The Harsh Truth About Becoming a Big Brand Agency Scuba Instructor

Why so many new instructors struggle to find work after their training

Every month, new instructors proudly complete their Instructor Development Course (IDC) and Instructor Exam with high hopes of launching a global career of adventure, travel, and underwater teaching. It’s an exciting milestone — but few stop to ask the obvious question:

How many instructors does the dive industry actually need?

The uncomfortable answer is — far fewer than the training machine keeps producing.

📊 The Numbers Don’t Add Up

Across the global dive industry, there are roughly 120 000 + professional members registered with the major training agencies, and about 6 600 dive centres and resorts. That works out to an average of 19 professionals per centre — a ratio that anyone in the business knows is unrealistic.

A typical dive operation employs one or two full-time instructors, perhaps a third during high season, plus a handful of part-time or “weekend” instructors. Large resort operations with 10–20 full-time staff are the exception, not the rule.

If even half of all centres employ two full-time instructors, that equals around 13 000 full-time jobs worldwide. Double that for seasonal and freelance instructors and you reach about 26 000 working pros — barely one in five of the total. The rest are inactive, part-time, or have left the industry altogether.

📉 IDC Supply vs Industry Demand

Each big-brand agency’s 5-Star IDC or Career Development Centre conducts several programs per year, often graduating 10–20 new instructors per course. Multiply that by even half of the 6 600 centres, and you get tens of thousands of new instructors annually — for a job market that can only absorb a small fraction of them.

This imbalance creates a permanent oversupply. Many new instructors discover that the same centre that took their IDC fees has no job available once they qualify. Naturally, positions go first to in-house graduates who have already proven themselves during training.

💰 Why Wages Stay Low

It’s basic economics: when supply overwhelms demand, wages fall. Dive operators know there’s a steady stream of newly certified instructors eager to work anywhere, often for little more than accommodation, air fills, and “beer-money” pay.

The myth of the full-time dive-instructor lifestyle exists — but in most regions it’s sustained by seasonal work, long hours, and secondary income. Passion may fuel you, but passion doesn’t pay the rent.

🌐 The Push Toward Multi-Agency and Specialty Training

Modern dive operators want flexibility. An instructor qualified through multiple agencies and certified to teach several specialties — Nitrox, Deep, Wreck, DPV, Rescue, or Photography — gives a dive centre far more course options to sell.

Many operators quietly teach under more than one agency. From a business standpoint that’s smart: it diversifies income and offers guests greater choice.

This is also why some big-brand agencies promote exclusivity agreements, encouraging centres to teach only their materials.

Yet under international standards such as ISO 24801 & 24802, the required competencies for diver and instructor levels are the same across all compliant agencies. In short: the logo on the card doesn’t determine the quality of the diver — the instructor does.

⚖️ The Real Cost-to-Return Question

If the average dive centre hires only a few instructors while thousands qualify every year, the odds of landing a full-time, well-paid position are slim. Ask yourself: why pay premium prices for a big-brand agency IDC that can cost US $4 000 – $6 000 or more when the job market and income potential are no better than with a smaller ISO-certified agency like ISC?

When you add course fees, membership dues, materials, insurance, and gear, most new instructors earning resort wages will take years to recover the investment — if ever. By contrast, ISC - ISO-compliant training agency offer the same professional recognition level for significantly lower cost. For aspiring professionals who truly want to teach — not just buy a logo — these alternatives deliver better value, less debt, and a faster return on investment.

The myth that completing a big-brand IDC guarantees better employment is just that — a myth. The numbers speak for themselves. If you’ll likely need a second income to sustain yourself, why spend more to get the same qualification?

🚀 Reality Check for Aspiring Instructors

• The IDC/IE is a starting point, not a job guarantee.

• Choose your training facility and ISC based on career goals, not logo size.

• Stack additional specialties that increase hire-ability.

• Consider multi-agency pathways — legitimate, standards-compliant, and often far more affordable.

• Think like a professional: calculate your ROI before you commit.

  
  

🌊 Final Thoughts

The dive IDC/IE industry runs on enthusiasm but survives on realism. Instructor training is a profitable business for 5* IDC/CDC dive centres — and that’s fine, as long as candidates understand it before enrolling.

The truth is simple: there are too many instructors for too few full-time jobs, and paying premium prices to enter an oversupplied market rarely makes financial sense.

If your dream is to teach, travel, and share the underwater world, choose wisely. The best instructors aren’t defined by the logo on their certification card — they’re defined by their skill, attitude, and understanding of the business they work in.