Instructor pay?

[FXONE 0]

The Drop Zone i work for keeps Qouting industry standards for jump prices and cost to the drop zone for running operations and in turn keep raiseing prices of everything from jumps to repacks without paying more to staff. I do not think he is taking into consideration the cost of liveing across the nation. I am a static line instructor with over 17 years of service and i am wanting to know what other S/L Instructors across the nation make, i get paid $15 a student with only the following jump as a bonus,I do not get paid anything for taking up a load or any other benefits. Can anyone tell me if i have a good deal or if i am getting screwed?All truthful feedback is appreciated.

[Kimblair13 0]

You get paid? Wow. I thought we were all doing this because it was fun.

[stratostar 5]

Your bitch'n about getting 15 a head to train.
Count your blessings and move on. We get 7 to teach and 3 a head to toss out and the H-P if we want to jump.

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

[matthewcline 0]

I have never been at a SL DZ that payed any thing to teach or JM.

Video, AFF, and Tandem I's get payed here.

Be happy!

Matt

An Instructors first concern is student safety.
So, start being safe, first!!!

[stratostar 5]

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I have never been at a SL DZ that payed any thing to teach or JM.

And I have never see a dz (not a club) that didn't pay to teach in any method. No pay= no teach! I'm not going to take 4 to 6 hour out of my day to train your students if your a tight ass and won't pay me for the work, you can do it yourself for free.
With the low going rates DZO's don't want to pay in the first place, they wonder why no one want's to train their S/L students, and this is why you don't see many dz's using S/L anymore, to easy to throw them out tandem with no training.

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

[riggerrob 558]

Sound slike your cheap-ass DZO is still milking the old "club" pay rates a decade or so after they fell out of fashion.
A recurring problem is tthat there are always plenty of enthusiastic amateurs who are willing to work for free.
My DZ (Pitt Meadows, Canada) pays $50 to teach the IAD first jump course.
Naturally, larger classes equal larger pay checks.
They also pay $5 for every student that I drop from 3,000 feet. On busy days, I don't always take the free hop-and-pop, preferring to land with the plane and get the next load of first jump students up quicker.

In response to all the whuffos who have asked me to train them for free: "Are you going to do my hair .. brakes ..lawn ... for free?"

Ass, grass or gas nobody rides for free!

[NSEMN8R 0]

That doesn't sound like that bad a deal. I don't do static line, but I think I heard they get $10 a head for teaching and $5 for the jump around here. Same as you pretty much.

If you want more money you could get a digital camera and a printer. If I was doing sl, I'd take pictures of every single one of them. I'll bet when they see it on the computer almost all of them would buy a print for $10 or $15. Look how many people buy pics of themselves on rollercoasters. Who wouldn't want a picture of themself hanging off the side of a plane? You could probably double your income.

[FXONE 0]

Thanks for the feedback, i really like what i do or i would not have been doing it for so long. I just wanted to know what other instructors thought. Although i cant imagine working at ANY Drop Zone for 12-16 hours a day for free, guess you have to have a lot of money to think that way in the first place. Thanks agein for your options.

[AFFI 0]

Quote

Thanks for the feedback, i really like what i do or i would not have been doing it for so long. I just wanted to know what other instructors thought. Although i cant imagine working at ANY Drop Zone for 12-16 hours a day for free, guess you have to have a lot of money to think that way in the first place.

I feel where you are comming from - it is hard to be a skydive instructor for a living. If it were not for the passion for instructing I wouldent still be strugling to do it any longer either.
-

Mykel AFF-I10
Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…

[teason 0]

Hey Rob, don't forget volume.

If you are teaching a small class, $50 would be about right but if the DZ isn't Tandem heavy and most are doing IADs, $50 is ridiculous.

At many small DZs, the lion's share is IAD students and a class of 20-30 students is not abnormal.

That would mean that at $50, you'd expect to be paid $1000 - $1500 for a class. How many people can say they make that type of money for half a days work? If that was the case, every Tandem Master I know would quit to become an SSI [;p]

At Tandem heavy DZs, I'd say you're right. If you had to drive to the DZ and spend half the day training 3 jumpers, you would certainly need more money per head. Gas to the DZ alone may cost $20.

FJC rates can be like apples and oranges DZ to DZ, it depends on the volume. Having taught classes anywhere from 1 to 73 students (yes I said 73) I can tell you that 75% of the class workload is independent of numbers and it would be unfair to make peanuts for a small class but just as unfair to expect thousands for a large one.

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

[skydived19006 4]

I agree with what Tim is saying as for size of class. My DZ only does 40 +/- IAD first jump students a year, we make 5 +/- "A" license jumpers a year. By far the majority of first jumpers at my DZ opt for tandem, and maybe half of the FJC students have done a tandem. Anyway, I pay the instructor $20 a head to train, and $10 to put them out, if they have only 3 in class and put them out that's $90. On a load of 3 at 4k (we put out IAD students from 4k), they make $30, that will only generally happen after FJC. They also make $10 to jump with freefall students. $10 is basically half the fun jump price. We do only train the FJC twice a month (2nd and 4th Sats), don't have a huge demand, and pays the Instructor a little more, because he has more students per class.

Experience is what you get when you thought you were going to get something else.

AC DZ

[riggerrob 558]

... similar at Pitt Meadows, except that we pay $50 to teach the first jump course.

[riggerrob 558]

The last few years, IAD students have been declining in numbers at Pitt Meadows - only to be replaced more than a thousand tandems per year.

I sometimes teach the FJC, if I am not too busy with tandems.

Spending the better part of a day teaching one student does not pay very well, but I teach because I am a nice guy and the other full-time instructor is too lazy to earn an Instructor B or SSI rating.

[Cacophony 0]

Sounds like you are getting paid pretty good for keeping a dying part of the sport alive. I have 7 static line jumps, and 60 AFF instructor jumps. AFF is where its at. If you can keep your pay up there and your DZO can keep tha flow going, more power to you!

[kwmontreal 0]

There are still a few clubs left out there. I belong to one, and there are days where all I do is go up and down with tandems. I don't get paid a cent. I do however really like the other club members and regulars at the DZ. Likewise for some of the regulars who have rateings. The only time that I don't enjoy it, is when we are stretched to thin (ie: teaching the FJC and listening to the radio to run out and talk down students ... or to jump into the plane to film a tandem). I do it for nothing because of the people at the club. Do I get free jumps ...yes, but I will add that since I became a member I have been doing FAR less "me jumping" than before I was a member and still paying for my jumps.


Happy New Year !

Kent

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JUMP SAFE!

[Trae 1]

in reply to "Sounds like you are getting paid pretty good for keeping a dying part of the sport alive."
........................................

you're funny .


You must have No idea how many static line DZ's are alive and well around the world.

Static line courses give access to low income earners in poorer parts of the world and also in many richer countries.... places that aren't overloaded with narcassistic blinkered rich people.

More likely than static line ever actually dying out is the whole sport dying off as only the ultra-rich manage to afford the high cost of AFF training and subsequent coaching dives . At a certain level of participation manufacturers will become thin on the ground and most current skydivers will be dreaming of the good old freeflying days.

It's my guess that if sport skydiving ever does die off due to rediculous costs then static line jumping ( military ) will continue on as if it never noticed.

"AFF is where its at"
yep it's good but it's not the only thing and my guess is it never will be.

[michalm21 0]

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More likely than static line ever actually dying out is the whole sport dying off as only the ultra-rich manage to afford the high cost of AFF training and subsequent coaching dives.

I've been to a few "3rd world" countries, so I can see what you mean, but I cannot agree with this statement.
I'm not even close to low-end rich (a rig is the most expensive thing I own right now ) and didn't have any problems paying for my AFF. But maybe the definition of ultra rich is different for us (Athough I'm definitely ultra rich in things other than money)

[skydivekc 0]

Well consider this. In the early 90's when this sport was at its peak in active members and 1st jump training was also at its peak. Static Line training was offered as a primary option. Why? It was and still is a very affordable way to skydive. Yes, many can afford the $200.00 tandem carnival ride that most DZ's including ours offer and Yes, AFF is the top of the line program for those that don't mind shelling out $300.00 or so for the first one. However with our program we see most get more out of a static line in the form of achievement and self pride from their accomplishment for half the price. Plus they can return and get in the air again for less than a couple cases of beer or a cheap night out on the town. This is why i feel the sport has shown a decline over the years. Most don't have the money to dump into it. At least not in the Midwest!!!

[AggieDave 6]

When the cost for the large number of rigs required and the fuel burn for multipul passes in a large turbine, that turbine DZs see SL/IAD instruction as a money loser. Especially when a lot of those larger turbine DZs are doing 100+ tandems a weekend.

(Man, I wish we had that many tandems at my DZ).

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[icevideot 0]

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When the cost for the large number of rigs required and the fuel burn for multipul passes in a large turbine, that turbine DZs see SL/IAD instruction as a money loser.

That and have you ever seen a SL out of a King Air? Holy cow that can get interesting. I don't know of anyone that has tried it more than a few times. I let my SL rating lapse and only teach AFF now but a lot of people jumping now learned that way and in some cases it is a viable alternative.

"... this ain't a Nerf world."

[riggerrob 558]

Static-line (and IAD) are not practical with faster twin-engined airplanes (Queen Air, King Air, etc.) and only a fe of the slower twins (i.e. Islander, Twin Otter) are practical.
California City is the only DZ that I have ever seen turn a profit turning multiple passes to drop S/L.

King Airs are only profitable when dropping multiple tandems on one pass.

[skydivekc 0]

Well my post was in reference to the majority of DZ's in operation and that is C-182 smaller DZ's. The dawn of the turbine and the new era of what jumpers come to expect "the big plane" has changed the way larger DZ's make a profit ie. tandem/AFF. If this industry continues on its current path we will see a clear line between mega DZ's with large turbines and small DZ's that operate a small fleet of 182's. The middle range King Air or Caravan DZ will be ousted by too much overhead and will either go back to what has been tried and true and that is somewhat old school methods otherwise they will dissolve!!

[Laszloimage 0]

...so if you're putting out a 1,000 students a year
(which is a lot and you have to be there full time)
then you make 15K a year.
McDonnalds pays more than that!
I would find a different DZ to work for.
-Laszlo-

[AggieDave 6]

Hey, with 6 rigs, a 182 and one SL/IAD instructor a DZ can turn loads all day long and make decent money. Its worked well for DZs in the past and it'll continue to work for DZs.

However, I don't see the majority of DZs staying on that path in the future, although some will continue to offer that style of training.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[brettpobastad 0]

There really isn't much point in debating the issue of compensation for 'skydiving professionals'. As an industry, skydiving is still in the dark ages. As a career, anyone who thinks they are going to make a good living is fooling themselves. From packers to equipment manufacturers, the amount of money you make and how you make it is lower, and harder to accumulate, than a comparable job outside of our industry. I wonder what a comparison of the difference in the rate of pay from 15 years ago until today for both tandem instructors and fast food workers would look like.

To optimize you money making potential in skydiving...

Acquire and make use of as many ratings as possible.

Forget about having kids or getting married.

Be willing to travel, commute long distances and/or live in less then ideal conditions.

Really, and I mean really...love the sport.

You'll end up with a shit load of skydives and a bunch of great memories and friends. You'll also have bad knees, shoulders and elbows (if you're lucky) and no savings for retirement.

...thats not a bad trade, I guess.

"It's only arrogance if you can't back it up"