What 5 specialties should I do to get MSD rating?

[JDAWG97]

What 5 specialties should I do to get MSD rating? (I have already done my nitrox)

 

[gcarter]

The best specialties to do are the ones that interest YOU, that you think you will get something out of. MSD is a personal achievement that does not confer any other privileges so it makes sense to make the specialty selection personal and satisfying as well. There is no one answer, and there is no right - or wrong - answer.

Dive and have fun.

 

[Hawkwood]

Very well put!

 

[drrich2]

I would suggest Underwater Navigation, as one of the more apt to be useful.

I would suggest Deep, and go for the deeper portion of the recreational limits, as this can be useful to have an instructor present when you do some experimentation with how you response to depth (such as narcosis). But that said, if taught to the bare minimum, this course may not teach you enough about deep diving, and you'd be well advised to research the topic on the forum; using Search and reading over some of the better threads on Nitrogen Narcosis, DCS, AGE, etc..., can be useful. The thread about the ill-fated extremely deep (well beyond rec. limits) by Opal and Gaby in Cozumel can be educational.

Peak Performance Buoyancy is sometimes spoken well of if the instructor is good and you don't already have it 'dialed in' well.

You've already got Nitrox.

Wreck could be good, to improve your appreciation of wrecks, and let you try a basic, entry-level penetration under good conditions (but you might read some threads on this forum, where some would caution you against thinking the usual PADI Wreck course is sufficient to do more substantial penetrations). It might give you a taste of whether you like that type of diving.

You've already got Rescue Diver. Did you take a PADI First Aid/CPR type course? If so, does that count as one of the 5 needed?

What else strikes you as interesting?

Richard.

 

[TMHeimer]

I agree with everything Richard recommends. Rescue & CPR (EFR) don't count toward MSD. I would imagine Nitrox still counts even though you don't have to do the 2 dives any more. Search & Recovery would seem to be one that could come in handy if something happens on a dive. Night Diver may be a good choice--if you plan to night dive, but also for practise in low viz, and with using a light. Anything else you can think of that improves diver safety and/or efficiency. Altitude,Ice Diver--again if you'll get into that type of diving. I guess you can do any ones you are interested in (UW Photog, etc.). Those types that don't directly improve diving didn't interest me. But that's just my view.

 

[Colliam7]

What 5 specialties should I do to get MSD rating?

The question turns out to be thought-provoking to me, as an Instructor, because it can be addressed from at least 3 different perspectives.

The first view, which gcarter thoughtfully addressed, is probably the one most centered on the person asking the question: do five specialties that are of genuine interest to you. Enjoy the journey to MSD, not just the destination.

The second view, which may be seen either as pragmatic or cynical: - do the five that are easiest to complete, most readily available, etc., if the goal is the MSD certification. More than a few divers take that approach (I admit that I did, many years ago). MSD provides a number of divers with a definable goal, a target, something tangible to work toward while enjoying diving. For some, it even provides a basis for 'competition' - my dive buddy at the time and I had a friendly competition going as to who would reach MSD first (we essentially tied).

The third view is more personal, and specific to, the respondent - i.e. from MY perspective as a diver (with the inextricable influence of instructing), what do I see and recommend as the best and most broadly applicable approaches to enhancing and expanding diver development and skills. These are by no means the only specialties that could be recommended, rather they are my individual preferences: 1) Enriched Air Diver (which you have) is probably the most generally useful specialty for recreational divers; 2) Peak Performance Buoyancy is also broadly applicable. A PPB course that helps the diver optimize their weighting, AND optimize their weight distribution and in-water trim, AND develop a more streamlined gear configuration, AND improve their propulsion / finning techniques and their underwater profile, AND enhance their breathing control, is very valuable although time-intensive; 3) Deep Diver helps a diver expand their diving window, in a structured manner, and better understand how depth affects them and their equipment, and what precautions and techniques are appropriate to allow them to dive to recreational depth limits with relative safety (compared to the diver without the training) and enjoyably; 4) Night Diver can open up a whole new underwater world, and help a diver develop the confidence to explore and enjoy that world. As a newer diver, I was frankly apprehensive about diving at night, and I was almost paralyzed by a lot of 'what if' scenarios - what if I get separated from my buddy, what if I can't find my way back to the boat, what if I surface and there is no boat in sight, what if I run out of air, etc., etc. For many years I actually avoided diving at night. Now, I love diving at night (and diving solo at night). I just wish I had taken a good, ocean-based Night Diver course early on because it might have helped me develop an enjoyment of, and comfort with, diving at night much sooner; 5) either Underwater Navigation or Search and Recovery Diver would be both a useful course, and an enjoyable one. Most new divers that I work with have little / no facility for compass use, on land, in the water. They are either directionally challenged (probably the case with majority), or have never, ever been exposed to a compass. But, in addition, they often have such tunnel vision when diving that the effective use of natural navigation eludes them. Learning to competently navigate underwater enhances diver confidence, and comfort, and makes diving more enjoyable. At the same time, developing skills to search for and recover objects underwater is both quite a lot of fun, and very useful. I saw that just this weekend, when a diver lost half of her weights (you really do need to zip those weight pockets closed) in a local quarry, and was not exactly sure how close she was to the dock when it happened (she was on the surface, swimming in). She was faced with not being able to do a second dive, or having to borrow weights - either of which would still have left her with the loss of some weight. Her dive buddy executed a very effective search pattern and found the weights (four, 1 pound weights, wrapped in duct tape, enclosed in a clear plastic zip lock bag) on a very silty quarry bottom in 25 feet of water.

 

[Scuba.com]

What 5 specialties should I do to get MSD rating? (I have already done my nitrox)

Any training is good training if you make it that. Whatever interests you the most is what you should really explore with your desire to become a Master Scuba Diver.

As for opinions on options... Search and Recovery can be very rewarding and challenging if the right instructor teaches it for you.

 

[DevonDiver]

Three factors that influence a positive outcome from a course/s:

1) The subject/activity interests and motivates you. This is why 'card collectors' inevitably whinge about disappointing courses... usually resulting from a lack of pre-course research (including selection of appropriate instructor) and/or insufficient starting skill to realize the full benefits of the training opportunity they receive.

2) The subject/activity interests and motivates your instructor. This is why some instructors provide only 'bare minimum' training and have no breadth of personal knowledge/experience with which to supplement the course syllabus. If the instructor is a true 'subject matter expert', then it is because (and only because) they have genuine passion for the activity/subject and engage in it on a frequent-constant basis.

3) The geographic area provides ample opportunity to engage the full scope of the subject/activity. You can't dive ice in Thailand, altitude dive in Holland or wreck dive in a quarry. No matter what BS some operations may try to flog you... you need to go to a 'hot bed' for that activity to find not only the right dive site features, but also the instructors who do that diving as a daily routine.

More: Are Some Scuba Courses are more Equal than Others?

 

[DivemasterDennis]

While I very much like Colliam7's answer, DevonDiver has really given the best objective advice. And remember, you can still take more specialties of interest to you even after you complete MSD. Have a good time doing things that interest you or that you choose to enhance your diving skills and scope.
DivemasterDennis

 

[DCBC]

Great answers to the question. I would however ask you why you want to obtain a MSD rating? One has to ask themselves why? What's the motivator for you?

Keep in-mind that diving knowledge can be obtained in several different ways. As a certified diver I'd say that diving experience trumps everything. I can understand if you want to dive a deeper wreck why a deep / wreck specialty would be important. Today many charter operators have certain policies as it pertains to the type of diving you can do without some background (training) that relates to the dive being undertaken.

I dove deep wrecks, caves and CCR decades before being "certified" to do so. If I'm safer now than I was then to undertake these activities, it's largely because of the experience I've had in doing them (not because I took course X). Please don't misunderstand me, I encourage people to continually learn and apply their knowledge diving, but I don't think you have to take a course in night diving to dive safely at night (for example).

Get training in the areas that are applicable to you. Enjoy the journey...

---------- Post added October 28th, 2013 at 11:30 AM ----------

Are Some Scuba Courses are more Equal than Others?

Excellent point Andy; the answer is that they aren't but few want to talk about it...