Is advanced certification necessary?

[Superlyte27]

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.

Exactly what he said.

To answer your question...
Yes it's necessary. If you want to progress to Cavern, Wreck, Dive Master, Rescue. It's necessary. If you want to dive certain spots, depths, it's necessary.

That being said... If you get a crap instructor, you waste your time and money. If you get a great instructor, it's well worth the money.

 

[TSandM]

In general, if you dive enough and under enough varied circumstances, you're going to give yourself your own AOW class. That said, there ARE some bits of information you might not think of or hear from someone else. However, the AOW class (at least PADI's) is designed to follow fairly closely on OW, and give the new diver some help preparing for different sorts of dives than the ones he did in class.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

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?

If you are certifying through PADI, then in addition to any other reasons you may wish to take AOW, the best reason I can think of is that it's a prerequisite to taking a Rescue class.

To my concern, Rescue is the most worthwhile class you can take as a diver. It will not only give you some valuable skills, but it will teach you how to keep yourself from having to be rescued.

In that respect, think of AOW as a means to an end ... if you never take another class afterward, I highly recommend you do what you need to get into a Rescue class.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Second that. But not all agencies require advanced to do rescue. I;d personally like to see divers do OW. Get 10-15 dives on their own and practice what they just learned. THEN do rescue followed by an advanced course that actually gives you the KNOWLEDGE and SKILLS to do "advanced dives" . The "it's 5 more dives with an instructor" is just marketing BS and could be done without going into a class. Those dives are not advanced if all they are doing is taking a so-called tour of them and not getting any NEW skills but just polishing the basics.

My OW students are welcome to dive with me after OW at no charge at any time. As long as the dives I'm doing are within their recommended limits why should they pay to refine basic skills. I usually only do two training dives a day for OW checkouts. Those can be done by noon. My previous students can tag along as not part of the class and/or in the afternoon we can go do a couple fun dives for shiites and giggles. I'll offer tips, evaluate skills, and help with things IF ASKED TO. If they want to work on their own and just be my buddy(s) cool. I get to see if they are ready for the AOW I offer or any other class and have some fun myself.

 

[String]

What are the benefits of getting an advanced certification?

Insurance. You're very unlikely to be covered deeper than your qualification depth in the event of an incident.

Second reason, lots of operators use the recommeneded depth limits to decide who can do what trip so many places wont allow an OW diver below 18m.

 

[RJP]

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.

Agreed, but either way no-one should confuse "Advance Open Water" with being "an advanced certification."

A good AOW course is simply "Open Water 2.0"

 

[bracko]

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.

indeed. our charter boat won't let you off the boat in a +18m site without first logging your card details.

 

[NC Wreck Diver]

I'm was NAUI certified a while ago. Back then, we did OW1, OW2, then Advanced. My advanced came with Deep and Wreck as Speciality Courses. As times changed, so did the certification requirements. Our rescue came with DM/AI.

I dive with a lot of PADI guys who are really qualified divers. They've had good instruction from top notch PADI instructors. I just dove with a young guy who got out of Basic OW1, 4 check out dives and 5 Cozumel dives under his belt, and was quite comfortable in the water. His confidence came from great instruction, and his progression will go to PADI Advanced.

Take the next step and go to your PADI Advanced. It will only make you a better diver, and allow you to open up doors for your diving career. You can never stop learning. I still do, even after many dives. Join DAN if you have not already. The benefits really outway the nominal price. Don't ever short change yourself. Get advanced instruction and experiences. Plus, the group of divers you will be with may stick with you for a long time. I met one of my best friends in Basic OW1 25 years ago, on the side of the YMCA pool. We've been friends ever since we were kids, and dove all over the country. Go sign up for the next Advanced class. Nobody can ever take that education away from you. Good luck and good diving.

 

[vladimir]

Insurance. You're very unlikely to be covered deeper than your qualification depth in the event of an incident.

With DAN insurance you are covered to at least 40 meters.

Second reason, lots of operators use the recommeneded depth limits to decide who can do what trip so many places wont allow an OW diver below 18m.

There are probably "many places" that won't allow an OW diver below 18m, but I have yet to encounter one.

 

[knowone]

A proud respectful progression through dive industry qualifications promoting safety and experience.