In my previous two posts, I have (1) considered non-governmental certification of instructors as an option to provide consumers of civilian gun training with information about the quality of services they are purchasing, and (2) looked at Tom Givens’s Rangemaster Firearms Instructor Development and Certification course as an example. In my last post I looked … Continue reading
As I noted in the first of this series of posts, this summer I began collecting data for the chapter of my book that will cover the civilian or private citizen gun training industry. My first stop was a Rangemaster Firearms Training Services instructor development and certification course conducted by Tom Givens. This course represents … Continue reading
The growing number of private citizens interested in the use of firearms for self-defense both fosters and is fostered by the rise of the civilian gun training (cottage) industry. The civilian firearms training industry helps to solve the problem of teaching individuals with little or no personal (e.g., family, military, or law-enforcement) background in firearms … Continue reading
In my ongoing consideration of the rise of the civilian gun training industry, my last two posts considered the possibility of the professionalization – or at least the semi-professionalism – of firearms instructors as an occupational group. As the path of professionalization seems unlikely, at least in the short run, other ways of regulating or … Continue reading
In thinking about the civilian gun training industry as a profession, I have drawn extensively on a 50+ year old article by sociologist Harold Wilensky on “The Professionalization of Everyone?” [1] Having outlined what a profession is and the typical process by which an occupation is professionalized, Wilensky concluded by observing that “many occupations which … Continue reading
With the exception of concealed carry instructors in certain states (like North Carolina), “civilian firearms instructor” as an occupation is unregulated by any local, state, or federal agency (that I am aware of – please correct me if I am wrong). In such an environment, anyone can put up a shingle that says “I are … Continue reading
In my post about the rise of the private citizen firearms training (cottage) industry yesterday, I mentioned a comment by Karl Rehn of KR Training that almost no one makes a full-time living as a firearms trainer. Karl was good enough to send me some background on his comment which I am posting here in … Continue reading
