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Greg - 6/17/2013 3:57 PM 
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Let me know when diving becomes a paying vocation.
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after being a truck driver for 26 years I think anything to do with something I love so much as I do diving will be a vacation
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I am also a teamster truck driver for 35 years now. Going for another 5 years till age 63. Also certified technitian with the following manufactors Aries, Poseidon, ScubaPro, Hollis. Rebuilt 200 life support units since Jan. Still its not worth the time and effort unless if you enjoy doing that without pay, medical benefits,pension and appreciation. You’ll be able to afford more dive trips and travel with what your doing as a job now. When your retired you shouldn’t be needing an extra income. If its work then its no longer a hobby. Work for free for a LDS in shop for a few years. Not the D.M., Instructor gig. In shop in the office/storefront. You’ll learn alot about the industry. I wouldn’t trade my driving job for being a dive shop owner/retailer. I like making $$ not losing it. Hope this helps you make a good decision.
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Scuba-Stu: "... I find myself looking to retiring from my
current vocation and taking on diving as my main source of income. My
question comes down to which organization is a better route to take? ..."
Scuba-Stu, I’d suggest going the PADI instructor route. A SSI instructor certification is dependent on the dive shop from which they earned that cert. If you leave that shop, your instructor cert is inactivated, and unless you associate with another SSI shop, your instructor cert is worthless. As a PADI instructor your certification stays active whether or not you’re associated with a particular dive shop, you control where & when you want to work. THEN, After getting your PADI instructor cert, associate yourself with a SSI shop and do a cross-over. Then you have both certs and control your scuba career future! ...just my 2 cents worth! (...by the way, I have instructor certs in both agencies)
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@aikidiver: Your advice is good. The more agencies that you can use the better. And not only because you can teach more places, but you also get different several ideas about what is important to teach. My original C-card was PADI, my first Instructor cert was YSCUBA which included CMAS, and I am now an SSI Dive Control Specialist Instructor and a Scuba Educators International (nee YSCUBA) Instructor Trainer. Each on my training courses has added something to my dive and teaching knowledge.
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The best way to make a small fortune in diving is to start out with a huge fortune in the beginning, then gradually, over time, work your way down coin by coin until you have reached your maximum targeted loss.
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