I'm really curious about the cohort that became instructors and then got MSD. I'm trying to imagine how and why that would work... because any instructor could teach themselves the five necessary specialties (with a few exceptions... a few specialties, like nitrox, require an instructor to have taken the specialty course in order to teach it; but most do not have this requirement.)
I am one of those although I may not have met the OP's intent with my answer. The options seem weighted toward MSD info detail.
I became an instructor then MSDT later, which I consider an equivalent but the OP may not. Never got a "non-pro" MSD card.
I could have gotten the MSD first but it was never "offered or marketed" to me and it never really came up on my radar as a step in the training progression.
I met the MSDT qualifications for about a year before I purchased the title as I was informed I would be more marketable in appearing to be able to offer more than an OWSI.
I trained with a course director for my specialties rather than signing myself off.
Fun facts about PADI Master Scuba Divers and Master Scuba Diver Trainers:
You can become an instructor (OWSI) and still not meet the requirements to be a MSD
MSDT means you are an instructor with the minimum requirements to provide all training for MSD (can teach 5 specialties--a trainer of Master Scuba Divers)
MSDT is considered a higher level than OWSI but as an OWSI, I could teach 10 specialties and an MSDT may only be able to teach 5.
An OWSI must issue 25 certifications before applying to be an MSDT but any OWSI could have trained many more students than that
Any OWSI can sign a student off as a MSD, even if that OWSI is not qualified to be an MSD due to lack of specialty ratings
An OWSI can sign a student off as a MSD without issuing any of the certifications that student used to qualify for MSD.
An OWSI that does not have enough specialty ratings to qualify as an MSDT can still teach enough specialties to fully certify a student as a MSD. That same instructor could get signed off as a MSD by another OWSI and still not have enough specialties to qualify as MSDT regardless of number of certifications issued.
This is not an outline of how this program is "supposed" to work. It's more of a commentary of what is possible within the requirements.
Please note the above only applies to PADI and does not apply to any other agency than PADI.
If anything above applies to another agency then it is purely a coincidence.
