What makes a good scuba instructor

So feel free to write a comment below to explain the lived example of the cumulative instructor you saw? Of course, we are all human beings.

Also, that a person makes a mistake, it is not good but excusable … ifs this person repeats without questioning is surely unacceptable. We love them, we respect them, we meet them all around the world for our most beautiful trainings and our most fabulous dives and, it must be recognized, they are key to our learnings in scuba diving. The distracted He forgets equipment, students, booking an entry on a dive spot, appointment time, … this dive instructor is of an incredible distraction and this sometimes can cause a real problem Lived example: The instructor who completely forgets to do a briefing and who, upon interrogation of one of the divers and panicked by his oversight , makes a mini briefing in an terrible chaos while sending the divers to the water on the order of the captain for fortunately a dive in a warm sea with mild current.

The incompetent and also insecure This might be a harsh conclusion but some diving instructors should seriously review the basics of scuba diving. Lived example: The instructor who does a first dive in a pool somewhere in a sunny destination. The unconscious Due to lack of experience or unconsciousness, the unconscious diving instructor puts scuba divers, sometimes with little experience or no certification, into problematic situations that could easily turn into drama.

Lived example: The instructor who realizes just before to jump into the sea, for a dive in a sea with current on a bottom of m, that he will have in his group two girls of 12 and 14 years not yet certified whose parents are not present on the boat … In front of my amazed eyes, the instructor will take the responsibility to bring his team of 5 people the others having a level of autonomy at m under water in these conditions.

The dangerous the worst that I may have seen? Lived example: The instructor who takes his group of two people on a famous and well-known wreck whose highest point is about meters. The careless This one is particularly annoying from the start. Lived example: The instructor who divides the divers into two groups, goes diving with the first group, returns and finds that the other group is still docked due to a boat breakdown with the heat of hot summer sun and without water to rehydrate.

The jaded This instructor is just boring. At first contact we understand that he is really is tired of diving and it would surely be good for him to change jobs Lived example: The dive center instructor who arrives 5 minutes before the start of the dive to open his center, talks on the phone with his friends while you are there waiting and waiting and closes his center, leaving you barely enough time to undress … Thank you, goodbye.

The arrogant As much as I am honest, I have no affection for this kind of instructors thinking they are the center of the world who think that their instructor certification puts them above everyone. Lived example: The instructor who, after returning from a deep dive at m, finds himself with divers of his group spread between and meters on the ascent.

The one who accumulates This instructor has the gift of accumulating mistakes: distraction, incompetence, unconsciousness, danger, negligence, fear, boredom and arrogance, nothing stops him. Lived example: Although I have a good example in mind, I decided to get you involved on this point.

This profession involves training without cutting corners and building experience. It takes skill, determination, and dedication to become one but what are the qualities that make a great instructor? An excellent trainer is one who is constantly aware of where each and every student is especially if there are several groups in the same dive site.

This includes scanning the area so that he can keep his students at a safe distance from rocks, fragile corals, and other structures. It also entails being conscious of different conditions and making appropriate measures or adjustments during the dive.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share through email. Read so far. Instructor in pool with students. Photo by Barb Roy. Contributed by Words. Simon Pridmore. Barb Roy. How to choose Obviously, a good first step in choosing an instructor is to ask for recommendations from people who have already done the course.

The student divers are wearing equipment and thermal protection that looks similar to the equipment that the instructor is using.

The student divers are working in pairs when they put their equipment on and take it off. The instructor is letting the students work together independently, intervening only when a mistake goes uncorrected.

The instructor is present ALL the time when the students are in or close to the water. The instructor works tirelessly teaching the divers their self-rescue skills, encouraging them to repeat them frequently so they remember them. The instructor is willing to spend extra time personally with a student who is having difficulty with something.

Underwater, the student divers are swimming almost horizontally, rather than at an acute angle with head up and feet down. The students spend a large part of their time swimming or floating motionless in mid-water.

They do not spend the whole session kneeling on the bottom. The instructor makes sure the students keep their arms tucked in front of them or by their sides when they swim. The instructor is positive at all times. They do not criticise; they do not blame; they do not ignore student questions; they are always ready to explain. They keep moving but do not rush.

They do not waste time; they are organised and, if they are teaching more than two students at the same time, they are smart enough to have an assistant on hand to help them. Currency This is a key factor that is often overlooked.

Value Scuba diving courses do not cost the same all over the world. You also have to have some pretty good counseling skills. Still another reason that I was drawn to the profession is the opportunity for travel.

I was reminded of this recently when I received the third renewal of my passport. Leafing through my old passports, I noticed stamps and visas from dozens of countries in the Caribbean, Middle East, Asia, and Pacific. I did more than 90 percent of those trips because of my career, and I paid for very few of them personally. My experience is anything but unusual. Any seasoned dive professional who has been in a management role can tell you that the diving industry is really no different from any other business.

No doubt, there are lots of people out there who hold instructor ratings and would love to work in a resort. Still, demand typically exceeds supply. Why this is so is the first sobering reality of life in the dive business.

Unfortunately, for many who have the dream, their perception is nowhere close to reality. Industry estimates are that there are about 2,, dive stores in North America and about dive resorts in the Caribbean basin.

The Pacific and Southeast Asia are growing by leaps and bounds, but to what degree is really difficult to quantify. Certainly, given the immense area, there are far more opportunities in the Pacific than in the Caribbean. Dive stores, on average, employ 2.

Resorts often employ twice that number in their dive operations. In terms of the potential pool of employees, each year the various diver training organizations certify in the neighborhood of 8, instructors. Of that number, probably 2, or less seek full-time positions.

So what about the other 6, or so? As mentioned, one of the most appealing and unique aspects of the scuba industry is that it provides outstanding part-time employment opportunities. In many cases, when they had opportunities for early retirement, diving actually became a second career. The security of a pension, and a scuba instructor rating, has made for hundreds of fulfilling second lives, let alone careers.

Many dream of this, but few actually make the dream a reality, and a large number of the successful few have done so with scuba instructor credentials. On the other end of the continuum are youngsters who often have no desire to go to college.