In terms of hierarchy, and just sticking to rec divers, it's not exclusively hierarchical.
Sure, it's OW, AOW, Rescue, DM, Instructor in that order. But specialties in the rec world aren't really hierarchical at all. I didn't get nitrox until after I had Rescue. (It was scary voodoo gas that was too expensive anyway when I got certified OW, and I never really had a need for it for reasons.) But I've given nitrox cards to folks that are just OW.
I am not a Deep Diver, but I am a Deep Diver Instructor. I am not a Dry Suit Diver, but I am a Dry Suit Diver Instructor. Those certifications didn't exist until I'd already been diving in a dry suit and deep for awhile, at least not as commonly as we see now. (For that matter, I'm also not PPB or Search and Recovery certified, but I can certify students in both. I was a DAN oxygen provider, though I'm a PADI Emergency Oxygen instructor.)
So what do I show? My instructor card has got me everything I wanted. Never asked to supervise anybody and most recently was allowed a lot of latitude to do my own thing on guided dives because of it. Maybe my dive count, most recent dive (usually "last week") , and max depth help. I dunno. Seemed like my DM card does the trick as well. I've never had an op want more than AOW. (Unless I ask for nitrox or want to buy a dry suit.)
One time, my second time diving the Blue Hole in Belize, the provider wanted me to do a shallower dive with them first. At the time, my "highest" certification was Rescue. So I told them my dive count, the fact that I'd dived the Blue Hole before, when my most recent dive was and they relented and let me do it.
If I want nitrox, I show a nitrox card. I suppose if a shop insisted on Deep Diver for a dive, I'd try to pass off my Deep Diver Instructor card. They're all on my phone, so my wallet isn't bulging. But I've never had a shop care about specialties that weren't pertinent to the dive at hand. When they ask "highest cert", I think they're after the OW/AOW/Rescue sort of things.
Sure, it's OW, AOW, Rescue, DM, Instructor in that order. But specialties in the rec world aren't really hierarchical at all. I didn't get nitrox until after I had Rescue. (It was scary voodoo gas that was too expensive anyway when I got certified OW, and I never really had a need for it for reasons.) But I've given nitrox cards to folks that are just OW.
I am not a Deep Diver, but I am a Deep Diver Instructor. I am not a Dry Suit Diver, but I am a Dry Suit Diver Instructor. Those certifications didn't exist until I'd already been diving in a dry suit and deep for awhile, at least not as commonly as we see now. (For that matter, I'm also not PPB or Search and Recovery certified, but I can certify students in both. I was a DAN oxygen provider, though I'm a PADI Emergency Oxygen instructor.)
So what do I show? My instructor card has got me everything I wanted. Never asked to supervise anybody and most recently was allowed a lot of latitude to do my own thing on guided dives because of it. Maybe my dive count, most recent dive (usually "last week") , and max depth help. I dunno. Seemed like my DM card does the trick as well. I've never had an op want more than AOW. (Unless I ask for nitrox or want to buy a dry suit.)
One time, my second time diving the Blue Hole in Belize, the provider wanted me to do a shallower dive with them first. At the time, my "highest" certification was Rescue. So I told them my dive count, the fact that I'd dived the Blue Hole before, when my most recent dive was and they relented and let me do it.
If I want nitrox, I show a nitrox card. I suppose if a shop insisted on Deep Diver for a dive, I'd try to pass off my Deep Diver Instructor card. They're all on my phone, so my wallet isn't bulging. But I've never had a shop care about specialties that weren't pertinent to the dive at hand. When they ask "highest cert", I think they're after the OW/AOW/Rescue sort of things.
I also keep any deco to less then 5 minutes.
