I always point out to my students that the only way you can consider yourself an advanced diver is by diving ... and to think of the certification as a licence to make advanced dives.
This is the way it was explained to me, too.
When I got my OW card, my instructor explained that I could now get air and dive on my own, but I should limit my depth to 60 ft or less. He did not tell me this because he wanted to sell me the AOW course -- because we are friends and he wasn't selling me anything. He told me this because he said I would be better off to take some of the next steps with someone who has experience.
I was one of those who jumped right into AOW. Again, my instructor explained that this did not mean I was "advanced" but that I had now made a deep dive (with all the additional instruction that went with it), learned more about navigation, been on a night dive, learned about diving at altitude, and started learning about search and recovery. AOW was not the diploma. It was the introduction to higher learning.
A karate master once explained, "Most people think that the black belt is the end of their journey when, in fact, it is only the beginning."
This seems true of most endeavors. Someone made the comment about the medical school class. He was half right. One who graduates from medical school has the title of MD. But the medical graduate does NOT have the experience or the license to actually do much. The degree is the beginning, not the end of one's higher education.
I keep hearing that dive ops will not let divers go on certain dives unless they are "advanced." But where I have been, most do not actually ask to see a card. Instead, they ask how many dives you have done, how much time you have under water, or use some other way to measure
experience.
If someone in your club wants to dive see if you can do a shallow dive. In the shallows is where you generally learn about buoyancy control, trim and buddy skills as it's harder to do there than deep. 
