Becoming an open water instructor?

[jdobbertien]

So i have recently thought of becoming an open water instructor by doing my DM and OWSI through dayo scuba with the end (and quite distant) goal to eventually teach overhead. I know many cave divers are OW instructors and i was wondering if people have found it to be a good thing to do. I am not really getting into this for any financial reasons (dont worry im not planing on quitting my day job an moving to the Bahamas), however, it would be nice to make a little spare cash. So the real bottom line question is did you find it to be a fun thing to do and is it viable/possible to make some spare cash teaching?

[tbone1004]

as an instructor, I say no. I teach through a university, but that is on a very limited basis and for the most part, don't teach outside of it. Working through a shop is immensely frustrating because you are never allowed enough time to teach them properly, and largely not allowed to fail students that at least survive open water. You are also not likely to find students that are willing to spend the time and money learning properly from you when they can get it cheap from a dive shop. How many GUE Rec1 classes do you see taught?

If you want to do it to get to teach overhead, then that is one thing and OWSI is just a necessary evil to get there, but I do not teach outside of the university for a reason, and at the recreational level, don't intend to start. others opinions may be different

[Acxc]

From my personal experience teaching outside of my full-time job, it's either one or the other- enjoyment or spare cash. For the most part I pick and choose who, how, and how many I want to teach and I've definitely enjoyed getting to pass along my experiences and see others get excited about the sport- but never really cleared more than my cost of insurance and time. On the other hand, I've occasionally taught a larger class put together by the store I work part time for and though I've made some money it really just wasn't that much fun.

[moose_grunt]

as an instructor, I say no. I teach through a university, but that is on a very limited basis and for the most part, don't teach outside of it. Working through a shop is immensely frustrating because you are never allowed enough time to teach them properly, and largely not allowed to fail students that at least survive open water. You are also not likely to find students that are willing to spend the time and money learning properly from you when they can get it cheap from a dive shop. How many GUE Rec1 classes do you see taught?

If you want to do it to get to teach overhead, then that is one thing and OWSI is just a necessary evil to get there, but I do not teach outside of the university for a reason, and at the recreational level, don't intend to start. others opinions may be different

I mostly second that opinion. Teaching through a shop can be frustrating for the reasons listed, but there are some shops that do things differently and allow more than 2-3 days for an open water course. Some agencies also do not require that you teach outside a shop (NAUI is, I think PADI isn't, not sure of others), so you can teach without the scheduling pressure of a shop, can limit class sizes, etc. I did this for a few years and found it quite rewarding.

You probably won't make much if any extra money if you go that route. After inatructor training ($3-4K? nowadays?) instructor dues ($150-200) and insurance ($800ish), you're already a fair bit into the red. If you factor in gear rental, dive site entry fees, gas for travel, boat fees if you go that route, your profit per class is not as much as you'd think. Compare that to how much time you are putting into it, and the fact that you'll be doing this after work and on weekends, and you may realize that $20/hour is not worth your time when you lose a few evenings and a couple of entire weekends.

That's why shops book instructors to teach three-day courses, back-to-back, with as many students per class.

I'm glad I had the experience of doing that through a shop, but I'm also glad I left and did my own thing. I stopped instructing altogether when I went to grad school a few years ago, and now have a full-time job and a 1-year old. I enjoy instructing, but I'd rather have my weekends to do fun diving and family time.

As an aside, you have to keep your instructor rating current or you lose it (at least with NAUI). That's $175/year just in case you want to teach again, and if you do, you have to get insurance and probably jump through some hoops to become active again.

You have to do it because you enjoy it.

Jim

[rddvet]

One of the quickest ways to ruin a hobby is to make it a job. Just sayin.

[bamafan]

If you can bring in enough $$ being an ow instructor is not a requirement for at least one agency.

[jerrwhy01]

One of the quickest ways to ruin a hobby is to make it a job. Just sayin.

I've known more than one person whose enjoyment of diving was ruined when they became an instructor.

[crookshanky]

as an instructor, I say no. I teach through a university...

@tbone1004 are your classes part of a university program?

[OFG-1]

Look, don't listen to these guys. They just don't want any competition. There are vast sums of money to be made as a scuba instructor. Look at their cars, their houses, boats, planes, they have everything. Girls, cars, fat bank accounts, everyone wants to be a scuba instructor.

[tbone1004]

@tbone1004 are your classes part of a university program?

I'm not instructor on record for those classes and will typically only come out for open water training, but can substitute if needed. I enjoy my engineers salary far too much, but yes, they are university PE courses. ~4 hours of class time per week, 16 total weeks.