The dive shop definately seems to be making quite a bit of money off of ow instruction, since they do at least 6 students per class, twice a month, and on top of that, most of his instructors are in the IDC so they are paying him to be there. Interesting situation.
Just my observation.
The dive shop definately seems to be making quite a bit of money off of ow instruction, since they do at least 6 students per class, twice a month, and on top of that, most of his instructors are in the IDC so they are paying him to be there. Interesting situation.
Just my observation.
torrey
Contributor
owlbill:Just in Ottawa here, the price a student pays per hour for a scuba course (based on 40 hours) ranges from 6.88 up to 11.00 per hour. Hell, minimum wage is 9 bucks an hour. Sheesh.
You have to remember that a typical class won't just have 1 student. Using your numbers, if a class had 5 students, that's upwards of 55.00 an hour just for instruction...more if it's not a small outfit.
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