I'll Just throw my 2 cents in.
I did AOW directly after OW whilst I was on holiday in Thailand. At the time, I didn't even think about it, it was offered to me, I was 18 and had a shiny new credit card, a dangerous combination.
I do have some regrets over taking the AOW straight away. Primarily that I didn't have the basics nailed in enough to really get the most out of it. I spent a good amount of the navigation dive worrying more about bouyancy than heading for example. With regards to wether or not it made me a better diver, I'd have to say no. I didn't learn enough about dive planning, air usage, or a number of other things.
With all of that said there were certainly some plus points. I wasn't all that confident after passing OW and doing a few dives with an instructor was certainly a nice safety net. Also, about two weeks later I went to a different site and was offered a dive on a wreck at 25 metres ( give or take ). Had I not done AOW I couldn't have done it. ( In hindsight I am well aware that AOW didnt fully prepare for such a dive, but at the time I was certainly pretty happy about it )
In my case I think the money could have been better spent on just getting some fun dives in. I think I would have been better having a look into AOW now that I've done 15 or so fun dives and I'm more comfortable in the water, but that's just me.
Alfie
I did AOW directly after OW whilst I was on holiday in Thailand. At the time, I didn't even think about it, it was offered to me, I was 18 and had a shiny new credit card, a dangerous combination.
I do have some regrets over taking the AOW straight away. Primarily that I didn't have the basics nailed in enough to really get the most out of it. I spent a good amount of the navigation dive worrying more about bouyancy than heading for example. With regards to wether or not it made me a better diver, I'd have to say no. I didn't learn enough about dive planning, air usage, or a number of other things.
With all of that said there were certainly some plus points. I wasn't all that confident after passing OW and doing a few dives with an instructor was certainly a nice safety net. Also, about two weeks later I went to a different site and was offered a dive on a wreck at 25 metres ( give or take ). Had I not done AOW I couldn't have done it. ( In hindsight I am well aware that AOW didnt fully prepare for such a dive, but at the time I was certainly pretty happy about it )
In my case I think the money could have been better spent on just getting some fun dives in. I think I would have been better having a look into AOW now that I've done 15 or so fun dives and I'm more comfortable in the water, but that's just me.
Alfie