I was just struck today at the number of threads I've read that were started by people who want to know how few dives they need to do "x". "X" is often a DM or instructor class, and sometimes a tech class or a cave class. And it makes me sad to see people in such a hurry.
Some classes after OW are useful, because they make diving more fun. Anything that improves your own diving skills falls into this category. It may be Peak Performance Buoyancy, or Dry Suit, or Fundamentals, or a wreck diving workshop. As long as you learn some more about the mechanics or theory of diving, and come out with some new skills, it's going to help make diving easier, or more exciting, or expand the opportunities you have to dive.
But the time in your life when you are going to be most easily delighted by diving is at the beginning. Your first dives are wonderful, because everything you see is new to you. Just BEING on scuba is pretty cool. Almost every dive will have its own learning experiences, whether they have to do with getting the dive done safely or seeing more of the underwater environment. There is NO need to rush through these wonderful dives! Take the time to revel in them. As my mother used to say to me, you are only young once . . . You are only a wide-eyed beginner once, and you should enjoy it.
A very wonderful and very wise instructor said to me a couple of years ago, "Go and do all the dives you can do with the education you have, and when you are bored, come back and get more training." That is such a golden nugget. When you are tired of blowing bubbles and sightseeing your local sites, THAT's the time to pick up a camera, or take a Marine ID class, get involved with REEF or Reef Check, or plan a trip to a new environment. Most of us, as time goes on, will find some need to stretch in some direction, and eventually that may be in the direction of going deeper and darker and longer, or inside, or into an educator's role. But there is a long lifetime to dive, and no need to hurry any of this.
Enjoy diving, and develop your own skills. Find what it is about diving that excites YOU, and explore it. And when you have a lot of stories to tell, and a lot of problems you've solved, and a lot of tips to pass along, then get involved in teaching.
JMHO.
BTW, this thread was sparked by a wonderful dive report from a brand new diver on another board, who reminded me of how magical starfish were, when I was new at this.
Some classes after OW are useful, because they make diving more fun. Anything that improves your own diving skills falls into this category. It may be Peak Performance Buoyancy, or Dry Suit, or Fundamentals, or a wreck diving workshop. As long as you learn some more about the mechanics or theory of diving, and come out with some new skills, it's going to help make diving easier, or more exciting, or expand the opportunities you have to dive.
But the time in your life when you are going to be most easily delighted by diving is at the beginning. Your first dives are wonderful, because everything you see is new to you. Just BEING on scuba is pretty cool. Almost every dive will have its own learning experiences, whether they have to do with getting the dive done safely or seeing more of the underwater environment. There is NO need to rush through these wonderful dives! Take the time to revel in them. As my mother used to say to me, you are only young once . . . You are only a wide-eyed beginner once, and you should enjoy it.
A very wonderful and very wise instructor said to me a couple of years ago, "Go and do all the dives you can do with the education you have, and when you are bored, come back and get more training." That is such a golden nugget. When you are tired of blowing bubbles and sightseeing your local sites, THAT's the time to pick up a camera, or take a Marine ID class, get involved with REEF or Reef Check, or plan a trip to a new environment. Most of us, as time goes on, will find some need to stretch in some direction, and eventually that may be in the direction of going deeper and darker and longer, or inside, or into an educator's role. But there is a long lifetime to dive, and no need to hurry any of this.
Enjoy diving, and develop your own skills. Find what it is about diving that excites YOU, and explore it. And when you have a lot of stories to tell, and a lot of problems you've solved, and a lot of tips to pass along, then get involved in teaching.
JMHO.
BTW, this thread was sparked by a wonderful dive report from a brand new diver on another board, who reminded me of how magical starfish were, when I was new at this.
