# AHA Instructor Profit



## RanchoEMT (Feb 27, 2012)

I didnt find any forums in the search so i'll ask my question here, "How much money does an American Heart Association Instructor make per person?" my buddy said his friend is an instructor and stated that about $5 goes to the AHA and the rest is profit for the instructor. Is this true? Are there any AHA or Red Cross Instructors on this site that can go into alittle more detail as to the costs certifying and profiting as an Instructor??? 
Thank You.


----------



## DrankTheKoolaid (Feb 27, 2012)

It depends on who you teach for.  Myself and other company employees teach simply for the x hours of wages and our non profit company keeps the rest. 
This helps with equipment replacement and upkeep.  And also allows us to do classes at cost for the 8 VFD'S around


----------



## NJN (Feb 27, 2012)

It all depends on your costs. If you aren't working for a company instructing then you can make whatever you charge -costs. I work both for myself and for my service. At my service I make my regular wage the same as Corky. When  I work for myself I make what I charge minus the cost of the card, equipment rentals, student manual, etc..... Those costs are determined by your training center. The cost of becoming an instructor depends on how much the training center charges for the course. You also have to factor that the AHA only allows a max of 9 students per instructor and your TC may restrict you further.


----------



## Mountain Res-Q (Feb 27, 2012)

I assume Corky and NJN are AHA.  From the ARC perspective...  RUN NOW!!!  As an independent Authorized Provider I was getting charged $80 per student for an 8 hour Basic FA/CPR Class, so to make a profit of just $20 per student (class max size of 10), I had to charge the students $100, while the Official Chapter of ARC was able to charge the student $80 for the same class.  Of course, this was in 2008, and I am told that this has changed, but everyone I know who has instructed for both say that AHA is the way to go as an instructor.  Even then, at best it is a side gig for some extra cash, not a career.


----------



## medicdan (Feb 27, 2012)

Mountain Res-Q said:


> I assume Corky and NJN are AHA.  From the ARC perspective...  RUN NOW!!!  As an independent Authorized Provider I was getting charged $80 per student for an 8 hour Basic FA/CPR Class, so to make a profit of just $20 per student (class max size of 10), I had to charge the students $100, while the Official Chapter of ARC was able to charge the student $80 for the same class.  Of course, this was in 2008, and I am told that this has changed, but everyone I know who has instructed for both say that AHA is the way to go as an instructor.  Even then, at best it is a side gig for some extra cash, not a career.


Agreed. ARC has gotten utterly out of control. RUN AWAY!

With AHA, on the other hand, your costs are dependent somewhat on your TC (and TCC), as well as your individual fixed costs... You generally pay only $5-$10/card, but may be expected to give all first-time students a book ($10/each). If you have your own equipment, your costs are only disposables (thats even if you use anything but a BVM). Without your own equipment, costs can add up with rentals. 

I can comfortably teach a class of 8-12 (sometimes with an assistant, sometimes not) and charge $50/student, and make a healthy profit. 

OP, contact me by PM if you have more questions about costs.


----------



## DrParasite (Feb 27, 2012)

RanchoEMT said:


> Are there any AHA or Red Cross Instructors on this site that can go into alittle more detail as to the costs certifying and profiting as an Instructor???


what is profit?

Profit for my company is money made by the company after all expenses have been made.  these expenses include maintenance of equipment, salary of instructors, investment in new tools related to the course, maintenance of facility, transportation costs, and any uniform or documentation expenses.

We charge $85 for a AHA healthcare provider course, which is a 5 hour class.  assuming the instructor makes $10 an hour, that leave $35 for maintenance of equipment that gets broken, rent for the office/classroom, the uniform shirt that the company has, $5 for the card, plus the ink to print the card and fix the printer when it breaks, technological upgrades, and the heating and AC to make it not too cold and not too hot.


----------



## medicdan (Feb 27, 2012)

DrParasite said:


> what is profit?
> 
> Profit for my company is money made by the company after all expenses have been made.  these expenses include maintenance of equipment, salary of instructors, investment in new tools related to the course, maintenance of facility, transportation costs, and any uniform or documentation expenses.
> 
> We charge $85 for a AHA healthcare provider course, which is a 5 hour class.  assuming the instructor makes $10 an hour, that leave $35 for maintenance of equipment that gets broken, rent for the office/classroom, the uniform shirt that the company has, $5 for the card, plus the ink to print the card and fix the printer when it breaks, technological upgrades, and the heating and AC to make it not too cold and not too hot.



Remember, that's $85, PER STUDENT... At that cost, one student could pay for the instructor's time, rent, card printing and equipment maintenance, etc, and the rest is pure profit.


----------



## RanchoEMT (Feb 27, 2012)

My questions were aimed at an entrepreneur-like situation, in which I had my own business "ABCPR" or something alike, and I would make not the hourly $10/hr., but in an attempt to put food on the table, make all profits excluding the AHA cost of cards($5)... Is this possible? I'm still abit hazy on whether or not this Personaly Owned and Operated training center is possible or if i need to be sponsord by an already existing TC???


----------



## medicdan (Feb 27, 2012)

RanchoEMT said:


> My questions were aimed at an entrepreneur-like situation, in which I had my own business "ABCPR" or something alike, and I would make not the hourly $10/hr., but in an attempt to put food on the table, make all profits excluding the AHA cost of cards($5)... Is this possible? I'm still abit hazy on whether or not this Personaly Owned and Operated training center is possible or if i need to be sponsord by an already existing TC???



For AHA, tou need to be affiliated with an existing TC, as AHA limits the number in geographic or metropolitan areas...

Your affiliated TC maintains records for you (keeping track of how often you teach, student records), can sell you materials and equipment, and processes your rosters/cards, often at a small cost. It is your responsibility to procure and maintain equipment, recruit students, find locations, etc. The TC reserves the right to "audit" or review your classes on a certain schedule or randomly, if they know when/where you are holding them. 

Other organizations make it easier to be your own TC... with ARC, you can become an "authorized provider", with ECSI, a "Training Center" without difficulty. 

If you have a steady flow of students, it really isn't difficult to make profit as an independent instructor, once you get everything set up (and make initial purchases of materials and equipment). Before opening a business, consider surveying what already exists in your area, and finding your own niche, if possible.

Good Luck!


----------



## Veneficus (Feb 27, 2012)

I get paid $50 an hour as a TCF in all disciplines at a major hospital. 

An ACLS class is $150 per person. 
A PALS class $250 per person.

Don't remember what they charge for BLS. 

There are several companies that are privately owned that charge people outrageous amounts. Particularly ones who have purchased high value simulators.

The upfront costs are rather substantial and it is a lot of uncompensated work getting reliable contracts/customers, but the payout can be substantial once you cover your start-up costs.

A really good way to make money at it is "short notice" classes for people who really wait until the last minute. (usually doctors) I always offer to put on a short notice class for a premium just for me.


----------



## mycrofft (Feb 27, 2012)

Cost of materials etc plus whatever is competitive with local trainers. This area is saturated, so it is not very good.


----------



## medicdan (Feb 27, 2012)

mycrofft said:


> Cost of materials etc plus whatever is competitive with local trainers. This area is saturated, so it is not very good.



Although, with quantity come further discounts... So as an individual/independent instructor you may be paying more for books than the conglomerate next door that teaches 100 students/week...


----------



## johnrsemt (Feb 28, 2012)

When I used to have my own CPR Business; I charged my instructors $25 a person to get the cards, and use the equipment.  And we had the good, Rescu-Annies; not the lower cost mannequins.

  The Annies cost about $400 for each adult, $300 for child and $275 for infant (this was 2000 prices).   The disposable face masks were $12 a box of 50. BVM's and pocket masks and one way valves cost up front but last quite a long time.  Cards cost us $3 (then went up to $5) from our TC.   Books were $10.   But I found out from AHA that if you were teaching a business (ECF, Hospice provider, doctors office, etc) that you could just have a couple of books for the office to keep as reference; and books for the students to look through for a week or so ahead of time.   Then give them back, or the student could buy their own book.  (I don't know if AHA will let that happen still, I haven't had my own business since 2008).
   So the basic cost per student:  1 book, disposable face mask, card and wear and tear on equipment I charged $25 per person.

   What we charged per student for the class varied:  I charged $60 each for 1-2 person, $55 for 3-5 students,  $50 for 6-10 students for just basic classes.   We maintained the 6 students to 1 instructor ratio; although sometimes we would break larger groups into multiple classes in 1 day, at businesses.    
    The instructors could charge whatever they wanted above their expense.  So we could teach friends or family for cost.  (sometimes the instructor would eat the cost, sometimes they would charge their family member the $25).   Instructors would get $10-15hr depending on how many students; and they would get bonuses for finding classes, even if they couldn't always teach the ones they found.
   {I also paid a $5.00 per person referral fee to co-workers if they found students/classes for me;  and I would give Students a discount on their class if they got friends or families to join in and learn}.
    If we taught at a business we would go as low as $35-40 a student depending on how many.
  At the Private Ambulance Service I worked at I charged the $25 per student, plus my normal payroll.  

   I made anywhere from $2500 a year up to a high of $13,000 in profit; depending on how much I pushed it.    Biggest contract/business I ever did was $8,000 for 200 employees of which about $4,000 was profit before payroll.
   I had anywhere from 1-10 instructors working/sub contracting under me.


----------

