Borrowed this blog from Divebuddy.com ... it's ok - I wrote it....
Not so long ago, I blew off a 25 year career as a radio announcer and decided to re-invent my life. I had tried scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef which must have spoiled me, because I thought I’d try THIS for a living! Looked like fun: spend your days in and out of the ocean, lots of fresh air, fun people - what more could you ask for? I was diving off the coast of Brisbane one day when it occurred to me. You could ask for MONEY. The DM on this trip (who was an instructor) had 10 people in his care of varying skill levels including OW students; a van and trailer for a 3 hour return trip, a boat captain and vessel under his thumb,and all the dive center gear to handle. All for $75 a day. Or as I looked at it, $7.50 per life, not including his own. It was my intention to make friends with that DM, figuring if I ticked him off, my life was worth less than I paid for my morning coffee and danish.
I was thinking about being a DM at that point, and realized I needed to be an instructor to be a DM. Cause nobody hires DMs. They hire instructors to BE divemasters. Which makes you wonder why we even HAVE DMs to begin with? But I digress. The sordid truth of the matter hit home like 10 extra pounds in my weight pocket, and my dreams began to sink. Rapidly. I thought: This must just be one dive shop treating its employees badly. After all, these people have to take all the courses, know all the dive sites intimately, be able to handle any problem above and below the water, and entertain everyone at the same time! I was to find out otherwise. It’s worldwide, and it’s distressing, to say the least. Yes, it’s experience for someone looking to hone skills, and log the dives needed to become an instructor, provided you are one of the chosen few who aren’t ALREADY an instructor acting as a divemaster.. Yes, it teaches you all the aforementioned problem solving skills you need everytime you get in the water. Instructor or divemaster, it doesn’t matter. When you’re on the shore or on the boat with any number of people, things happen. And in this worldwide community we love so much, we have added misfortunes to contend with. Misunderstandings due to language barriers, dealing with at least two measurement systems (when will the US ever go metric???), and the simple fact that not every day is a good day for someone! It happens, and you have to deal with it. For 75 dollars a day. Or less. Or nothing.
WHY?
Why would anyone in their right mind do this??? Because we love to dive? Ok, I’ll buy that. But how much fun is your DM having watching over any number of people in 5 foot vis on a cold day off the coast of somewhere, rolling in the tide on the boat when all YOU can do is not complain so as to keep that danish from exiting your body and entering the scuppers? FUN? Doubt it. Exciting? Not hardly. Gainfully employed? More than likely not, and not looking at a very bright future ahead. In this business, anyway.
Think about that next time you get on board for a day of fun under the sun. Take a good look at your DM and how they handle everything going on around them, and think about this:
5 bucks.
5 bucks per diver, per dive. Paid directly to the DM. On average that’s 10 bucks to say, "Thanks for watching over me and making sure I return to the surface, still breathing."
Yep, I know there are many dive boats where gratuities are asked for, begged for, almost demanded - and split by all hands on board. And I know that it’s already costing an arm and a leg to actually GO out for a dive. I know because I just shelled out for 20+ boat dives in Florida to top up my log to get my DM certification (oh how I miss the "free" shore diving in Australia ... sorry...digressing again...). But the truth of the matter is we get to head out, enjoy a dive: see what you want, spear what you want, shoot what you want, whatever - thanks to the capable, learned, experienced DM who led the way. Or at least counted heads off and on the boat.
Mathematically it makes a good day out of a meager one for the DM, who can now stop eating popcorn for dinner and start eating Kraft Dinner, allowing much needed calcium to be added to his/her diet. A reasonable wage, at the end of the day. A LIVING wage, as we call it in the "real" world. Still not a retirement package, but it’s a start. And it’s really not adding all that much to your dive costs. Recompression chambers are MUCH more expensive.
Have I had this revelation now because I’M now a certified DM? Nope, this one’s been rolling around in my mind since that day on the Gold Coast. I’m not working in the industry yet, and that’s the subject of another blog down the line (if you’re hiring, I’m listening!!!). But reading the PADI employment board reminded me of it, and I thought I’d run it by all my dive buddies. I think it’s a good idea: I did when I first thought of it, and I still do, so I do it. I’ve discussed it with a couple of DM’s who, not suprisingly, thought it was a FABULOUS idea, or so they told me between mouthfuls of popcorn. And I admit, there are exceptions to every rule, but as a general diving attitude doesn’t this make good sense? Can we, as divers, take it upon ourselves to implement this plan worldwide for the benefit of all? I look forward to your comments and input on this subject. Feel free to weigh in, please.
5 bucks. You’d spend more on a Grande macciato cappuccino rappacino Al Pacino with soy milk and extra foam, don’t forget the chocolate sprinkles. And a danish.
on "tipping" in the Basic Scuba Discussions forum.
