Just finished AOW. Took me a while. It was garbage.

[telemonster]

Just finally filled out the final paperwork for my PADI AOW! The funny thing is, I thought the whole thing was rubbish. I see it as a rip off. A way for the industry to bleed money from me. I realize it varies shop to shop, instructor to instructor. But really, one could read the information in a book or PDF file and do the test and be done.

I'd imagine in the end it cost around $500 to complete the course. And really, I gained nothing from it other than a rubber stamp that I spent money to get it, so then I can eventually move on to other non-PADI courses.

Anyone else feel this way?

Prob should have gone SSI or something.

 

[jon1]

My Padi AOW was $175 with no tests, and just a little bookwork. I had some great dives and really enjoyed it.

 

[telemonster]

My Padi AOW was $175 with no tests, and just a little bookwork. I had some great dives and really enjoyed it.

Interesting. The local shop ran $250 for the book/DVD (had to buy the DVD). There was supposed to be a pool session but the instructor didn't show up. Later it was described as a maybe. There was also another night of going over the answers in the book, which was pretty rapid and something that could have been done better with CBT or something.

Then there was five dives required, which had instructor fees (which is fine by me).

Then the cost of the card. Really my beef is with the 1st part. Why charge so much for the book if all the other parts are going to have fees. But in the end, like I said, I could have learned the information from reading the book.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

Get used to that if you stay with PADI. Fees, fees, fees.
And then look for an instructor that goes the full mile, not just a briefing and dive. My classes practice shooting lift bags and deploying smbs at depth, they actual run Lots of navigation exercises in the sea on the dives, and then for the deep, they don't just go down the line, they actually have a nav skill to do there, too.
You can learn a lot in the adv course, but often, many don't. I'm sorry. My cost of 120kd is inclusive of manual, cert, gear use, pool work, and sea dives. That is $421.00. And it absolutely cannot be done in one week.

 

[fjr_wertheimber]

Wow, man, I think you got ripped off... My AOW was about that much, but that was on a week-long liveaboard on the GBR. Had some great dives, learned a lot, and had a fantastic pair of instructors. I wouldn't blame it on PADI, as we followed the PADI framework and coursework for the AOW course and had a great time and learned a lot, but rather on a poor instructor/shop. Sorry to hear you had a crappy experience.

 

[DevonDiver]

The dive shop set the prices for all components of the course. Some shops have to charge more, because it may cost more to ship the PADI manuals to them (i.e. remote locations). The price is normally set to reflect profitability vs business overheads. You can't compare the cost of running a business in the USA (taxes, property costs, staff costs etc) with running one in Mexico.

As for the content of the AOW course. It is a perfect 'vehicle' for a good instructor to achieve drammatic improvements in a students diving capability. However, that all depends on the professionalism, experience and motivation of the instructor concerned. Far too many AOW courses are run as nothing more than 5 guided dives, with some self-study. It sucks...and it is a rip off when that happens.

 

[stairman]

I thought the dvd and other extas, besides the book was optional. It really is different from shop to shop how good or bad the outline is laid out. AOW is a prerequisite for many other classes and may or may not be really worth it in the long run.

 

[cmburch]

Too bad. My PADI AOW was on Truth Aquatics Channel Islands and I think an inflatable trip to Point Lobos.

Not only did we have personalized instruction, but a small discount on live aboard fees.

I guess it is instructor dependent or what the instructor happens to be doing at the time such as an annual charter.

So I guess ours was about a total of 5 days of diving and extra costs for boat fees.

Only a small percentage of the dives were for training.

 

[milkmood]

PADI = Put Another Dollar In

All my certs are with PADI, so I feel your pain.

 

[Damselfish]

From the sound of this I would blame your shop for ripping you off, not PADI.