Master diver

[emoreira]

Hi, I'm AOWD under SSI.
I'm just starting the stress&rescue course and will certify next December.
I have up to now 65 dives under my belt.
With this, I will qualify for the SSI Master Diver card.
Is it possible to get this card on-line directly with SSI or should I ask it through my dive school ?
I was informed in my school that a master diver course should be taken previous to get the card.

 

[k ellis]

I am not ultra familiar with the SSI Master Diver course but will say in PADI you just goto your LDS with your logs and proof of 5 specialties and the 3 cores (Open water, AOW and rescue) and just pay padi $50.00. I am very proud that I got mine though most people scoff at the cert since PADIs is an honorary cert. If you are serious about diving go for the Dive Master (Or dive con depending on which agency you choose) youll find it quiet a rewarding course too!

 

[OldNSalty]

I am not ultra familiar with the SSI Master Diver course but will say in PADI you just goto your LDS with your logs and proof of 5 specialties and the 3 cores (Open water, AOW and rescue) and just pay padi $50.00. I am very proud that I got mine though most people scoff at the cert since PADIs is an honorary cert. If you are serious about diving go for the Dive Master (Or dive con depending on which agency you choose) youll find it quiet a rewarding course too!

If you are serious about diving and need the education you could get a Master Diver card from NAUI or SEI and not have to worry about carring insurance and what not.

 

[k ellis]

If you are serious about diving and need the education you could get a Master Diver card from NAUI or SEI and not have to worry about carring insurance and what not.

I honestly can not comment one way or the other about NAUI or SEI as I dont carry certifications from those agencies. I do suggest that one takes dive master for all the added beniefit of the theories and skills the require one to learn but you are correct in that if you do not intend to assist students or lead tours then the divemaster will require added cost such as membership fees and insurance.

I personaly chose the way of the divemaster for the love of the sport and joys of watching new divers who have their eyes opened to the world of scuba diving! But if one never intends to be a leader in the industry then there is nothing wrong with a master diver certification!

 

[OldNSalty]

No argument here K ellis. I once thought about the Dive Master route because I wanted the knowledge...but I did not want the job. Most agencies just hand out the MD card in exchange for a check after an Advance diver logs enough dives (worthless IMO). SEI and NAUI actually structure a course around the Master Diver card and they are not easy courses. I have heard the SEI course described as giving instructor level knowledge without having to become an instructor...but it all depends on what the OP wants to get out of it. If you just want a card, send me $5 and I'll issue you one.

 

[emoreira]

In fact I will go on in the formal education to become an Instructor.
I'm involved in a real state project around a deep quarry that will offer all type of nautical no-motor activities, including diving.
Part of this I will need the required qualifications to carry people to do "Discover scuba" dives. This is completely new for me, as this project started a few months ago. I will start Stress&Rescue next week. Master diver should be the next step.

 

[OldNSalty]

If your goal is instructor then skip the Master Diver and go to the Dive Master. Master Diver will not do you any good.

 

[Jill from Phoenix]

.....

 

[eponym]

Emoreira, Hi. I teach through SSI, beginner through divecon (=assistant instructor). What follows is SSI standards for USA.

I'm just starting the stress&rescue course and will certify next December.
I have up to now 65 dives under my belt. With this, I will qualify for the SSI Master Diver card. Is it possible to get this card on-line directly with SSI or should I ask it through my dive school ? I was informed in my school that a master diver course should be taken previous to get the card.

You need an instructor to vouch for the dive count and courses/dives and to request the cert. You can't do it through SSI HQ yourself.

In fact I will go on in the formal education to become an Instructor. I'm involved in a real state project around a deep quarry that will offer all type of nautical no-motor activities, including diving. Part of this I will need the required qualifications to carry people to do "Discover scuba" dives. This is completely new for me, as this project started a few months ago. I will start Stress & Rescue next week. Master diver should be the next step.

Sounds like a great project.


In the new scheme of things SSI (since 2010) one goes from Master Diver to Dive Guide, then to Dive Master, then to Dive Control Specialist, aka DiveCon, equivalent to other agencies' Assistant Instructor.

Conducting SSI "Try Scuba" (pool) requires a DiveCon cert. Conducting SSI "Try Scuba Diving" (open water variant) requires an Instructor cert.

Hope this helps,
Bryan

PS. Let us know how it goes!

 

[SIUegyptiandiver]

I have a NAUI "Master Diver" certification. Not very impressive really when you consider that all it takes is sending in your AOW cert number (they renamed AOW to Master Diver) and paying the fee for the new card. That being said, my NAUI cert course was 16 weeks of OWD education and 16 weeks of AOW education, though my situation is the exception and not the rule. I took it as a college course (yes, they offer SCUBA as a college course in some places) and we covered everything from snorkeling/skin diving to dive theory, the history of diving, first aid, CPR, rescue techniques, deep diving, boat diving, wreck diving.....you get the point. What we covered for my advanced cert is far and away more extensive than most divers who go through each of the specialty courses offered by SSI and PADI. Therefore, after several hundred logged (and many unlogged) dives, I feel justified in holding a Master Diver certification.

My word of wisdom, however, is that a standard Master Diver certification in and of itself is not really a big deal, but Dive Master IS a big deal. If you have the initiative, drive, desire to teach then i whole-heartedly agree with you and Salty, k ellis. IMHO, number of logged dives, cert agency, and even in some cases cert level mean little. I have dove with really great OWD students and really lousy "Master Divers". Good divers are good divers, period.

>my 2 cents worth