From a reader:
"What is something that nobody outside your job would know is part of your job?"
This is such a good question, that it will have a 5-part answer - one for each day this week.
Part 2 - Behind the Scenes
Everyone thinks being a firearms instructor is somehow glamorous. As my former pastor says, "everyone wants the power, nobody wants the process."
The process looks like hard work.
Cleaning up before and after class.
Putting up target stands, targets, etc.
Arriving the day before to work for hours to set up.
Creating and maintaining a website, FB page, etc.
Making sure assistants are paid, fed, etc.
Selecting good assistants.
Making sure the range gets appropriate funds.
Making sure the range gets appropriate maintenance.
Going out on a limb financially to purchase merchandise for sale.
Dealing with "that guy" in class.
Creating a powerpoint, outline, handout, etc.
Constant re-evaluation of curriculum.
Certifications, insurance, etc.
A weekend away from family.
A lot of this might be mitigated to a certain extent if I owned a range. But a decent one is a half million or more. That would take a long time to pay off.
Those are the things it takes to put out a professional instructional product. It's awesome when you encounter an instructor who runs things that way and makes those priorities.
ReplyDeleteIt's frustrating and de-motivating when you run into someone who got "certified" as an instructor in a weekend who is just checking the boxes, doing it to make some $ on the side, or is doing it just to stroke their own ego and have people listen to them as an expert.
I got the weekend certification from an org, not to name names but they're being sued out of existence right now by the NY Attorney General. After a while (too long, a couple of years) I realized that while I wanted to put out a professional product, I'm a part timer. Doesn't mean I can't do a good job but I'd rather just train with people who want to train, rather than run a training side business. It was too much on top of my day job to do all of the things you list, and being honest I'd rather not do it at all rather than do it half-ass.
My hat's off to you for doing it properly.