The benefit of specialties

[Diver0001]

What you found out is that specialties do have value. If the instructor has the skills, knowledge, experience, and initiative to teach them in such a way as to make them valuable. Many do not. They have a specialty instructor manual from the agency with minimums that they have to adhere to. Most are pretty pathetic. The ones that are not are often authored by an instructor for whom the subject is not just an interest but a true passion. And their standards for the course make the official agency one look like kindergarten basics.

LOL. Well, Jim, your passion is undeniable, but I guarantee you that perfectly good specialties can be given if the instructor doesn't write the material themselves. You're right that specialties are one of the areas where the instructor's own interest and passion can make a huge difference to results; however, writing ones own materials is reinventing the wheel at best.

The standards, for the benefit of people who can only guess what's in them, is a description of the end result the agency is looking for a set of boundaries that the instructor should adhere to. It's a checklist. It's the instructor's job to take that list and craft a worthwhile (hopefully educational AND fun) course from it.

In other words, the agency gives you this:



and the instructor uses it to make this:



The fact that (unfortunately) some instructors end up creating this:



is, sadly, a fact of life and is a major source of irritation to instructors like Jim (and many others) who put a lot of effort and pride into their results. It is not, however, the fault of standards, it's the fault of delivery. Scuba instruction is people work and just like no two artists are the same, no two instructors' courses will be identical. There can be a lot more variation than people think.

R..

 

[Pullmyfinger]

There is value in taking many of the specialties.
If you feel you are lacking experience in certain areas (navigation for example), then taking a specialty with a good instructor is a good way to gain that experience.

Ideally it would be nice if you had a group of divers that you could dive with regularly, and have a mentor or two within that group.

That doesn't always exist for many people, so taking the specialties that interest you can help you make the progress you want to make.

Some of the specialties do seem silly, but many of them do have value and are worth pursuing.

As for whale shark or manta ray specialties.......if your girlfriend want to do those together.....what other reason do you need.

Enjoy the experience(s).

Cheers,
Mitch

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . .
OTOH, this weekend I'm diving the Atlanta Aquarium with friends and we are all getting our PADI Whale Shark Distinctive Specialty Certification. I'm not sure what that will net me.
. . .
Thank you.

Just a footnote: It's the GEORGIA Aquarium, not the Atlanta Aquarium. We are fortunate that the City of Atlanta does not have its bungling hand in it.

Have fun.

 

[iluvtheocean]

There a reason people call it "put another dollar in", but they are all the same. You won't find it any different from the other agencies, they all serve a purpose in promoting diving and diving awareness though.

There's really a whale shark cert?

why not? There's a Zombie Diver Cert (search the threads for that one)

 

[nimoh]

why not? There's a Zombie Diver Cert (search the threads for that one)

It's the Zombie Apocalypse Diver specialty that teaches divers to survive during the zombie apocalypse...I mean, come on, zombies don't dive, so certifying them would just be silly

 

[Diver0001]

I mean, come on, zombies don't dive, so certifying them would just be silly

I kind of suspect that zombies are (un)dead divers who used flippers instead of fins =8)

R..

 

[xyrandomyx]

There is value in taking many of the specialties.
If you feel you are lacking experience in certain areas (navigation for example), then taking a specialty with a good instructor is a good way to gain that experience.

Ideally it would be nice if you had a group of divers that you could dive with regularly, and have a mentor or two within that group.

That doesn't always exist for many people, so taking the specialties that interest you can help you make the progress you want to make.

Some of the specialties do seem silly, but many of them do have value and are worth pursuing.

As for whale shark or manta ray specialties.......if your girlfriend want to do those together.....what other reason do you need.

Enjoy the experience(s).

Cheers,
Mitch

I once chatted with a guy on the boat who'd recently qualified as PADI instructor and was planning on putting together a Ragged Tooth Shark specialty. He wasn't a marine biologist, but he'd worked in support/ management roles on a number of conservation/ research projects. He seemed very knowledgeable and passionate about the subject. I imagine that if you were interested in the subject that you'd probably get your money's worth from his course. The cert card would have no practical value, but, to some people, it might have some value as a souvenir or certificate of achievement. From what I could gather, his reasoning for going the PADI specialty route was, firstly, for the PADI name and marketing machine and, secondly, because he felt more comfortable/ qualified in the water 'leading' divers after getting an instructor cert (even though he didn't plan on teaching anyone to dive).

 

[boulderjohn]

If you want to learn new things in scuba and want a professional to help you learn it, there are many ways to get such information.

1. You can luck into a situation in which such a person is going to mentor you for free, giving you the benefits of his or her professionalism without pay. If it is a close personal friend, that can work well. I am currently working with two very close friends, and I would refuse to take pay from them. On the other hand, if it is just an acquaintance, it is borderline unethical, like going to a doctor or lawyer and asking them to give you their professional advice on your personal issues without paying them. it If you are all right with that approach, it can work for you.

2. You can go to a professional with special knowledge, outline what you want to know, and pay for that time through a special arrangement.

3. You can take a variety of prepared classes from a variety of sources that are like specialties but are not specifically termed specialties by one of the major agencies. I have done this many times. In fact, in the coming week or two I hope to complete two such classes related to cave diving. Whether these classes are called specialties or not is simply a technicality. When I passed my cave diving course, I was concurrently given a specialty certification in cave diving from PADI. Most people do not know that PADI has such a specialty, but it does. It is a distinctive specialty taught by only a handful of instructors, and it is every bit is as rigorous as a cave diving course offered by the major cave diving agencies.

4. You can take a prepared specialty class and get a card for it.

In my mind, all four ways work. Whichever you choose depends upon the circumstances. I see no reason to denigrate anyone for taking any of those routes, although as I indicated, #1 can be a bit unethical in the right circumstances.

As for me, I am currently certified to teach enough specialties to qualify 3 different people for the MSD certification without repeating any. I qualify to teach more--I just haven't sent in the paperwork (and fee) for certification. I feel that a student taking any one of the courses I teach is going to have a valuable experience. On the other hand, I have not myself taken enough specialty classes to qualify for the MSD rating. I learned what it takes to teach those specialties through other avenues. The fact that I have not gone the MSD route does not mean it is wrong for others to do it.

 

[Diver0001]

As for me, I am currently certified to teach enough specialties to qualify 3 different people for the MSD certification without repeating any. I qualify to teach more--I just haven't sent in the paperwork (and fee) for certification. .

It's also important as an instructor to not want to do everything for everbody. In my case I qualify to teach a couple of specialties that I have never taught because they just donT interest me. I decided to only teach those specialties that I'm passionate about because that's where I can add the most value for my students.

R..


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[Wayne at DiveSeekers]

Interview, Interview, Interview! Before taking a class interview (costs, class structure, gear config, diving philosophies, experience etc..) several different instructors and find out exactly what you are getting. I understand people have a budget, but typically the cheapest price should also tell you something! Unfortunatley I'm seeing more and more divers go this route (cheapest)and then they complain about program afterwards. Like others have pointed out, this is format is done with every agency and the problems are also with every agency and sorry Jim, but at every level, yes, even Tec! Just because someone has a Tec Instructor rating doesn't mean that you will get a better class!

Quality Training is worth it's weight in gold! Find a good/quality instructor and the rewards will be huge!