Question Is my AOW class “normal”?

[drk5036]

The point of AOW is NOT to create an advanced diver. The point is to give someone a taste of five different specialties to see if there is something there they would like to continue and know more about. It is a sampler, a smorgasbord, not a composed meal. And the quality of it depends on the chef.

...then they should change the name. If I take a cake-making class and all they teach me to do is beat an egg and sift flour, I don't think I should say I have a cake-making certification.

And clearly, the OP falls into this category. They took a "advanced" class and have the obvious feeling that when they finish, they won't be much more advanced than when they started.

 

[drk5036]

Someone earlier mentioned the "learners permit" concept. That would be a much more reasonable approach to certifying diving. 1) open water diver class, 2) advanced techniques training (buoyance, deep, and nitrox), 3) advanced cert when you do 2 + 20 hours logged underwater. (or something like this.)

The problem is this doesn't fit nicely into two or three days of diving while on vacation.

 

[jlcnuke]

...then they should change the name. If I take a cake-making class and all they teach me to do is beat an egg and sift flour, I don't think I should say I have a cake-making certification.

And clearly, the OP falls into this category. They took a "advanced" class and have the obvious feeling that when they finish, they won't be much more advanced than when they started.

after the AOW class, you have "advanced" your open water training. You learned more (advanced) about how to be an Open Water Diver.

 

[tursiops]

Well if you go on a trip and they require advanced cert it must mean something if a diver with 9 dives qualifies and a diver with far more experience but no cert doesn’t. Someone thinks it matters

I agree, that's a problem. But the problem is the charters and dive operators and especially their insurance companies. They have nothing else to go on. They certainly don't want brand new divers with fake log books....so they ask for proof the diver has done more training than just OW. In most cases, it works out fine. There is the occasional dumba$$ with 9 dives, a huge ego, and probably a louder mouth, that causes problems. No system's perfect. The other side of the coin is the very experienced diver with just an ancient OW card, perhaps from some agency that died before the diveshop employee asking for cards was born. He/she, at least, might have other ways to show their credentials. Or, they can just get an AOW card.

 

[tursiops]

I don't think I should say I have a cake-making certification.

I agree, but you can't control what ego-driven or ill-informed divers call themselves. You meet them on every dive boat. Shiny new gear amd cert cards...

 

[drk5036]

I agree, that's a problem. But the problem is the charters and dive operators and especially their insurance companies. They have nothing else to go on. They certainly don't want brand new divers with fake log books....so they ask for proof the diver has done more training than just OW. In most cases, it works out fine. There is the occasional dumba$$ with 9 dives, a huge ego, and probably a louder mouth, that causes problems. No system's perfect. The other side of the coin is the very experienced diver with just an ancient OW card, perhaps from some agency that died before the diveshop employee asking for cards was born. He/she, at least, might have other ways to show their credentials. Or, they can just get an AOW card.

again going back to the driving system, in many places (I honestly forget about the US, but I know for sure in Japan) there are two ways to get a license. You can pay (a lot of money) to take a course that takes about 3 months to complete, and in the end you take a test with the teacher of your course that is fairly easy. For those of us who trained overseas, we have a pathway that is 10% of the classroom method, where we sign up to take a test with a professional. This test is significantly harder but cheaper.

Maybe there could be a certification "test" system for advanced divers? (I know probably half the instructors here couldn't pass some type of test like that, but this is a separate problem...)

Anyway I should stop rehashing what has been discussed a million times here. My ideas aren't going to somehow solve the scuba diving training conundrum, haha.

 

[tursiops]

again going back to the driving system, in many places (I honestly forget about the US, but I know for sure in Japan) there are two ways to get a license. You can pay (a lot of money) to take a course that takes about 3 months to complete, and in the end you take a test with the teacher of your course that is fairly easy. For those of us who trained overseas, we have a pathway that is 10% of the classroom method, where we sign up to take a test with a professional. This test is significantly harder but cheaper.

Maybe there could be a certification "test" system for advanced divers? (I know probably half the instructors here couldn't pass some type of test like that, but this is a separate problem...)

Anyway I should stop rehashing what has been discussed a million times here. My ideas aren't going to somehow solve the scuba diving training conundrum, haha.

One Japanese diver, three US divers;

 

[TMHeimer]

My "deep" adventure dive for my AOW was done at... Vortex Springs....
Sometimes "meeting the requirements on paper" is the only viable option - especially when there is limited time to get a course done for the student.

Yeah. I recall doing quite a few course dives there. I believe the max depth you can get going down the rope (is it still there?) in 54'-- unless you do that cave thing...

 

[TMHeimer]

You need to catch up. None of the official training or advertising material for AOW ever says you will be advanced when you finish the class, only that you will have advanced beyond being just OW. There are endless threads on SB about this.

Right. I must read these 4 pages that occurred today when I get time. Oops, maybe read all that before...
To answer the OP's question, mine was 5 dives (PADI). Unless they changed things, your shop gave you an extra dive.

 

[Eric802]

Right. I must read these 4 pages that occurred today when I get time. Oops, maybe read all that before...
To answer the OP's question, mine was 5 dives (PADI). Unless they changed things, your shop gave you an extra dive.

I believe my PADI AOW was 5 dives as well, and I don’t remember it being portrayed as a sampler of other courses to take. I know it was a deep dive, night dive, navigation…not sure what else. It was 30 years ago, so it may have changed. Regardless, I never thought it made me an “advanced” diver. Some experience beyond OW, and that’s about it.