Master Diver - worth getting?

[wetb4igetinthewater]

In what way? Need to issue some specialties for when you become a CD?

Well, I'm headed to MI myself and I'll probably stop there. I expect at my rate it will take me about 10 years as I focus on just a few students at any point in time when I focus on Con Ed (I have about 70 certs now). To use false information to get those numbers is just sad reflection of that individual.

 

[Wookie]

Well, I'm headed to MI myself and I'll probably stop there. I expect at my rate it will take me about 10 years as I focus on just a few students at any point in time when I focus on Con Ed (I have about 70 certs now). To use false information to get those numbers is just sad reflection of that individual.

Same type of folks who sit in a quarry for 20 minutes at a time at deeper than 20 feet to log a dive to get 60/100 to become a DM/Instructor. I am now a instructor for an agency that doesn't use time and depth to define a dive.

There are lots of those folks out there, especially when going for CD/IT. It's a pretty sharp competition.

 

[iamrushman]

yes...master scuba diver is worth getting.....it's a fine distinguished distinction to be proud of.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

There are lots of those folks out there, especially when going for CD/IT. It's a pretty sharp competition.

Yeah, those types and the businesses that hire them, are exactly what I try to avoid. I don't consider them competition.

yes...master scuba diver is worth getting.....it's a fine distinguished distinction to be proud of.

I agree. I'm going for Master Instructor just for the accomplishment of having a wide distribution of certifications. Will this help me in any way, shape or form? Most likely not. But if I do it the correct way, then it is an accomplishment.

 

[ReefHound]

Same type of folks who sit in a quarry for 20 minutes at a time at deeper than 20 feet to log a dive to get 60/100 to become a DM/Instructor. I am now a instructor for an agency that doesn't use time and depth to define a dive.

Yep, I have often learned more from 5-10 minute dives to tie in a sideline or set the strobes than a 90 minute pleasure dive.

 

[Wookie]

Yep, I have often learned more from 5-10 minute dives to tie in a sideline or set the strobes than a 90 minute pleasure dive.

I hope so most every time. A 90 minute pleasure dive isn't for learning, although you shouldn't shy away from learning on that dive..

 

[scubadada]

And, a typical reply from someone who writes a response without actually reading the post. I made NO judgment at all about the worthiness of an MSD cert. All I said was that it seems like he made his decision a long time ago. You don't need diving experience to see that. You only need the ability to read. And yes, I have read those posts discussing whether an MSD cert is worth it.

Nice edit of your original post, considerably more thoughtful. All training decisions are personal

 

[Bert van den Berg]

Yes, I've done more than 2500 dives. Dove almost every day for 2 years+. Was a "hunter-gatherer" for 44 years and never even owned an underwater camera. Then five years ago two things happened that changed me.

The 1st: After 35 years of following me around in the dinghy while I gathered seafood she suddenly took an interest in scuba diving and got me to take her OW class with her. That class was a real eye opener for me. I found it difficult to believe how students could get their OW cert and be allowed to dive with so little training and experience.

I took it upon myself to learn more and change my diving more away from hunting to smelling the roses. Bought an underwater camera, joined a dive club and spent a lot of time diving with my wife exploring.

2nd: Diving was starting to get boring and the dive courses I've taken in the past five years have also rekindled my interest in diving.

 

[Birddog1911]

Some good comments and discussions in here. I've got all of the requirements, even have the paperwork filled out and signed. Just haven't bothered to pay the $67 yet.

 

[stuartv]

Some good comments and discussions in here. I've got all of the requirements, even have the paperwork filled out and signed. Just haven't bothered to pay the $67 yet.

Ouch! My shop didn't charge me anything when I told them I met the requirements and wanted the (SDI) card. And it's not like they charged me an arm and a leg for the classes along the way, either. Their training prices are the lowest that I've seen, in my area.

I think they printed it and I had it in my hands in just a few days.

I'm cheap. I think I would have lived without it for $67.

I will never forget the first time I "used" it, either. I went up to Hyde's Quarry, in MD, for one of my AN/DP classes. I went to sign in and I handed the MSD card to the guy sitting behind the registration table. He looked at, said "Master Scuba Diver, huh?" and kind of chuckled, then handed it back to me. I'm not thin-skinned, so it was no big deal, to me. But, it did give me a clear idea of the "high" regard that some people hold that card in...