A different take on Master Scuba Diver

[Doc]

It's pure marketing fluff. And it's insulting to everyone who had earned the title in other professions such as Master Diver, Master Gunner, Master Rigger and Master Chief.

Baiter

 

[tursiops]

And it's insulting to everyone who had earned the title in other professions such as Master Diver, Master Gunner, Master Rigger and Master Chief.

Yup, there are a lot of things in the military that are different from real life.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

How so?

The depth of the manual is arguably the best in recreational scuba. I bought it purely as a reference and a source to improve my teaching even though I've never been a NAUI instructor nor will I ever be.

I think the manual belongs on every divers bookshelf.

If no one was allowed to have or express an opinion on something, there would be a total of like 3 posts a day here from people trying to sell stuff.

Or people use the ignore button resulting in an an echo chamber.

 

[Leatherboot69]

A stupid title with 30 years of history is still a stupid title.

It's pure marketing fluff. And it's insulting to everyone who had earned the title in other professions such as Master Diver, Master Gunner, Master Rigger and Master Chief.

Recreational scuba diving isn’t a profession, it’s a hobby. This ain’t the military, let it go.

 

[Leatherboot69]

.

 

[Leatherboot69]

Others explained where the titles come from. Your post got me thinking about what one compares it to. An avid diver (which many of us are, even a one or two trip/year intermediate rec. diver like me) might compare the title 'master' against seasoned dive guides with thousands of dives, top quality instructors, advanced tech. divers who cave dive without stirring up silt, people with a GUE Fundamentals tec. pass, people with extensive experience diving in more demanding environments, etc...

But what kind of 'crowd' do most divers fairly early in their diving compare themselves against? Once you get OW, Nitrox and AOW, and you wonder what's next or whether you're done with training and cert.s, who do you compare yourself to?

Maybe a local dive shop or club group that offers courses and organized dive trips to ocean diving in benign conditions? If so, you might dive amongst people with OW, AOW and maybe Nitrox cert.s, and some with DM, Assistant Instructor or Instructor cert.s.

Master Scuba Diver is a recreational cert. If we ignore the dive professionals, by the time you qualify for the Master Scuba Diver certification, you probably have developed a substantial level of mastery in basic OW diving beyond what you had when you finished the OW course, and even your AOW, and you have broader experience.

So if 'mastery' is designed relative to where you started, it's not a bad term. If it's considered in the context of recreational diving and in your local benign conditions vacation diver group, it may not be pretentious or overreaching.

Some of us judge it harshly because we compare it to a context many people don't have or don't use.

To use your analogy, not all black belts are created equal. I imagine the harder core trained black belts might sometimes roll their eyes at some of the others who have them.

Good point. I’d say the vast majority of divers don’t use that context

 

[lowwall]

Recreational scuba diving isn’t a profession, it’s a hobby. This ain’t the military, let it go.

What other hobbies have "Master" certifications?

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

What other hobbies have "Master" certifications?

Fishing.

 

[tursiops]

What other hobbies have "Master" certifications?

Gardening.
Angler: Master Angler Awards
Bowling.
Beekeeping.

 

[TMHeimer]

First of all, it is not Master Diver. It is Master Scuba Diver. A Master Diver is a Navy term.
Secondly, if people wish to read into a title more than it is intended to mean, that's on them
Thirdly, The name is at least 30 years old (not sure when it started, but pre 1994) and words and their meaning evolve with time. Advanced Open Water NEVER meant you were an advanced diver, it only has meant -- from the beginning -- that you had advanced beyond Open Water. MSD NEVER meant you were a master of all things, only that you had achieved the highest recreational rating.
Far too much angst on SB about titles of stuff, and far too little understanding of the practical consequences of trying to change a name of something that has been around far lponger than many of the complainers have even lived.

This. It's a title. I've had two people so far argue about the title of my book (below).