Pity the Poor PADI Professional

When you get certified by a training agency, you do not become part of that agency. You simply have met certain of its training standards. The divemaster and the instructor who taught you, and, indeed, the instructor-trainer who taught both of them, are designated "members" of the training organization, although Darcy Kieran would dispute that and says that those who train divers are merely customers of PADI.

Kieran is a long-time PADI Instructor, Course Director, and the author of Dive Industry Surveys & Market Studies. He wrote to Undercurrent complaining about the fees instructors must now pay PADI annually to keep their teaching status.

He says the latest renewal fee for an OWSI is $350 plus an additional $88 for his first aid certification. That's $438 for the coming year, compared to $386 last year. Add more than $300 for insurance and $30 for an electronic C-card. As a Course Director, Kieran says he also has to pay for an instructor-trainer (Course Director) update every two years, "even if there's nothing to update, like last year!"

For comparison, a TDI/SDI instructor pays a $195-$240 renewal fee for 2024, according to how far in advance the money is paid.

Kieran says that the average dive center in the U.S. issues around 150 open-water certifications a year and often uses more than one instructor. He opines that the average working PADI instructor certifies around 30 open-water divers and maybe 20 others in a year. A typical OWD course costs $435.

If the instructor is an employee of a dive center, the course fees probably don't go to him, and he probably handles other duties such as equipment sales. If he is a freelancer, his turnover would include the gross money received, out of which he must deduct expenses, including PADI membership and insurance. Kieran says the average part-time instructor takes away $9,000 annually, and a typical full-time instructor can expect to earn $24,900 annually.

He says that "the price of membership is not the most important criterion - the value is. My main problem with PADI is not the annual increases per se; it's the fact that over the last few years, they have increased costs significantly while cutting services."

"Not only are your membership fees the highest in the industry but as a PADI instructor or dive center, you also send more money to the training agency for each student you train via overpriced learning, overpriced C-cards, etc."

PADI is now owned by a private equity company, much like Aqualung, which was recently reported to be in dire financial straits because its assets no longer outweigh its debts thanks to it being plundered for cash by its holding company. Is PADI similarly being milked of money and resources by its owners?

It's tough to make a living from scuba instruction. Hence the joke among PADI professionals: What's the difference between a PADI instructor and a pizza? Answer: A pizza can feed a family of four.

- John Bantin

PS: Kieran tells us he did not renew with PADI and has opted for another training agency.