The changing Scuba Industry

[Beau640]

the complete lack of enthusiasm from my previous LDS staff, ownership, instructors and divemasters to want to get out and do any kind of fun diving or create any ongoing sense of "community" around diving. I did my AOW, Rescue and Divemaster certs there over a number of years and could never get anyone out to dive with me. Super happy to crank out classes and get people certified, but no desire to get out and dive regularly. The whole reason I started down the solo diving road was because I couldn't find anyone that wanted to actually get out and just dive. I just found the whole business model a bit odd in terms of not proactively leveraging all of those newly certified divers into a "real" social network that would dive together and "buy" together. I have recently moved to another part of the country a thousand miles south and am already running into the same thing. I hope this is not a trend.

Couldn't agree with this more. I found it very surprising as well that the instructors, DMs, and staff in my local LDS never wanted to go out and dive. They were only interested in destination diving or teaching a class. I had to go way out of my way to find the diving community around here. There were a couple of times when I was out on a weekend, diving in zero vis at a local lake, and then BBQing and shooting the **** afterwards and meeting new people that I could only think, "Why aren't we doing this more often?"

There is a lot to be gained if a LDS could actually get out there and just fricken dive! Certify your divers, then take them places local. The more you can get them diving and build up the community, the more they are going to want to stay involved, need to buy from you, more likely to return for more training, stop in the shop just to say hi and pick something up, etc. Build the community and they will come.

 

[cool_hardware52]

My instructors from DRIS teach for the love of it. They have nice, full time jobs elsewhere, totally unrelated to diving.

An "industry" dependent on unpaid instructors will ultimately regret it.

Unlike skiing or fishing or golf or cycling or shooting, archery etc, Scuba instruction is effectively mandatory to participate in the sport. The only parallel I can think of sky diving.

Mentors can be great in any of these endeavors, but unless people can actually make a reasonable living the risk is the loss of qualified instructors or degraded instruction quality or both.

Are there exceptions? Of course.

Also know that many choose to teach because they are "getting paid" in ways that are not always evident to the students, "key man" deals on gear, free fills, free trips if they promote them and lead dives etc.

Note, I've never taught, but I have many friends who used to....

Tobin

 

[Schwob]

My instructors from DRIS teach for the love of it. They have nice, full time jobs elsewhere, totally unrelated to diving.

I can see that and I can believe that in some cases and I happen to like DRIS, and I certainly like anyone doing such a labor of love, and I volunteer time somewhere to (not in diving - yet), but:

If you are in that sort of a position, that's what you need to say to customers period. I do it because I love it. There is no other answer. All other possible answers are bad for business. You cannot say the pay sucks or is non existent don't ever do it and you cannot lie and say it's great, I drive Lexus and my 4 kids all go to private colleges.... I believe it is mostly true, but it also is the only possible answer. If you would not love it you would not do it... (Well, come to think of it, I rather learn with some one who loves teaching than someone who does it as a job... - but that's besides the point)

Not claiming I know this with any degree of authority at all, but from the short time I am diving, a little in the Midwest, a bit in Bonaire, a one day stop in Roatan, Belize, Cozumel and a bit in the Red Sea I pretty much gather (from talking to the good folks) that DMing is a labor of love (or even a pay to play labor) most anywhere and being hired instructor seems like a hard place to be if you want to try to live of it... even if you do it full time on liveaboards and manage to have a full schedule (none of that is guaranteed). It seems to me you just cannot live of it and finance a retirement bring up kids and all that good stuff. From what I see, as much as I love diving, I would never ever tell my kids to take up diving as a career choice to make a living of it. Maybe I am a bit of a simpleton here, but that looks like an unhealthy industry to me.

The story may differ for hard working, good owner operators and maybe good independent instructors. I sure hope so... But if the majority of the people employed in the industry (especially in high cost of living locales) could not really live of it and it is mostly supplemental job or something to do in retirement ... a labor of love - that in my book is a great attribute to the tremendous appeal of the activity, but not to a healthy state of the industry / business...

 

[Marie13]

I think a decent equivalent would be shooting. Here in IL you need a 16 hour course to get your concealed carry permit. I know of no one, aside from a few very well known self defense pistol instructors who travel across the country, who make a full time living at it. Everyone I know teaches on the side, having a decent job doing something else. Some might be full time something that meshes well with being a firearms instructor (cop, military, security), but most I know have a full time job that has nothing to do with firearms.

 

[Schwob]

@dmaziuk:
That signature line of yours is be-puzzling:
"Relativity, Uncertainty, Incompleteness, Undecidability: choose any four."
for I just can't decide...!

 

[sunshower]

Independent Instructors teaching a good and long complete course of instruction.

Encouraging local diving.

Bonding the new divers into the existing community of local divers.

Scheduled dives, local and abroad.

I think there's a lot of truth in this. Gotta make it mean something again, give people a product of actual substance. Then get them involved and keep them engaged. The internet can be useful when buying gear but it can't provide great instruction, mentoring and camaraderie; the value add from those things could push back, at least somewhat, against the internet's intrusion on gear sales. I think it would be more effectively delivered through a LDS rather than independent instructors, but otherwise, this would be a big step in the right direction.

If that fails, add a selfie-instagram specialty cert and remember the good old days...

 

[sunshower]

An "industry" dependent on unpaid instructors will ultimately regret it.

Unlike skiing or fishing or golf or cycling or shooting, archery etc, Scuba instruction is effectively mandatory to participate in the sport. The only parallel I can think of sky diving.

Mentors can be great in any of these endeavors, but unless people can actually make a reasonable living the risk is the loss of qualified instructors or degraded instruction quality or both.

Are there exceptions? Of course.

Also know that many choose to teach because they are "getting paid" in ways that are not always evident to the students, "key man" deals on gear, free fills, free trips if they promote them and lead dives etc.

Note, I've never taught, but I have many friends who used to....

Tobin

I always figured instructors were really "getting paid" in other ways; never thought they were able to support themselves doing it, not sure that's realistic for the majority. I want to become an instructor and the only financial goal I have is covering the cost of insurance, dues and gas. Discounts and trips are helpful but it's mostly about sharing what I love with others.

 

[Wookie]

Unlike skiing or fishing or golf or cycling or shooting, archery etc, Scuba instruction is effectively mandatory to participate in the sport. The only parallel I can think of sky diving.

Tobin

yet skydiving instructors are paid very well. You'll usually only find one at a drop zone, unless it's a very busy drop zone, and he gets a couple of hundred for a tandem jump. Which takes very little instruction. It's an experience for many folks. If you want to take lessons, it's a different story.

 

[cool_hardware52]

I think a decent equivalent would be shooting. Here in IL you need a 16 hour course to get your concealed carry permit. I know of no one, aside from a few very well known self defense pistol instructors who travel across the country, who make a full time living at it. Everyone I know teaches on the side, having a decent job doing something else. Some might be full time something that meshes well with being a firearms instructor (cop, military, security), but most I know have a full time job that has nothing to do with firearms.

And you need a license to participate in most motor racing above the entry level.

The fact remains that even in California there is no mandatory instruction to buy and shoot a firearm. One does need to pass a short multiple choice test, but if you need an instructor to help you with that please put the gun down and back slowly away.

Scuba and sky diving are unique in that the industry largely regulates themselves.

Tobin

 

[cool_hardware52]

yet skydiving instructors are paid very well. You'll usually only find one at a drop zone, unless it's a very busy drop zone, and he gets a couple of hundred for a tandem jump. Which takes very little instruction. It's an experience for many folks. If you want to take lessons, it's a different story.

Exactly. The tandem jump is the sky diving version of discover scuba.

Scuba remains dependent on a business model that requires a constant influx of new BOW instructors. Instructors soon discover that the 1/2 priced gear is really enough compensation and they get burned out. The imagined they would be diving for "free" if they teach, and they learn they will be herding cats at a loss.

Tobin