OP
Why can't you make a living as an Instructor?
- Thread starter BeachJunkie
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Thanks Torqd. I may just take you up on that offer.
i have just started doing the theory, i brought the books here in UK, they said i could do practical in about 3-4 weeks.
not sure my employer would go for it tbh, i took three months off last year to go diving and three weeks off over xmas. good thought though, it's worth considering, they can only say no
Gosh, I think you are both young enough to just take a chance, especially if you don't yet have a wife and kids to worry about. You can always get another job....Nottingham guy, it doesn't sound like you are happy about much where you are. Why don't you just head off to somewhere warm and start over even if you have to wait tables while you do your training. Live on the cheap and teach diving for awhile. Life goes on for a long time and (I'm almost 59) you are in for a lot of adventures. Almost none of the mistakes you will make...above water anyway!...will be fatal. If you do not have any substance abuse problems and you are educated, your life will most likely turn out okay. Be good to people and make lot of friends. Relationships will be the most important thing. People who study happiness find that slum dwellers and rich people, handicapped people and healthy people all report about the same levels of happiness IF they have good relationships in their lives. Don't be afraid to take chances, there are actually a lot of safety nets in the world for young trapeze artists. It is rare that someone takes a leap in life, especially at your ages, and winds up just falling through. Also, to the soldier....Thanks for serving!
OldNSalty
Contributor
Only those who have never had to do it glamorize such a thing.If thats the only reason you join the military and you actually say that to someone, you will be headed to see the psych doc.
Amen. It is a shame that most people think of the professional military as being a bunch of war hungry barbarians. Hollywood does their best to continue this stereotype. The truth is, the soldier is the one who is going to have to pay the highest price should we go to war (and even in peace, the price is high).
Most soldiers can joke about their job but in truth pray for peace more then anyone else. Most commanders, while taking pride in the fact that our troops can pretty much put a serious hurt on anyone in the world, would rather not send them in.
When politicians and diplomats fail, it is the soldier (and their families) who pays the price...
I find it quite odd that there are two glaring omissions from this thread: the customer, and to a lesser extent, the industry itself. We've become a society that wants what we want, when we want it, and at the cheapest possible price. Unfortunately too many dive shops and agencies have been all to eager (or simply forced to in order to remain viable) to accommodate them.
Take a look at any small to mid-sized town in America that Wal-Mart has moved into. The consumers have spoken, they'd much rather spend $30 on a (insert widget of choice here) that was made in a factory in China or Taiwan, rather than $100 on a similar widget made right here in the US, and getting the knowledge and support of a locally owned "boutique" store. Wal-Mart will effectively drive out all competition, putting those "mom and pop" shops out of business.
Now, I don't know about anyone else, but I find it sad that people are willing to trust themselves with "cheapo" and "weekend" dive certification programs. All a c-card does is give the person holding it the opportunity to place themselves in danger if not properly or adequately trained. Sure, diving is one of the safest sports on the planet, but certifying someone after a weekend just doesn't seem safe or sane to me. Am I saying that there aren't any excellent instructors out there that can give a great c-course on the cheap or in a weekend? No, I'm not, but the law of averages weighs in heavily there.
The industry itself is just as much to blame in a lot of cases as well. With manufacturers like Scubapro strictly enforcing guidelines for becoming an authorized dealer, it is keeping potential shops out of the loop. The constant need for manufacturers to keep coming up with new gimmicky gear instead of perfecting their current stuff that works doesn't help either. Also as far as I am concerned, I don't care how many people tell me that it is helpful, time-saving or whatever, I don't believe that the implementation of online course offerings by the certifying agencies are a good idea. Call me a stick in the mud, but I believe in the sanctity of hands-on, classroom learning.
Lastly I come to shops who don't listen to their customers, or who are in it for the quick score. IIRC, I remember hearing my OW instructor tell me that 90% of all certified divers do not continue on after their initial certification. That being said, when I went to get certified, I purchased a lot of my gear during or shortly after my training. I was sold a 5mm wetsuit (look at my location, what good is a 5mm wetsuit going to do me here?). When it came time to purchase my tank/regs/BC, I had decided that I definitely wanted a BP/W, and was all but flat-out told that they are not for recreational divers and that my LDS wouldn't sell me one.
I had dropped over $3K in that place (OW training included) and they could have kept me around for much more, but by not listening to me and my needs, not only did they lose me as a customer, but I refuse to recommend them to anyone in my area if I am asked which LDS to use.
In a lot of ways, it seems to me quite incredible that the industry is still functioning at all, seeing that it does so many things that is so counter-intuitive to staying in business, especially given these hard economic times. But what do I know?
Just my 02 psi...
Take a look at any small to mid-sized town in America that Wal-Mart has moved into. The consumers have spoken, they'd much rather spend $30 on a (insert widget of choice here) that was made in a factory in China or Taiwan, rather than $100 on a similar widget made right here in the US, and getting the knowledge and support of a locally owned "boutique" store. Wal-Mart will effectively drive out all competition, putting those "mom and pop" shops out of business.
Now, I don't know about anyone else, but I find it sad that people are willing to trust themselves with "cheapo" and "weekend" dive certification programs. All a c-card does is give the person holding it the opportunity to place themselves in danger if not properly or adequately trained. Sure, diving is one of the safest sports on the planet, but certifying someone after a weekend just doesn't seem safe or sane to me. Am I saying that there aren't any excellent instructors out there that can give a great c-course on the cheap or in a weekend? No, I'm not, but the law of averages weighs in heavily there.
The industry itself is just as much to blame in a lot of cases as well. With manufacturers like Scubapro strictly enforcing guidelines for becoming an authorized dealer, it is keeping potential shops out of the loop. The constant need for manufacturers to keep coming up with new gimmicky gear instead of perfecting their current stuff that works doesn't help either. Also as far as I am concerned, I don't care how many people tell me that it is helpful, time-saving or whatever, I don't believe that the implementation of online course offerings by the certifying agencies are a good idea. Call me a stick in the mud, but I believe in the sanctity of hands-on, classroom learning.
Lastly I come to shops who don't listen to their customers, or who are in it for the quick score. IIRC, I remember hearing my OW instructor tell me that 90% of all certified divers do not continue on after their initial certification. That being said, when I went to get certified, I purchased a lot of my gear during or shortly after my training. I was sold a 5mm wetsuit (look at my location, what good is a 5mm wetsuit going to do me here?). When it came time to purchase my tank/regs/BC, I had decided that I definitely wanted a BP/W, and was all but flat-out told that they are not for recreational divers and that my LDS wouldn't sell me one.
I had dropped over $3K in that place (OW training included) and they could have kept me around for much more, but by not listening to me and my needs, not only did they lose me as a customer, but I refuse to recommend them to anyone in my area if I am asked which LDS to use.
In a lot of ways, it seems to me quite incredible that the industry is still functioning at all, seeing that it does so many things that is so counter-intuitive to staying in business, especially given these hard economic times. But what do I know?
Just my 02 psi...
See no problem with that. People have a finite amount of money, if they can get the same quality thing cheaper then go for it. Far from uncommon to pay more for a home grown product and find it worse quality.
A weekend no. 2 weekends you could produce a diver safe enough to go diving under supervision. Diving at this level is incredibly easy. Yes you could invent a 10 week long diving course containing lots of things but for 99% of people it would be worthless and excessive for what they want to do.
As for anti-competitive policies of Scubapro and other manufacturers, thats a reason i dont buy any of their products. Especially true for those that pretend the internet doesn't exist.
I'm not disagreeing with you on that, but the law of averages and human nature say that someone is going to be a lot more likely to put their heart and soul into a cert class if they are getting $500 a student than if they're getting $200 a student.
Maybe if they're doing a calm, relaxed, shallow reef dive at some Caribbean resort. Say they do that while on a 2-week vacation, then go home to either one of our locales (which are known for adverse diving conditions even during the warm seasons) and decides they want to push the boundaries of OW certification.
Obviously it varies from student to student, and many may call me a pessimist, but I prefer to play the laws of averages and plan on playing to the lowest common denominator.
Agreed. This is the single biggest thing that threatens the industry that they actually have direct control over. Much like the record and movie studios who still believe that piracy over the Internet isn't a big threat to their business model.
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