Course/Specialization Question

[ElectroPulse]

Hello, all! So, just took the first day of the PADI Open Water Certification yesterday, and am super stoked to start trying some of this stuff...

So, when I am interested in something, I try to read as much about it as possible, and try to formulate plans well ahead of when I would even know whether I'll end up doing them or not.

Anyway, I have been reading about the other more advanced courses. At this point (never even gotten into the water with the SCUBA equipment on at this point, so plans may change), I think it would be pretty neat to (sometime down the road) get the Nitrox Enriched Air cert, Advanced Open Water cert, and Deep Diver cert. My question is this: I see that you can pick certain elective classes for the Advanced Open Water cert... How does this work as opposed to how the specializations work? For example, I see that Nitrox Enriched Air dive is one of the elective dives. Do they teach you all the stuff you would learn by taking the Nitrox Enriched Air Course, but you still need to take one dive afterward (to fill the Nitrox cert requirement of 2 dives)? Or am I misunderstanding how it works? I'm guessing you couldn't get all 5 of the certifications from the Advanced Open Water certification... Is there an advantage to doing it rather than just taking the 5 courses? Or is it basically a way to try out different types of diving?

Thanks!
ElectroPulse

EDIT: Strange... It stripped the carriage returns from my post. Editing it worked, though.

 

[Quero]

LOL, keep reading in your book--there will be an explanation, and your instructor can give you lots of examples. It's his/her job to encourage you to continue your diver education. But briefly--in the PADI system, you must do five Adventure Dives to complete the Advanced Open Water course. (Note that this does not make you an Advanced Diver--it's just the next level up in the diver education track.) Among these five Adventure Dives, Deep Diving and Underwater Navigation are required. The other three choices are discussed between you and your instructor. Each of these Adventure Dives is the first dive of a Specialty Course, so the Deep Diving Adventure Dive is the first dive of the Deep Diving Specialty, for example. Each specialty has a specific number of dives associated with it--many require just two dives, but others may require as many as four.

Just a final note--you don't actually have to do the Advanced Open Water course in order to do a specialty course. So you can go ahead and do the Nitrox course, for example, without having the AOW first.

 

[gizmo1972]

ok how it works is
Advanced open water in the next step after open water it is designed to give you 5 experience dives 2 of which are mandatory 1,deep 2 , navigation
the other 3 are elective dives depending on the dive location theese dives are taster dives for you to gain experience thees dives are the 1st dives of that specialist course so should you wish go gain that individual course you have already completed dive 1 .
the diving is all linked to flow in to each other like there is an option to do a couple of shore skills after the advanced course to carry on into the rescue course etc
i hope this explains how the PADI system works

 

[Colliam7]

For example, I see that Nitrox Enriched Air dive is one of the elective dives. Do they teach you all the stuff you would learn by taking the Nitrox Enriched Air Course, but you still need to take one dive afterward (to fill the Nitrox cert requirement of 2 dives)?

Quero and gizmo have provided very good summaries. In addtion, you mention Enriched Air Diver (nitrox) which can be a bit of an anomaly, in the sense that the course is now 'dive-optional' - you do not have to complete an actual enriched air dive to earn the certification.

If you interest is in Enriched Air diving, I would suggest that you simply take the Enriched Air Diver course, complete the academic work and the two dive simulations, for the certification. Then, complete Advanced Open Water with five (other) Adventure Dives, two of which are, as noted, required.

Is there an advantage to doing it rather than just taking the 5 courses? Or is it basically a way to try out different types of diving?

Some divers complete AOW in order to gain additional diving experienced in a 'supervised' environment. Others take it because the certification may be required for some particular diving experiences (some charter boat operators in the US, for example, require a diver be AOW certified in order to go to certain deeper sites). And, some pursue AOW because they do want to sample different types of diving. Other divers take specialties according to their interest. As Quero noted, you don't HAVE to be AOW certified to pursue most specialty courses. Notably, you DO have to be at least Adventure Diver (3 Adventure Dives instead of 5, which is the requirement for AOW) certified to pursue some specialties, and you do have to be AOW certified to pursue a few others.

Different SB posters will have, and share, their particular view of which Adventure Dives are most useful. And, most of us will say that the quality of an Adventure Dive, of a Specialty course, or of AOW, will be influenced to some extent by the particular Instructor. The standards and performance requirements for each Adventure Dive, and each specialty diver course, are written and clear. But, some instructors may have a particular passion for an area (e.g. Underwater Navigation, or Deep Diving) and will often find ways to enrich the experience.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Good explanations have been provided. Here is the prgression I recommend: 1. Get your open water certification. 2 get about 20 dives (or more) experience following your certification. 3. Take the Advance open water class. 4. Take the nitrox course. Then take any specialties that interest you, to become more proficient in that area. I think the navigation specialty is very useful, as is the peak performance buoyancy course. Other focus on individual interests, like underwater photographer, underwater videographer, dpv, and the like. Get a good foundation, your open water certification and some dive experience, and then build on it.
DivemasterDennis

 

[TMHeimer]

All has been said, but I will add that if doing a specialty course (or maybe AOW), it may be wise to do the entire course with the same shop. If you need to finish a course elsewhere they may charge for the full course.

 

[bracko]

My suggestion for the training progress...

OW
AOW - when you're comfortable completing simple shore/boat dives without DM/instructor supervision
EAN - just before or on a holiday where Nitrox is available and you're doing multiple dives a day. (the course is dead easy and takes practically no time UW)
Rescue - the next summer after you start diving and have over 50 dives with different people, in different environments.
Deep - whenever you need it. don't just do courses for the sake of doing courses. the deep course is little in addition to the deep theory you learn in the AOW.

the most important thing I think is to dive with different people in different environments and absorb as much as you can.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

My suggested route - OW, rescue, UW Nav, Advanced.

 

[RJP]

OW
AOW - when you're comfortable completing simple shore/boat dives without DM/instructor supervision...

Any diver who is not "comfortable completing simple shore/boat dives without DM/instructor supervision" has either failed their OW course... or their OW instructor has failed them.

---------- Post added September 17th, 2013 at 09:30 AM ----------

Rescue - the next summer after you start diving and have over 50 dives with different people, in different environments.

Curious - why wait for 50 dives before taking Rescue? I recommend it as early as there is interest; will make you a better, more aware diver, even if you never need to rescue someone. And/or why roll the dice hoping nothing happens to you or anyone you're diving with until next year: "sorry dude... love to save you but I'm waiting until I have another 20 or so dives... with different people... in different environments."