Experience vs certification

[driftwood]

One more thing to consider. I can promise you that you will get more out of each dive while doing your AOW than just being part of a group on a regular guided dive. You really are not going to spend that much dive time doing the requirements for AOW. It isn't like this is OWC part two. The remaining portion of each dive will be more like the "exploration" dives you did in OWC and you will have your own personal guide to point things out for you. Priceless.

I think that the greatest benefit to your taking your AOW on vacation would be to designate your first dive as buoyancy control. That will be a gift that keeps on giving all the way through your vacation.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Well, maybe this is why PADI is loosing ground overseas.

To continue your accidental hijack, since you had nothing on topic to add to the thread; where exactly overseas is PADI losing ground to SDI? On sales of Advanced Adventure Diver over AOW?

 

[noreastDIVER84]

AOW requires pool dives? I don't think PADI AOW does. I was told it was reading and 5 open water dives.

I should clarify that, I am working on master diver which requires 5 specialties. I dont really see how it is any different than AOW, other than getting more in depth to the specialties.

Drysuit required a pool dive, and boat and deep are in open water, other than that, the rest are done in a quarry, that might as well be called a pool.

 

[boulderjohn]

AOW requires pool dives? I don't think PADI AOW does. I was told it was reading and 5 open water dives.

PADI AOW does not require pool dives. Our shop offers them as a service to AOW students, and they pretty much all do it. We go over everything that can be reasonably done in thepool for the dives they are doing for AOW. They do some compass navigation, for example. If they are dong PPB (which we strongly recommend, we spend a lot of time on buoyancy. We obviously don't do anything with deep diving, fish identification, etc.

Perhaps the shop in question makes the same offer.

I should clarify that, I am working on master diver which requires 5 specialties. I dont really see how it is any different than AOW, other than getting more in depth to the specialties.

Drysuit required a pool dive, and boat and deep are in open water, other than that, the rest are done in a quarry, that might as well be called a pool.

AOW has five dives associated with it. MSD has five specialties associated with it. Those specialties may include more dives. For example, night diver requires three dives.

 

[Meredith78]

Another question -- does it matter if the Instructor who does your certification comes from a "PADI 5-Star" dive shop or something with a rating like that? I remember when I got my open water, my instructor emphasized the importance of making sure I did my open water dives through a PADI-licensed operator. For AOW, as long as the instructor is an official PADI instructor, does it matter if they are listed on the PADI website or not?

 

[boulderjohn]

Another question -- does it matter if the Instructor who does your certification comes from a "PADI 5-Star" dive shop or something with a rating like that? I remember when I got my open water, my instructor emphasized the importance of making sure I did my open water dives through a PADI-licensed operator. For AOW, as long as the instructor is an official PADI instructor, does it matter if they are listed on the PADI website or not?

The 5-star rating does not matter as long as the instructor is competent. One of the criteria for being 5-star is that the operator only offer PADI training, and many very fine shops forego the 5-star rating they would otherwise receive because they feel it is advantageous to offer other instruction as well.

It was important that you do your OW dives through a PADI operator because PADI has a different system for dealing with referrals than other agencies. If you had gone to an SSI operator, for example, they would have had to do a crossover and issue an SSI certification to you.

 

[Rhenry]

PADI 5 star rating is your basic company store, all training will be PADI and nothing but PADI. I started out as a PADI student at a store that had NAUI as well. As we went through dive tables, safety and first aid I became well aware of the differences between the agencies. After going to two classes I decided to go the NAUI route, because of the first aid and instruction manuals/DVDs. To me personally it does make any difference, whose name is on the card as long as it works. To me it was all about the training and information. I did go on to take the PADI AOW course to find all the first aid I received as a NAUI OW diver was in the AOW PADI course. The instructor is the key person for the skill potion of the training but the material is just as important. The difference between PADI and NAUI is basic business views. PADI sees the OW class as a way to kick open the door to a student who will go back for more, NAUI sees it as a total package. They believe the student will come back based on the instructor and quality of training and not just on name recognition. Having said that the main reason I started out with PADI was because of name recognition, and therefore presumed they were the only legitimate game in town.

The main reason why PADI is growing so much is because of name, not course content. What I would like to see is a universal card, not just an agency card. In this respect there would be no misunderstanding about a person’s qualification. The main difference would be similar to car makers, ford vs. GM vs. Chevy etc. and not about who is better them whom.
The utopian ideal.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

What I would like to see is a universal card, not just an agency card. In this respect there would be no misunderstanding about a person’s qualification. The main difference would be similar to car makers, ford vs. GM vs. Chevy etc. and not about who is better them whom.
The utopian ideal.

"ford vs. GM vs. Chevy"??? Oranges vs. apples vs. grannies??? "Not about who is better"??? That's 'cause Ford is obviously better!