Should I tip?
If you are taking a class or a guided dive - should you tip your dive professional? The short answer is yes! If you have the means to leave a tip, and you had a good experience with your dive pro, a tip is almost always appreciated. But if you're not sure, just ask. If you don't carry cash most pros can accept tips electronically via Venmo or other apps.
For the long answer let's step back a bit.
Do you tip your hairdresser? Yes.
Massage therapist? Yep.
Server at a restaurant. Of course - I'm not a barbarian!
OK, so you tip these professionals who spend just 5 minutes (some servers) to an hour or so with you. Now let's consider your dive experience....
There is a good chance that your divemaster or instructor spent several hours with you during the class or dive helping to make sure you are safe as well as prepping equipment, instructional materials, and processing paperwork behind the scenes. Dive professionals usually spend way more time with you than other services - yet sometimes are not tipped. If you are in the habit of tipping service workers to appreciate the time they have invested in you - consider tipping your dive pro too!
Wait a minute though. Service professions like hairdressers and restaurant servers are often low wage jobs. So maybe you tip to help supplement their income. But dive classes are expensive! So doesn't that mean dive pros are already making a lot of money?
Almost always the answer to this is no. When you pay for a dive class your fee is often split three ways.
To the certifying organization (e.g. PADI, SSI, NAUI) to pay for instructional materials (online learning, books, etc.)
To the resort or dive shop (to cover overhead like rent, salaries, pool, boat, rental equipment, liability insurance etc.),
often only a small portion of what you paid goes to the dive professional (this is different if you're booking a private experience directly of course)
On an hourly, per-student basis - many dive instructors are working for less than the federal minimum wage - and because (at least with PADI) they are independent contractors - this underpayment is fully legal.
So spare a thought for your dive pro, and if they did a good job and you're financially able - tip generously! They will appreciate it.