I recently just got my PADI OW cert and wondering when should I take AOW? I was talking to my LDS staff and i'm getting different answers. One guy mentioned that I should take it as soon as possible, even better if I take it back to back with my OW. I spoke to another staff, which is the store manager and also a DM and she mentioned that I really don't need it since I can still dive the deeper sites (100ft) if I book a tour with them. The thing is I already purchased the AOW class when they had a sale for $399 and I scheduled it for late August. I can easily cancel it and get a refund so I'm not worried about that. Just wondering if I should take it or not and just save the money to build my dive gear.
When should I take my Advanced Open Water Cert?
- Thread starter pkchu_
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fred32176
Contributor
I waited until I had about 25 dives. I had the same instructor for OW and AOW and dove with my instructor multiple times between OW and AOW. The familiarity made taking AOW easier for both of us and skills like buoyancy could be fine tuned as he already knew what my strengths and weaknesses were. Deep diving is easier when you more dives and are comfortable when diving in more situations.
It is now mid-June, you have purchased an AOW class scheduled for late August. You have approximately two months to get as many dives under your belt as you can between now and the end of August. If you are located in Hawaii, it should be some nice diving, enjoy your summer. 
double post.
What helped me prep is that after my OW class I did the easiest possible 24 dives (the dive destination had only easy dives) - this wired my brain to love the sport and not experience too much overwhelming stress and anxiety or fear about diving… while you can do fun dives to 100ft even with just OW, many sites are not beginner friendly. So just get the dives in and feel that confidence before you go for the next course …
I’d leave your AOW course on the schedule but focus on selecting an instructor who’s going to actually TRAIN you.
When we (as students) pull off one or two clumsy iterations of a skill in a course, many instructors are conditioned to move us on to the next skill.
This is wrong and sets us up for post-course disappointment.
Find an instructor who (1) dives at a high level on his/her own and (2) breaks the course skills down into its sub-components and helps you develop muscle memory.
A lot of this, the quality of instructor, is personality dependent.
@Darcy Kieran ‘s organization, The Business of Diving Institute, offers a guide on how to select an instructor.
When we (as students) pull off one or two clumsy iterations of a skill in a course, many instructors are conditioned to move us on to the next skill.
This is wrong and sets us up for post-course disappointment.
Find an instructor who (1) dives at a high level on his/her own and (2) breaks the course skills down into its sub-components and helps you develop muscle memory.
A lot of this, the quality of instructor, is personality dependent.
@Darcy Kieran ‘s organization, The Business of Diving Institute, offers a guide on how to select an instructor.
I always recommend to take time to do a lot of diving in between classes so that you take the full benefit of the next one. However I think that AOW is the exception unless you do it with instructors that set their bar way above standards.
90% of AOW classes will not focus on fundamentals (buoyancy, trim, propulsion) but just of very secondary skills for beginners like navigation. If you do one of these classes I would do it asap so that you can enjoy fun diving without the operator limiting you to only certain dives.
If you do the class with a high standard instructor (e.g. from RAID, GUE or somebody who teaches for a staple agency but enforces much higher standards), then I would take time so that you feel very comfortable in the water before building in new skills.
90% of AOW classes will not focus on fundamentals (buoyancy, trim, propulsion) but just of very secondary skills for beginners like navigation. If you do one of these classes I would do it asap so that you can enjoy fun diving without the operator limiting you to only certain dives.
If you do the class with a high standard instructor (e.g. from RAID, GUE or somebody who teaches for a staple agency but enforces much higher standards), then I would take time so that you feel very comfortable in the water before building in new skills.
halocline
Contributor
I think it’s pretty much impossible to answer your question without knowing more about how your dive skills are now. For a lot of new divers, their skills are weak enough so that they benefit from more instruction right away to develop really good basic habits. Others are competent enough to dive on their own for a while without developing poor habits and they benefit from more individual experience before taking another class. In your case, who makes that determination….I guess you do. The simple way of putting it is you should take the class when you want to. I don’t think this is a monumental decision; either way is probably fine.
When I was in the DM world, I typically thought of AOW as an immediate follow up to OW, with the combined classes forming a more thorough OW certification process. But it definitely does not have to be that way; I took AOW years after getting initially certified. In fact, I only took it because I was heading to DM training and needed it as a prerequisite.
When I was in the DM world, I typically thought of AOW as an immediate follow up to OW, with the combined classes forming a more thorough OW certification process. But it definitely does not have to be that way; I took AOW years after getting initially certified. In fact, I only took it because I was heading to DM training and needed it as a prerequisite.
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