Aquamore
Contributor
Hi DavidofAustin
One final word from me and my first wife (I call her that to keep her on her toes),
You are obviously a caring person who loves his diving and like my wife and myself, have willingly used your own finances to make others happy.
If you are truly happy with this situation then be professional in nature, but don't try and make a profession or a living out of it, as you may end up disliking the sport after a while.
If it makes you feel better in the combined 45+ years my wife and I have been diving and instructing, we have trained, (according to our records), over 3,290 students some of whom sadly I can't put their name to their smile.
We have certified and crosstrained divers from US and UK Military Clubs and locations, YMCA, SSI, PADI, DIWA, DLRG, BS-AC and NAUI. In all that time we never expected payment for anything we did. This is probably why a few professional instructors are not too keen on us, and have made comments about stealing their livelyhood, but most see us just as a couple who love diving and training.
Over the years we have on numerous occasions had the opportunity to set up a business. We never did because we are agreed on one thing, we are scared that if we do this for a living, the 'magic' would disappear and we would no longer have a hobby to look forward to. This hobby has kept us, and our students happy for the combined total of 45 years.
We respect anyone who teaches diving for a living and understand their reasons why, but we are very careful when a promising studentor instructor asks, 'do you think I should do this for a job'?
I hope this helps you feel better about your own feelings and hopefully it will play some small part in you decision regarding the original question you asked.
May your bubbles flow forever upwards
Aquamore and Urchinkiller
One final word from me and my first wife (I call her that to keep her on her toes),
You are obviously a caring person who loves his diving and like my wife and myself, have willingly used your own finances to make others happy.
If you are truly happy with this situation then be professional in nature, but don't try and make a profession or a living out of it, as you may end up disliking the sport after a while.
If it makes you feel better in the combined 45+ years my wife and I have been diving and instructing, we have trained, (according to our records), over 3,290 students some of whom sadly I can't put their name to their smile.
We have certified and crosstrained divers from US and UK Military Clubs and locations, YMCA, SSI, PADI, DIWA, DLRG, BS-AC and NAUI. In all that time we never expected payment for anything we did. This is probably why a few professional instructors are not too keen on us, and have made comments about stealing their livelyhood, but most see us just as a couple who love diving and training.
Over the years we have on numerous occasions had the opportunity to set up a business. We never did because we are agreed on one thing, we are scared that if we do this for a living, the 'magic' would disappear and we would no longer have a hobby to look forward to. This hobby has kept us, and our students happy for the combined total of 45 years.
We respect anyone who teaches diving for a living and understand their reasons why, but we are very careful when a promising studentor instructor asks, 'do you think I should do this for a job'?
I hope this helps you feel better about your own feelings and hopefully it will play some small part in you decision regarding the original question you asked.
May your bubbles flow forever upwards
Aquamore and Urchinkiller
