Here was the response I posted in the Cozumel section on this topic. I have also added some additional comments. Sorry in advance if I jump around a little or seem to babble
My definition of an advanced/seasoned/experienced diver is someone who dives regularly and often in various locations and in various conditions. They keep up with diving technology, education and current trends conditions in the diving world. This is NOT a once a year vacation diver who stores their equipment away for 51 weeks of the year.
An "advanced" diver has different meaning for everyone. Some think they are advanced after 10 dives or after one trip. Some think that holding an Advanced Open water certification or higher automatically makes them an advanced diver. Some think they are advanced because they have been diving for 20 years (even if it has only been once a year for 20 years). Some consider themselves advanced because they have done only cold water diving under strenuous conditions. This is true in those conditions...but put them in a drift diving situation and some can't handle it. The same can be said for the reverse.
The number of logged dives an individual may have is also a very arbitrary number in many ways. I've seen divers with 25 dives who had much more skill and grace underwater than divers with 125 dives. They may not have as much experience in an emergency situation, but who is to say a diver with 125 dives has either or that they will handle the situation any better. So number of dives really means nothing to us until we have actually been in the water with each individual diver and observe their attitude/behavior/actions both above and below the surface.
It should come as no surprise that very often the arrogant divers who boast about their experience level/how many logged dives they have and the ones who insist on being put on the "big boys" boat are the ones who become complacent, can't manage their depth/air, and have trouble in the water and/or panic in emergency situations. Don't get me wrong, many are also true to their word.
There are also those people that have 50, 100 or 150 logged dives, but they haven't been in the water for several years. Recently, I had someone write and tell me they were a very experienced diver and had been diving since 1986. What I discovered through a series of questions, was that he hadn't actually been in the water since 1994. It took him the first three days (after a refresher course) to get comfortable in the water. We ended up doing his Adventures in Diving course while he was here and worked primarily on his buoyancy, air management and drift diving techniques. Even after working with him for a week and seeing alot of progress, I would never dream about classifying him as an advanced or experienced diver.
There are also those people that get certified and are addicted from the beginning and get as involved and active in diving as they can. They dive every weekend in their local quarry or lake and may also get in a few warm water trips here and there. They are keeping their skills fresh and improving with every dive. A diver like this may log 50 dives in a month or two. This person is more likely to be more comfortable, calm, and controlled in the water than the once a year vacation diver who has 100 logged dives over the past 10 years. This is not a bad thing, and I didn't mean that in a derogatory way, it is just a fact. Some people are simply more involved in diving than others. Some go through regulator withdrawals after a few weeks, some are happy to dive a few days a year on vacation.
Regarding the AOW course.Since I am a PADI instructor, I can only really speak for the PADI AOW course. With that said, all of my AOW course references are for the PADI program.
I agree that the "Advanced" in the AOW certification is misleading and I think the name of the card should be changed. The PADI program is actually called "Adventures in Diving" but the card issued is "Advanced Open Water". Even PADI does not consider this an "Advanced" certification in the terms so many people think about it. In the context of this course, it simply means expanding your dive education. It is designed to be fun and informative, not challenging.
I do not think it is pointless to take this course immediately following an open water certification because as others have said, it does provide a review of what you should have learned in OW training and provides additional knowledge, practice and training in a structured/supervised environment. It is not designed to make one an "advanced" diver. The AOW course for example, is nothing more than an introduction to five different specialty areas. The point is to introduce divers to these specialties and show them the different opportunities they have to expand their diving education in the future in areas that interest them.
When I certify AOW students, I make it very clear to them that having this card does not necessarily make them an "advanced" diver. Only time underwater and experience can do that.
I also agree that $99 for a weekend course is insanity...the same way I think it is insanity how some dive operators can offer a two-tank dive for some of the low-ball prices they do. They place no value on their services and cannot possibly be making money.
Now that I've said all of that...I'll briefly tell you my diving story in a nutshell. I was actually certified in Hawaii in 1995 but did not stay active in diving immediately after certification. I didn't dive for a few years after my certification because of a very bad experience due to the carelessness and negligence of a terrible instructor. Knowing what I know now makes me realize even more how bad he was. I became content with snorkeling again. On a trip to Cozumel several years later I had a friend who introduced me to an instructor who encouraged me to give it another try. He took me through the open water course again, the RIGHT way and very thoroughly. I did my AOW right after that. Shortly thereafter, I returned for a week and did my Rescue certification with the same instructor. I returned again shortly thereafter (3 trips in 6 months...and a few in the years before that) for an extended vacation (I am still here almost 4 years later) and after a few months and right at 100 dives later I began my divemaster course. Two years and 600ish dives after my "recertification" I became an instructor. I now have well over 1000 logged dives.
My point here is that it isn't how long you've been certified, it isn't just how many dives you have logged in your life, and it isn't about what certification level you hold. As with anything else worthwhile in life, becoming an experienced/advanced diver is all about how much dedication, passion and committment you invest in it yourself. Diving regularly and keeping your skills, education and knowledge fresh is the key to becoming and remaining an experienced/advanced/seasoned (whichever term you prefer) diver.
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Now I'm going for nitrox and all that is is an alegbra course.
