Just finished OW training looking at advanced OW

[TMHeimer]

I basically went right from OW to AOW (6 dives in between). It was the only way I could get on a boat on the FL panhandle in winter. Probably would have cost almost the same to just pay for a dive charter or two.
My advice is to pick dives that will improve your diving-- such as maybe night, wreck, peak buoyancy. Avoid ones like fish ID.
That's what I did.
Another advantage of doing AOW ASAP is you get the cert. card that "allows" you to go to 100', which some boats require.
You will read here that AOW doesn't in any way mean you're "advanced". It is a title. I also recommend getting Rescue certified as soon as you are very comfortable with diving and the equipment.
Some will say to get a quite a bit of diving before doing AOW. I think this varies per the individual. I mean, if you're buoyancy sucks and you are always sculling with hands, etc. it's best to fix that up first. Otherwise I see no down side to getting AOW quickly.

 

[Belzelbub]

The PADI way is the way the course was created by Los Angeles County and then NAUI. SSI is the only one I know who does it differently, but I certainly don't know how most agencies do it.

SDI also does it similar to SSI, but it appears that NAUI does similar to PADI. So, the “most” I used above appears to be inaccurate. For the largest (in the US, at least) it appears to be a 50/50 split.

I get the reasoning behind it, and I guess it makes sense. Perhaps some instructors gloss over the fact that the specialties covered aren’t full specialties. Some friends have PADI AOW, and they certainly did not understand that.

 

[Jafo19D]

I did a handful of dives between OW and AOW

 

[Diverlady13]

Perhaps some instructors gloss over the fact that the specialties covered aren’t full specialties. Some friends have PADI AOW, and they certainly did not understand that.

I suppose that a student could miss it in the materials, but I felt that the PADI online instruction materials for the AOW course were fairly clear that the specialty dives were introductions to those specialties rather than the full specialties. IIRC, it was written in such a way to try to encourage the student to then pick up the full specialties after completing AOW. So, more a way to market more classes, but it was definitely clear (at least to me) that these were not full specialty courses.

With that said, I would encourage anyone signing up for PADI AOW to take the dives that are the most geared toward improving actual diving skills. Some of the other dives are a lot of fun, but don't improve one's diving much, if at all. Plus, many of those are also things that can be learned without getting in the water. For example, I've learned a lot about fish by seeing the fish (taking photos for reference) and then using fish ID books and websites.

 

[Belzelbub]

To be fair, my friends did do their AOW course at a resort in the Caribbean. He already had OW, his wife did both OW and AOW.

IIRC, it was written in such a way to try to encourage the student to then pick up the full specialties after completing AOW. So, more a way to market more classes, but it was definitely clear (at least to me) that these were not full specialty courses.

That’s pretty much how I saw it as well once I understood it. Marketing for further instruction. I guess as long as it’s understood by the students, it’s fine. Which was my point in bringing it up here. If the OP’s goal was to take PADI AOW to gain access to deeper wrecks. It might work for some dive ops, but the Deep overview isn’t the same as completing the Deep course.

 

[scubadada]

...Plus, many of those are also things that can be learned without getting in the water. For example, I've learned a lot about fish by seeing the fish (taking photos for reference) and then using fish ID books and websites.

However, one of the best days I've ever spent in training was the Fish ID and Behavior course at Bonaire Dive & Adventure with the late, Jerry Ligon. My wife and I spent the morning in the classroom and then did an afternoon dive with Jerry on Bari Reef. That was in 2008, I have used things I learned ever since, and have tried to pass some on to others. No certification, just incredibly useful information from a real expert, who loved what he taught

 

[scubadada]

...If the OP’s goal was to take PADI AOW to gain access to deeper wrecks. It might work for some dive ops, but the Deep overview isn’t the same as completing the Deep course.

I did AOW and Deep in 2004. I have been asked for AOW on several occasions, nobody has ever asked for the Deep cert. Not that the full course might not be valuable, but, operations do not seem to care about it at all.

 

[Jafo19D]

I’ll be honest and add that I didn’t feel that I learned much during AOW. Maybe because I already learned a lot from sites like this one.

Next course I want to take is deep diver and I don’t think I’ll learn much from that one either. My expectation is that it will be more of just getting more experience and maybe boosting confidence a bit. I expect that the next time I truly learn something new will be Rescue and Nitrox.

 

[Jafo19D]

I did AOW and Deep in 2004. I have been asked for AOW on several occasions, nobody has ever asked for the Deep cert. Not that the full course might not be valuable, but, operations do not seem to care about it at all.

I was under the impression that some DCs in North Carolina required it for some dives. That’s one of the reasons I want to take it.

 

[shurite7]

Back when I got certified in OW the class was encouraged to follow up with AOW which I did a month later. It was worth it for I gained a much better understanding of dive planning and multi-level diving.

Now, as an instructor I usually encourage, but not to all, my students to follow up with the AOW. The term advanced does not mean you become an advanced diver, rather it infers you have advanced your OW training. Done properly and enjoyably new OW divers become more confident and relaxed after completing the AOW course.