What do divemasters get?

[LordHavoc]

Hello,

When shops do not have ocean near them then what do divemasters get? DMs in nearby sea shops lead divers on real trips and get tips. But if you dont have nearby sea then helping instructor in pool is not as fun. So what do DMs in those shops get payed?

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Hello,

When shops do not have ocean near them then what do divemasters get? DMs in nearby sea shops lead divers on real trips and get tips. But if you dont have nearby sea then helping instructor in pool is not as fun. So what do DMs in those shops get payed?

Divemasters only get paid when guiding from the shop and by tips. Otherwise, their income consists of pats on the back (which if one is not careful winds up being a kick in the arse). One of the local shop owners complain about divemasters getting airfills for the courses they are assisting. This owner thinks divemasters should have to pay (there are two other owners who out vote him).

 

[Scraps]

Hello,

When shops do not have ocean near them then what do divemasters get?

A more rapid realization of the fact that dive shops consider them customers, potential IDC students, and semi-indentured servants—not employees.

 

[boulderjohn]

When I was a DM working for a Colorado shop, I did get some pay for assisting classes. It was very little pay, but it was pay. When I was an instructor working for that shop and later for another, the DMs got pay for assisting in classes as well. I also got discounts on gear purchases.

As a DM, I could also teach pool-only Discover Scuba classes, and they were quite popular. They were commonly done as birthday parties. I would go into the shop and set up all the gear for all the students. I would then teach the 2-hour session. Then I would break down and clean all the gear. The students were charged $10 each for the class. I was paid $15 for each such class. I will leave you to do the math on the hourly pay.

Occasionally someone would give me a $20 tip for the class, thinking it was a little something extra on top of the pay. (That was nearly 20 years ago.)

As a retired career educator who loved teaching, I truly enjoyed doing it.

 

[ofg-1]

What do divemasters get? In general it works out to : A bottle of MD 20/20, 3 cans of Chef Boyardee ravioli, and abused by the instructor and students.

 

[divingx]

We do pay our insured DM for assisting courses. It’s not much though. Most of them do this as weekend activities.

 

[ROUS]

Given some experience watching what they deal with, I'm guessing High Blood Pressure.

 

[boulderjohn]

T

They mostly likely have full time jobs doing something else,

Yes, and like me they simply do it because they enjoy doing it. I was retired. Another retiree I knew working as a DM was formerly dean of a law school and before that a very high priced attorney who worked at least one case you probably have heard of.

 

[Marie13]

Given some experience watching what they deal with, I'm guessing High Blood Pressure.

I call them professional cat herders.

 

[boulderjohn]

On the dive boat I used the most in South Florida, the captain would usually tell the divers that the DM works for tips, so please treat him/her kindly. I started a thread on that topic, because my non-attorney mind thought that was illegal. In that thread, it turned out that it is indeed illegal. Even if tips are expected, a certain legally specified minimum wage is required. The manager did not post to ScubaBoard, but I know he read it. Soon the captains were saying something like "tips are an important part of their income" or "they work mostly for tips." When I go on dive boats today, I hear something similar.

I am sure the pay for both DMs and instructors I received in Colorado was/is illegal. When I argued about minimum wage issues with the Director of Instruction for my shop (oddly enough, just before I went independent) he said they did not have to meet minimum wage requirements because we could make that up in tips. I explained to him that under the law, if the tips an employee received did not make minimum wage, the employer was required to make up the difference. I also told him that tips in scuba instruction are pretty darn rare. He shrugged it off, and nothing changed.

I wonder what would happen if the authorities in charge of that sort of thing were notified about these illegal practices.