Is advanced certification necessary?

[brianjgoldsmith]

I just got certified a couple months ago and just got back from a two week trip in Belize, which was amazing. I was looking at the description of the PADI Advanced diver certification, and saw it listed night, buoyancy control, boat, deep, and navigation diving as the specialties. In Belize I did a night dive and went down to 130' in the Blue Hole, even though I am only certified to 60' through the Open Water Certification. I talked to a couple people who had been diving their whole lives and they had never gotten certified above Open Water. The buoyancy and navigation aspects of the advanced cert sounded interesting but it seems like the rest is unnecessary. What are the benefits of getting an advanced certification?

 

[gfyrasng]

When I did my AOW, all it did was briefly cover each topic with a few exercise dives. For me personally it wasn't really worth it (of course I was 15 at the time so I didn't know any better plus I wasn't forking over the cash for the class). But I'm sure others on here have different opinions.

 

[sansky]

There are some places you might go that offer diving that requires Advanced Certification. It would give you more experience in the water; the more you dive, the more comfortable you become.

Advanced is really the wrong term to use. You could take Open Water and Advanced right behind it, but that does NOT make you an "Advanced Diver". Navigation is a must if you ever dive off a boat and need to get back to the anchor line.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

In many areas, there are deeper dives, wrecks, currents, or vis that make it a challenging dive. Often there will be a notice that only divers with an advanced adventure or above rating will be allowed on that dive.
It is a fun cert and can show you how much you still have to learn. Of course, I am an instructor and still always look for something else to learn. Or work on... or refine... IJS.

 

[Bossman]

I did AOW in Utila, were planned on doing 6 dives prior to the trip. We paid about $75 more than we would have for the 6 dives (total $240??), they gave us the book, and we picked dives so they would satisfy the AOW course. We did the education part on the surface intervals, and took the book home and emailed in the exercise questions once back to the states.

The class does not make you an advanced diver, but it does inform you of certain risks and techniques for deep diving, navigation, night diving, etc. I think it was worthwhile.

 

[parzdiver]

The biggest advantage to the AOW cert is spending time with a quality instructor. That being said, it means you need to find a quality instructor to do the course. Many AOW class just breeze through the topics and do the dives. Others will give you more experience and confidence in your diving.

 

[DennisS]

I got mine because some boats require it. Paid my money, played around, got my card.

 

[vjanelle]

It's also a requirement for the rescue diver course, and of course DM if you decide to go pro, or if you ever decide to do anything like deep diver specialty or any technical diving.

Don't want do any of those? Don't bother, unless you're going on a boat that wants you to have it.

 

[Dominantly]

My random input.

You said you got OW a short while ago, and then dove to 130'. Which from what all the instructors/ divers I know say, is the very bottom of the floor an Advanced Qualified OW Recreational diver should go.
I would say that if it is your desire to do go deep, it would be highly beneficial to have a very experienced instructor there next to you, to teach you how to properly do so, and watch over you as you get narc'd.

You'll get 5 specialties, Deep and Navigation being two, and can add on a few more fun ones to help you round out your skills. Can you grab your compass and do these drills on your own, sure, but learning from an experienced instructor on how to do them safely, and effectively, is a much better idea. A night, deep, navigation, DPV, & wreck dive would be an awesome experience for you, and after your done you will have your certification, experience, and less restrictions at resorts and boats.

 

[Louma]

I agree with everything above. The major points - some dives require an advanced certification or you won't get on the boat; spending time with a good instructor - great; learning something - maybe; needed for more advanced courses - absolutely; it's a relatively cheap course plus you get to do 6 more dives. Rescue is sooooo much better. My advice - do it.