Where Next?

[mike.chuanshi]

So you did OW, AOW, and Rescue along with "Peak Performance Buoyancy," EANx, Navigation, Night, Deep, EFR, Emer. O2, and S&R specialties (along with a handful of other fun little PADI distinctive specialties). You did 50 dives and are now an official "Master Scuba Diver" according to PADI, so you threw the jacket style BCD away, bought a wing, high-end reg set, AI dive computer, and a bunch of other little tools that "a MSD should have." :ermm:

Now what?

I suppose this is the point where divers go very different routes: some stay rec and do more of what they have already been doing, some go pro, and some go tech... What I've found, however is that the options are not as clear as they were up to this point in time. Many experienced divers also say that 50 dives is still far too few and that 100+ dives in different conditions should be made before even considering moving forward.

So for you gurus out there...

Assuming that one doesn't want to go pro, isn't sure about going tech yet (or paying a ton for new gear), but definitely wants to go beyond 130 feet, what would your recommendations be?

Do you go simply focus on gaining more experience without someone holding your hand (go with a buddy on a bunch of different shore dives in different conditions)?

Is it too early for Adv.Nx. and deco procedures?

Is it time to break up with PADI?
If so, what "agency" would be good at looking at?
Or, assuming you stay with PADI, do you take things to the next level by looking at TecRec (since, according to some in these forums, it's not really tech anyway)?

Maybe consider doing what PADI advocates and pursue some more specialties to reinforce skills and get a better feel for what route to go (do the wreck diver course, take the online dive theory course, do self-reliant diver once you have 100 dives, etc.)?

If considering another agency for training, which ones and which courses do you feel would be particularly helpful?

 

[Wannabedivebum]

First I would just go dive. And then see where that takes you and learn accordingly. Want to dive that wreck at 160ft? Take a tec course. Caves look interesting? Take a cave course. 50 dives is nothing at all. The point isnt to collect as many certifications as you can, its to go out and have fun and see where you end up. Get some experience and go have fun.

 

[Dr. Lecter]

It depends on the diver and their interests. For some people, 50 dives is more than enough to go pursue advanced dives and/or training, while for others 100+ won't be enough. Most people fall somewhere in between those two poles, and a good number will incorrectly self-assess where they fall on the spectrum.

I have no comments on the pro route because I only dive for fun and don't want to worry about anything but my own/my buddy's diving.

Overhead training is probably a good idea in Hawaii because we have a lot of lava tubes and a handful of wrecks. Then again, it's not exactly a major thing for the same reason: we have overheads, you'll want to go in them, but they're not really showstoppers until someone finds a way into the karsts that underlie Oahu. That'd have me scurrying to FL for cave training, but so far as I know there's nobody diving that and probably few/no access points for the system. I might not go solo dive the Sea Tiger or the YO's engine room if I were you, but I'm not sure I'd bother with a wreck or other "light overhead" class either. Serious overhead training would probably be wasted on Oahu diving unless you want to become a pioneering lava tube diver.

IMO, it's never too early for learning about the risks and benefits of O2 and how/why deco dives are planned and executed. It's the natural extension of OW training and used to be part of the frigging OW class. That said, whether you're ready to do anything beyond hearing about that stuff is a question of mindset and skills. If you can manage your buoyancy while solving another problem such that you don't blow a stop/sink down and tox on a rich deco mix, you have the basic skill necessary for deco diving. If you can plan through all the potential issues ahead of time and then rely on yourself execute that plan, no matter how well or how poorly things go, you have the basic mindset necessary.

What have you been diving here on Oahu?

 

[Michael Guerrero]

Now what?

I hop in my time machine, fly out to Hawaii, stop you from taking all those courses, save you a ton of money (even on your car insurance), and we just dive.

Whether you're mind is made up or not, when you talk about going past 130', and I assume you mean to do so safely, you're pretty much talking about technical diving. Technical diving is a broad spectrum, encompassing all kinds of dives, so you don't need to shy away from it based on its name.

You can continue your training with PADI into their tec courses. Or you could go to another agency. If I were you, I'd find someone doing the kinds of dives you want to do, and do some checkout dives with them so they can evaluate if they think you're ready/safe for more. Then pursue the training and gear that get you there.

I would also buy a few books and read about more advanced diving to see if that's really what you want to do.

 

[KeithG]

Get some experience doing actual Real dives so that you become proficient at the set of skills you have been schooled in. Maybe try different "types" of recreational dives?

50 dives is not many. And fewer if most were spent "in class". Very few people become proficient at a skill in a single dive. It sometimes take 5 or 10 dives to develop a specific set of skills.

Just considering navigation, there are a bunch of different conditions to gain experience in before you are "experienced": high viz is easiest, low viz harder, currents makes it worse, bland terrain is tougher, blue diving is a challenge, night adds another wrinkle....

In just 50 dives it is unlikely that you have experienced enough variations of dive conditions. So seek out other new conditions to gain more rounded experience.

 

[rivers]

Go do some diving you're qualified to do. With that many courses taken, you've done very little real diving. Enjoy it, there is tons to do in the recreational range. If you're getting bored having only done 50 dives, maybe diving isn't for you

 

[mike.chuanshi]

If you're getting bored having only done 50 dives, maybe diving isn't for you

That's something I don't think I ever need to worry about.

---------- Post added February 18th, 2014 at 11:00 PM ----------

...unless you want to become a pioneering lava tube diver.

Well, now that you mention it...

What have you been diving here on Oahu?

South Shore reefs (Kokos, Angler's, Corner Pocket, Fantasy Reef, Hawaii Loa, etc.), especially at night. E-Beach when wanting an easy shore dive, or at night when a boat isn't available. Baby Barge, U/D LCU, Corsair, and a couple unnamed (at least I don't know their names) wrecks that a captain showed me on club dives. I haven't been to the Sea Tiger, Y/O, or Mahi - those are next on my list. There's also a bomber off of Maui that I really want to check out, but it's at 190-200 feet.

 

[rivers]

For now, just dive. Find a more experienced buddy, one that does the dives you one day hope to do. Go diving, a lot. Stop doing courses for awhile. Forget about the stuff deeper than 130 feet at the moment. Spend time in the shallows, enjoy the dives that you are qualified to do. Get away from the instructor that was using you as a cash cow. Go diving, make little mistakes and learn from them. Practice the skills you already have (air share mask less ascent anyone?). Perfect those, and have some fun. I can have just as much fun on a local 4m dive under a pier as I do on a 35+m wreck where I do a bit of deco.

 

[Agility]

if you like to teach, love pool sessions and babysitting, go pro
if not, go diving, watch the fish and enjoy your time under water
if you want to go and see deep wrecks or caves, tecnical training is the way to go

 

[victorzamora]

Now what?

I'm assuming this is hypothetical, because it's a general progression we see FAR too often. Either way, the recommendation is DIVE MORE! Stop diving in classes. Enjoy scuba diving, and everything it has to offer. Don't move up until you're bored with all the diving you can do at your current level. You don't have 50 dives. You may not even have ONE dive outside of class. Lead your own dives, dive everywhere you can. Then, once you've "tapped out" your current level, seek further training.

---------- Post added February 19th, 2014 at 08:19 AM ----------

For some people, 50 dives is more than enough to go pursue advanced dives and/or training

I think that could be the case, if the diver started with the end in mind and got training/mentorship from exactly the right people and did a lot of pool dives on top of it and really hit the ground running in EVERY way. For someone with the specialties and courses done as listed in the OP, the number of "real" dives is FAR too low.....and the description is not of a person with the end in mind or that has really hit the ground running in the right direction. It sounds like a person that had a REALLY good salesman at his LDS without a real clue of what he wanted.....a very typical case. Nothing wrong with it, but not the right direction for an early Tech route.