Are Diving Careers Like Marriages?

For my latest blog I will attempt to do something which is very unlike me – talk about relationships.  As any of my long-time friends will know, you don’t ask me for relationship advice because I’m just not very good at that kind of stuff.  But bear with me, as this blog is about what to expect when it comes to life as a PADI Scuba Instructor.

The other day I was browsing the Facebook pages and scuba forums.  I often read posts from enthusiastic divers innocently writing about their love of scuba diving and asking for advice on how to make diving their career.  They naively mention they have X amount of dives, and then the “advice” starts rolling in.  From dive professionals who are not shy to give their opinions on whether that amount of dives is enough.  Comments like “No way!  Get more experience before you do your DM.”  or “You need to work at least a year as a DM before becoming an Instructor!”  to “Zero to Hero. Worst mistake of your life!” … etc.

Reading these posts got me making connections between diving careers and marriages.  So at the risk of sounding like The Fast Show’s “Swiss Tony“, I will attempt to recount my thoughts.

It’ll Never Last

If a couple meet and a few weeks later declare their undying love for each other and announce their engagement, many of us would automatically think “it will never last”.  Somehow the fact that their relationship is new means that it won’t last the distance.  But if a couple are together for a few years before deciding to marry the rest of us are less critical and more accepting of the relationship, we give it more credibility.  Sometimes we’re proved right, sometimes we’re wrong, but I don’t think that the time between meeting and marriage determines its success.

So whether it’s other people’s love lives or dive careers, we have our preconceived ideas about when is the right time to commit. 

The secret to a long and happy marriage/dive career?

But what about how to succeed and have a happy, healthy relationship / dive career?

If you ask a couple who have been together for many years what their secret is, I am pretty sure that they will say “hard work”.  They will tell you that there have been good times and bad and that their partners drive them up the wall sometimes but that they learn to accept each other’s bad habits and idiosyncrasies along with their good qualities.

I think the same can be said about a career in scuba diving.  For sure it’s hard work and some days you have to put up with rude customers, unstable jobs or crappy weather, but the rewards can be great.  The ups and downs are all part of the game.

Similarly, if you analyze the reasons why couples break up, you can put a lot of it down to the individuals’ expectations not matching reality.  They expect it to be all romance, flowers and cuddles on the sofa, whereas the reality is more like money worries, wet towels left on the bed (grrr!) and arguing over who’s turn it is to wash the dishes.  When we compare that with a career as a dive professional, we have the passion – diving – mixed with long hours, low pay and boring but necessary paperwork.  If you go into a dive career thinking that it will be all coral reefs, hammocks and beers on the beach then you are heading for a big disappointment and should keep diving as a hobby instead.

Are you ready to commit?

At the end of the day I believe that what is more important than a diver’s sum of logged dives is their enthusiasm, realistic expectations and willingness to work hard to succeed.  I have seen relatively inexperienced divers go on to make talented and successful Instructors and I have also known divers with a thousand dives who are still not ready to start a successful career.

Recent studies suggest that almost half of all marriages end in divorce.  Inevitably there will also be diving careers that fail but I’d like to think the prospects are slightly in favor of the diver.  Also, an IDC is cheaper than a wedding and arguably more fun!