how long to become a cave/tech instructor??

[K Mejean]

I consider them to be separate things. Teaching is all good but I leave the cave and tech stuff for my fun. I will eventually become a cave instructor but I will be very picky about my teaching schedule when I do.
If you get with a shop you can do quite a bit of teaching and do OK. I don't think you can make a living at it without additional income but with a retirement package you can probably do all right.

[netmage]

every once in a while I think how the equation might shift to my side and then I look at all the BS necessary to become an instructor, and it just never quite levels off....
I'm a diver... I do quite a bit of diving... but I've never been a professional, and it appears it's never really going to pay for itself - so I'll let the folks who do it - do it....
If you want to dive with people who dive - as friends - come along... the more the merrier - like all good cave divers - we like bbq....

[Sludge]

If you want to die with people who dive - as friends - come along...

I'm hoping like heck this is a typo.

[netmage]

I'm hoping like heck this is a typo.

the kraken is 3/4th empty.... - indeed sir...

[RN]

CDS and NACD require 40 recreational certifications to be eligible for their programs. Other agenices have other requirements. CDS and NACD require 3 internships per level with 3 different instructors then an IEC for each level with the training director and other instructor that was not one of your interns. IANTD requires 2 internships with an IE. TDI requires an internship, as well. You must have some time between ratings and have taught a certain number of students and classes between each level. It took me 3 years after I had already met all the qualifications to get all my cave and tech instructor ratings. And I put a lot of time into it.

Will it pay the bills. I wouldn'y be sitting here in a critical care unit typing this right now if it did. It does offset my diving expenses. But you do need to maintain a good balance between training dives and personal dives. When it's warm I do way more personal dives than training dives. When it's cold it's about even (takes a lot of motivation to go dive when you live right by the caves).

I know of one agency that will make someone an instructor without any of the prereqs or internships or IECs. I used to be an instructor with that agency but dropped it when I saw that.

[Me]

I'm not a cave instructor, but I am an open water instructor. I went the divemaster route way back when to defray the cost of the gear I was purchasing while getting into cave diving, plus free air fills. As a divemaster at the dive shop, I was able to get a pretty decent discount on gear.

I went instructor ten years ago to make some extra money.....um, well.....I'm lucky if I break even. (landlocked) So now, I temper my teaching to keep my perks; and consider my perks as part of my "pay" to break even or come out a bit ahead.

[diveconjeff]

I went the divemaster route way back when to defray the cost of the gear I was purchasing while getting into cave diving, plus free air fills. As a divemaster at the dive shop, I was able to get a pretty decent discount on gear.

Hear that !! I have woked with operations that expressed stong interest in my obtaining an instructor certification. I got as far as doiong a few different DM programs w/ different agencies, and I got to notice a couple things. I met a lot of good divers that dove a lot. I also met good dive instructors that instructed a lot, but really had a hard time doing a lot of fun diving. For me, that's enough said.

Working with dive operations that carried lines of tech gear and had great fill stations was a **huge** benny. THis is not to say I used the operation just to get stuff, I DM'ed for years and had a lot of fun doing it, but eventually the calls to do my own dives simply grew too loud.

[LCF]

There certainly are no technical instructors I know of in the Puget Sound area who don't have day jobs. There just isn't enough demand for that type of training, and there are too many instructors.

A few of the GUE guys are making a living, but they have a pretty considerable catchment area and a very tight pipeline feeding them students.