Mixing SSI & PADI Certifications

[Barcellos]

Hello, Good Evening sirs

I currently have an OW certification from SSI and I am about to engage on an AOW course from PADI. What would I be afterwards? An advanced PADI diver or SSI diver? I mean, would SSI be willing to issue a AOW certification for me or would PADI be willing to do it since I did not get my OW from it?

Appreciate your attention, not sure something similar have been discussed before (at least I did not find it).

Thank you all

Barcellos

 

[decompression]

The cert would be a PADI AOW, no real point in getting an additional card from SSI for the same level. You could carry on to PADI rescue or back to SSI, have to say I'm not an SSI instructor but i am PADI/SDI/TDI/UTD and several agency's accept "or equivalent" as a prerequisite.


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[iztok]

If you would take a course with PADI instructor and follow PADI standards you would receive PADI AOW card upon completion.

 

[mrokern]

You will get a PADI AOW card.

SSI will automatically issue an AOW card upon registration of 4 accepted specialty certs and at least 24 dives, it's not a separate class. My PADI Nitrox was accepted as one of the specialties.

 

[Dr Dog]

I have a PADI OW and a SSI Advanced with 6 specialities and over 125 dives and 90 hours in the water...it makes me an experienced diver

 

[snowmaker]

Your SSI OW will satisfies the PADI prerequisite for the PADI AOW class. After completing and passing the PADI AOW class you receive a PADI AOW card. At this level it really doesn't matter who you OW or AOW cert is with.

My OW was with PADI. AOW and other certs with PADI. I also have an SDI card and some TDI cards.

The instructor is more important than whom the cert is from.

 

[Goodtime Adventures]

At recreational level, it really doesn't matter which logo is on your card. PADI & SSI quals are interchangeable, so if you do your Advanced course with a PADI instructor you'll be a PADI AOW diver, and this card will supersede your SSI OW. You can then continue to do rescue or specs with either agency, as you fulfill the prerequisite requirements of having done an 'advanced' course with another agency already.

One thing to note is the wording/titles of certification levels between PADI & SSI, which can be a bit confusing. PADI's next level up from OW is the 'Advanced Open Water' (AOW), whereas SSI call it the Advanced Adventurer (AA). Its essentially the same thing - 5 adventure dives - although PADI has more mandatory dives (Deep and Nav), whereas only the deep is mandatory for SSI. Actually I believe they may have even made deep optional now, based on some dive centres with shore diving only not being able to offer it otherwise. But personally I'd never want to certify a student as advanced without some deep experience. Anyway, I digress.....

SSI also has an Advnaced Open Water (AOW) certification, but the criteria for this is 24 logged dives and 4 full specialties, rather than just 5 adventure dives as with the PADI AOW.

Personally, I prefer SSI's approach when it comes to the wording of this one. If a student does bare minimum dive numbers to meet performance requirements, they can be considered 'Advanced Open Water' under that PADI system with only 9 dives. Not too advanced after all then....

 

[mathauck0814]

You're the customer.

Describe what you want to the instructor you want to work with and demand that he come up with a plan to get you where you want to be. You honestly don't (or shouldn't) care what flavor of alphabet soup they print your qualifications on.

You're the customer. Take the power back from the LDS/Agency/Instructor, define your own goals and stop playing their game on their ground by their rules.