Exclusive survey results on annual and hourly income for scuba diving instructors by training agency, and geographical region. — A recreational scuba diving instructor (without tech diving credentials) with a full-time job in the dive industry earns, on average, $24,909 per year. But this worldwide average doesn’t necessarily apply to you. And you will find all the information you want on dive instructors' salaries in this article.

Are scuba diving instructors “cutting corners”? If so, why? And what do they need to improve the quality of their dive courses? — Following an article by Gareth Lock titled “Do ‘Bad Apples’ Actually Exist?”, the Business of Diving Institute and InDepth magazine conducted a survey among scuba diving instructors. It was a self-assessment and introspection exercise. Here’s the verdict. Are scuba diving instructors cutting corners?

There are only a handful of official prerequisites to becoming a scuba diving instructor. There are many more requirements if you want to be successful in your career as a dive instructor. — On the official prerequisites front, it may vary a bit depending on the dive training agency you choose. Which training agency to choose is, in itself, an important step that we will discuss in a forthcoming article.

Out-of-water skills. That’s where dive instructors often fail in their attempt at “living the dream.” — Instructors are a dime a dozen. Pumping out dive instructors is a very profitable production mill for dive centers. You pay them to become a dive instructor; then, you work for close-to-nothing to accumulate certs to go up in the pyramid. It smells almost like a Ponzi scheme! If you…

Heads up! The good and the bad about becoming a dive instructor. — A few years ago, I worked with a European private equity firm considering an investment in the dive industry. In the end, they did not invest. They concluded that the dive industry was more “a melting pot of hobbyists” than an industry. …

Dive industry survey conducted in relation to an InDepth article titled “Don’t Panic: Understanding the Causes and Remedies of Diver Panic” — Updated on March 6, 2022, with the final survey results. Following the publication by Dr. Laura Walton’s of an article titled “Don’t Panic: Understanding the Causes and Remedies of Diver Panic” in InDepth magazine, the Business of Diving Institute conducted a survey on panicking in scuba diving.

A better question would be how long it takes to become a dive instructor good enough to earn a living as a scuba diving professional. — If you take too many shortcuts on the highway from Zero to Hero, you may find yourself, quickly thereafter, on the back roads from Hero to Zero! You started scuba diving, and you got the bug. You love it! Now you wonder about becoming a dive instructor and one of…

Additional scuba diving, tech diving, freediving, and snorkeling skills a professional dive instructor should master for a successful career. — Updated on Feb. 22, 2022, with many additions and some clarifications. I thought my scuba diving skills were pretty good until I taught with Jim Brandt and Richard Hartley in Fort Lauderdale. I got a massive wake-up call! The way they were doing their skills knocked me off my fins…