Certification vs Experience

[chipwd]

Speaking as a "newbie" I found that there is so much to think about and practice after OW certification I didn't feel comfortable going on to AOW fo a while.

I certified in mid May and now have 33 logged dives with a max depth of 71' and have dove in the Keys and in Maine with the majority of my dives in cold, murky upstate NY lake waters and just now now feel ready to take on AOW. Most of my dives have been with DMs that are patient friends and very willing to share their knowledge.

I wanted to feel somewhat comfortable with my basic skills before taking on more knowledge and learning more skills. That may not work for everyone, but my goal is to become a better diver, not just collect cards. I am still far from happy with my skill level but I know that practice and more practice will gradually make me a better diver as long as I listen and learn when practising. Every dive I get a tiny bit better....

 

[mikerault]

After OW and 75 dives I did AOW, definately worthwhile. I also have Nitrox and Buoyancy already. Now I want to do Rescue Diver. I figure by the time I ready for DM I will have over 100 dives. I am still learning every dive nad feel at times like a newbie so experience and knowledge go hand in hand.

Mike

 

[joe rock]

Speaking as a "newbie" I found that there is so much to think about and practice after OW certification I didn't feel comfortable going on to AOW fo a while.

I certified in mid May and now have 33 logged dives with a max depth of 71' and have dove in the Keys and in Maine with the majority of my dives in cold, murky upstate NY lake waters and just now now feel ready to take on AOW. Most of my dives have been with DMs that are patient friends and very willing to share their knowledge.

I wanted to feel somewhat comfortable with my basic skills before taking on more knowledge and learning more skills. That may not work for everyone, but my goal is to become a better diver, not just collect cards. I am still far from happy with my skill level but I know that practice and more practice will gradually make me a better diver as long as I listen and learn when practising. Every dive I get a tiny bit better....

Chipwd, sounds like you have a great attitude. Like you I don't want to rush into training that my skills are inadequate for, on the other hand AOW and rescue have made me a much better diver. AOW gets a lot of bashing on the board, I think it's more for the name than the course. I had a great instructor so I had a great class. It's like so many on SB say, it's all about the instructor.

JR

 

[SparticleBrane]

People harp on the "training doesn't make you an expert" thing because many times, people think that taking a certain scuba course DOES make them an expert...

 

[cdshin]

I just want to chip in and share my 2 cents. Certifications if obtained from a great instructor can be invaluable. If you go in thinking "let me just finish these so I can get my cert card" attitude, they are worthless. If you go in trying to learn and observe other divers and instructors from every dive, you can learn a lot in such a short amount of time - like golfing before developing bad habbits.
Daniel...

 

[Tortuga James]

I think it is silly that you could call yourself "Advanced" after 12 dives or so. I don't think there is anything wrong with continuing your education quickly, but only with the understanding that only training coupled with experience can make you an advanced diver.

To quote myself and clarify...I don't consider myself an "advanced diver" , although I have the card in my wallet.

 

[chipwd]

Chipwd, sounds like you have a great attitude. Like you I don't want to rush into training that my skills are inadequate for, on the other hand AOW and rescue have made me a much better diver. AOW gets a lot of bashing on the board, I think it's more for the name than the course. I had a great instructor so I had a great class. It's like so many on SB say, it's all about the instructor.

JR

Thank you but I know that this sport that we indulge in can have it's dark side and even the fairly shallow dives that I have done to date could have serious consequences. If I took up diving when I was much younger than I may not have the same outlook that I have now...and I don't mean that as a slap to any younger people, I just know how I was when I was younger. I am 50 yrs young and I want another 50 or so yrs so I'll take my time and learn and enjoy.

I actually wish I had started many years ago but it is what it is.

AOW this month and Rescue next Spring. Nitrox and Dry Suit are on the list, too.

 

[Damselfish]

Please help me understand something. Why is it that whenever a discussion about training takes place on SB everyone jumps all over the "training doesn't make you an expert". This isn't unique to diving, I have taken advanced statistics, it doesn't make me a statistican let alone an ADVANCED statistican. I referee soccer and take all kinds of training classes to improve my skills, it doesn't make me an EXPERT official. I could go on, but won't. Why do we down grade training by saying it doesn't make you this or that? There are very few things in life people are good at without experience. Training helps the experience be good experience doing the correct things - why do we equate training with expertise?

I don't think anyone is downgrading training in general just by saying it doesn't make you an expert. (There's lots of examples where people dump on things about specific trainings, but that's different.) People don't equate training with expertise.

I'd say the perception is that some think training will (or did) make them an expert - or in the case of the poorly named AOW, "advanced." People feel compelled to make sure they know otherwise, just in case. What percentage of people really do think this way in scuba and need to be "saved", vs. in anything else you do training or education for, who knows. Interesting thing to contemplate though.

 

[Buoyant1]

In the immortal words of movie submarine captains worldwide:

DIVE DIVE DIVE!

You'll know when it's time to take another class.

I take a good amount of the information I read here with a grain of salt (i.e bp/w is better than jacket, MOF yes! MOF no!, snorkel/no snorkel etc.) but the underlying thing I hear from a LOT of people is JUST DIVE!

I did that this summer, still not quite as much as I wanted to, but MUCH more than last summer which was the first full summer after certifying. I was waiting to see when I felt I was ready to take AOW, some people get their basic OW, then two weeks later take AOW. I wanted to use what I had first to see where it took me.

Over the winter, I took an equipment specialist class, seemed like a fun thing to do in Pennsylvania in February! This June, I took Nitrox, why? Reading that people over 40 and a bit over weight are probably more at risk for DCS than people under 40 and at their optimum weight, so why not!

I really started diving this year in July, and learned a lot from the people I was diving with, mainly because they offered the constructive criticism I needed as a "newbie" that I wasn't getting every 4-5 months on a vacation dive!

At one point this summer, with a few divemasters and rescue divers in our little group, we tried a deeper dive. no problems, we did it again, and I got better at it. Then, the last Wednesday night we were able to dive the quarry, we got into the water a little late, and I did my first night dive!

I now feel very comfortable, easing into an AOW class. Did I need it to do what I accomplished this summer? No! The scuba police weren't sitting waiting at the surface, my instructor gave me tips as a dive buddy, but cautioned me as an instructor. At this point, I'm actually more concerned with taking the Navigation part of the course than the deep dive, but looking forward to Peak Performance Buoyancy!

But if taking courses gets you diving, then go for it! Just dive! The rest will fall into place! It's like anything else, the more you do it, the better you become, the more you dive the more you learn, and the more you will look to learn!

Have fun!

 

[pir8]

After OW and 75 dives I did AOW, definately worthwhile. I also have Nitrox and Buoyancy already. Now I want to do Rescue Diver. I figure by the time I ready for DM I will have over 100 dives. I am still learning every dive nad feel at times like a newbie so experience and knowledge go hand in hand.

Mike

Even as an Instructor I hope to be learning something every dive myself. You should never stop learning. Actually every dive I try to do something to work on Buoyancy. Even if its something as silly as balancing on a single finger.