PADI Master diver?

[solowgregg]

Padi wants you to further your diving education and refine your diving knowledge/skills. But you have to understand that they are still a business just like anyone else.

 

[NudeDiver]

Padi wants you to further your diving education and refine your diving knowledge/skills. But you have to understand that they are still a business just like anyone else.

I understand. However, they allow you to use non-PADI certs for prerequisites. Not allowing the use of them for at least some of the specialties seems inconsistent. They could at least allow the use of specialties that PADI itself doesn't even offer.

One effect of this policy is to cause divers to look to other agencies for their certification needs. That's certainly not making PADI more money.

The way it exists now, it's just a tool to try to sell people 5 PADI specialty courses. That's fine - if they simply present it in those terms, rather than telling people "it means that you’ve acquired significant training and experience in a variety of dive environments."

 

[solowgregg]

I understand, but they're telling people that non-PADI core certification are okay not because they want you to try other agencies. But because they want to convert those that have let's say an SSI cert to the PADI system. If you had to start from scratch with PADI to get their master scuba diver cert no one would give it a shot, no one would want to start all over. The reason people from other agencies like this concept is the fact that it -for a lack of a better term- gives you a sort of "prestigiousness" and bragging right without have to move up to a professional level. If you look at the "badges" PADI offers you'll find that ow-rescue are lined in black trim, and divemaster-course director are gold because they are professional status. When they came up with the "master scuba diver course" they decided they would also line it in gold even though it was not a professional status cert.

 

[NudeDiver]

But because they want to convert those that have let's say an SSI cert to the PADI system. If you had to start from scratch with PADI to get their master scuba diver cert no one would give it a shot, no one would want to start all over.

Uh, but look at the flip side of it. If you've completed Rescue Diver and 50 dives, then you, as far as I can tell, get the SDI "Master" cert for no extra work. But to get the PADI one, I have to take 5 courses, costing at least $200/course (for example) - that's $1000.

It seems like it would be more reasonable for PADI to take the following approach:

a). Charge $550 for the Master SCUBA Diver certification.

b). Allow Non-PADI specialties to apply toward the 5 required certs.

c). Reduce the cost of the cert by $100 for every PADI specialty used to get the cert.

d). If your 5th PADI course qualifies you for the Master cert, them give the card for free, if the app is submitted with the paperwork for the 5th course, waive the final $50 and give them the card for free. If the Master app is submitted later (for whatever reason), then go ahead and charge that $50.

With this arrangement, PADI still gets its money, but it also lets people use non-PADI courses as part of the 5. Hell, if someone used three non-PADI certs, then PADI receives $300 in direct income. If someone instead took three PADI courses, then they would only receive a fraction of the course fees for those classes - which I venture could be a lot less than $300.

From what I can tell, SDI has the "weakest" Master cert - Rescue and 50 dives, no extra work. PADI has a "make money for PADI" cert - Rescue and 50 dives and 5 of their classes. NAUI has a "more about the skills" cert - Advanced and their Master class - which can run $500 some dollars - which is roughly half of what PADI wants (more if you count the cost of the PADI Rescue class), and has 5 required dives (where as the PADI cert has none, all 5 specialties are electives). I'm by no means an expert on any of this stuff - but it does seem to my untrained eye that as far as certifications go, NAUI has the most substantial "master" cert of these three agencies - except for the fact that one of the dives you can make is a basic review of scuba skills. I mean, come on!

As for the gold/black trim on the PADI patches....does anyone actually wear those? I've never seen them anywhere except in the showcase at a dive shop, and in the "crew pack" for my Rescue class

 

[solowgregg]

Hahaha I don't know anyone who wears those badges either. I'm just giving you an example -albeit a small one- of what the cert is supposed to mean. I by no means am an expert either, your concept is an interesting and good idea. But there are specialties that are only $100-$150, and that's including books. Given these classes are usually things like "equipment specialist" and "peak performance buoyancy", but they still count. I'm not saying you should get your certs in classes you might find "unnecessary" or "pointless", but you can get things like deep diver for around $150 depending on where you take your classes. If you take classes like nitrox and equipment you can keep from paying additional dive related fees as they don't require any dives.

It's just a thought.

 

[NudeDiver]

But there are specialties that are only $100-$150, and that's including books.

Here, you can count on paying at least $175 for "any two dive specialty" - plus books, plus boat fee if required. Something like DPV is $250 just for the cert.

At any rate, PADI creates absolutely no incentive for "its" divers to get the PADI Master cert. Even as a PADI Rescue Diver with two PADI specialties (Nitrox and Drysuit), I'm still better off going with SDI or NAUI for a Master cert. Of course, I might still take a PADI specialty just to get whatever training is offered for that specialty, but not because it applies toward the Master cert. At this point, unless someone can make a strong case otherwise, I'll be going the NAUI route for that one. Poof! PADI just lost a diver - unnecessarily.

My next course will be the SDI Solo Diver class - which, alas, does not count toward PADI Master based on the info I got here. If it DID, then MAYBE I would go for PADI Master - but if it doesn't - well, hell, screw 'em

 

[pir8]

Can you use the SDI Solo Diver course as one of the 5 specialties required for PMD?

Short answer is NO because the 5 Specialties must be from PADI.
Besides PADI doesn't condone Solo Diving.
They do accept other agencies core courses towards prereqs for teir core courses though, like Advanced or Rescue.

 

[solowgregg]

Again, the only implied incentive is the bragging right. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand where you are coming from, I'm just offering up a reason as to why it is the way it is. PADI is excepted in more places in the world than any other certifying agency (as far as I know) and some people would prefer to have all of their training from the same organization. Other than that there is no other reason to be completely PADI loyal. Most organizations -for the most part- all teach you the same things. Again, this is just the way I see things.

 

[k ellis]

Well in the master scuba diver challenge you can take 5 specialties, AOW and resuce for 450 dollars here And get the card

 

[solowgregg]

I'm sorry I must be misunderstanding you. Are you saying someone has a special where you can take ALL of those classes for $450?