AOW right after OWD

[rhwestfall]

But what's the marketing ploy? "You shouldn't only do OWD but also AOW, because ...??" Clearly some reason has to be offered for people to actually do it.

"fear" pitch - you don't know what you don't know...

"ego" pitch - you can go right to DM in the "zero to hero" scenario.....

"honesty" - your class really didn't give you enough to dive where you want (or where we go)....

pick any, pick many...

It all means more $$$$ to the shop, and in this day and age, modular seems more appealing than the "grind" of the "good old days"....(okay, the can of worms has been opened - feeding frenzy!).

FWIW - I was trained by a "Not For Profit" - YMCA, and actually never even heard of AOW until I had been diving for a year or three...(also, we weren't "limited", except for recreational limits, and commen sense) . Never denied diving because of my lowly certification.

 

[Wineaux]

For me it was to have more dives under instruction vs just bumbling out into the Ocean on my own. It happened to work out that I really liked my instructor and he was doing a AOW shortly after the OW I had with him. I also added in drysuit with my AOW which made diving in Monterey actually enjoyable vs something to endure in the awful farmer john wetsuits I did my OW in.

With that said, I don't consider myself an "advanced" diver by any means but having taken the OW/AOW classes back to back (only one dive in between) has made me a more confidant OW diver for sure.

 

[Tigerman]

Given all the discussions about how dive shops actually dont make much if any money on scuba classes - It dont seem like money for the shop is a major incentive...

Personally I did my AOW very shortly after my OW and I did it for no reasons provided by any dive shop. Infact I did not take any of them with a dive shop at all..
I wanted training to go deeper due to some of the dive sites I wanted to visit, I wanted some underwater nav training, and I wanted to get some experience with night diving and wrecks.
The PADI AOW course is designed to be taken shortly after the OW course and many would argue that OW and AOW should be one course - alas all the discussions about how the courses back in the day used to be three weeks and now its all dumbed down and stuff..

 

[fjpatrum]

But what's the marketing ploy? "You shouldn't only do OWD but also AOW, because ...??" Clearly some reason has to be offered for people to actually do it.

In my OW class the marketing was simple. Go deeper? AOW. Want more time diving with an instructor? AOW. My class also happened to push the PADI/National Geographic Diver, which is laughable but apparently a good money maker for them at the time.At least 3 people of my OW class signed up for the Nat-Geo diver specialty and I think about half the class signed up for AOW before we finished the course.

To me it smacks of marketing to those uncomfortable with the concept of self-learning. Not for me but it certainly has its place and I suspect a lot of people really benefit from the extra instructor time.

Personally I'd rather see them push rescue before AOW, but then I think more extensive rescue should be part of OW too.

 

[PhilaDallas]

I will be doing my open water dives in Cozumel with an instructor, me, and my wife. Had I done the final dives with the group that I did the class with, there were two instructors and 12 or 14 students (with a bunch of DM's so it was 1:2 instructor to student).

The only reason we are doing the check out dives in Cozumel is because we didn't want to drive to the dive site. Now that I think about it I am happy to get my final OW instruction with a more favorable student to teacher ratio.

I would think that had I stuck around and done the final dives with my LDS that I would have felt I needed a lot more information and guided dives. I am hoping that by checking out in Cozumel that I will be a lot more confident. Plus I plan on getting into the local dive club as soon as I have my card.

 

[jcm]

I dont think its a bad idea. If you think about it on your OW certification you only really know the basics. I dont think it really gives you much knowlege in less you are just following the DM on a dive. I took my AOW shortly after my OW since I wanted to be more confident in diving. I really think the AOW did teach me alot more about diving compared to the basics with my OW class.

 

[TMHeimer]

Locale, as pointed out, is another factor. "Winter" on the FL panhandle means not many charters or available buddies (especially in Destin). An instructor in the shop there said the next time a boat goes out it will be for an AOW course. Thus I signed up.

 

[ladyfishdvr]

I am taking my OW certification dives this month, and in class my NAUI instructor did suggest I take the AOW class. He also suggested the Nitrox class as well. Not necessarily immediately after. I would like to get a few dives in prior to taking the AOW class but do not have a dive buddy. I was able to find a dive shop that dives every weekend at Dutch Springs and told me I would be welcome to join them anytime and they would have someone to dive with me.
I did not take my OW class with that dive shop, but maybe will do the AOW class with them when I am ready. I have no plans currently to go dive in warm blue water anytime soon so the quarry is my option for now. If I was not able to find someone willing to dive with me being a newbie, I may have gone directly to AOW just to be able to meet other divers and perhaps find a few diving buddies.

My preference is to practice a bit so I am comfortable with my OW skills before going AOW.

 

[Ken T]

I took mine about 7 months after getting certified in Hawaii.

The AOW course took place locally in the cold mountain lakes.
In between I took nitrox and a drysuit course.

My wife and I did do a few dives on our own between the courses, as well as guided dives.

The main reason we took it was to increase our confidence, get some more dives under supervision, and get more advice on trim and buoyancy.

IMO the AOW should be pushed to the new OW diver, maybe not immediately, but soon afterwards....both courses combined seem to me, to be a base level of experience before truly feeling like an independent diver.
My experience with the OW resort course, I feel, did not leave me prepared to do any strenuous diving, and did not include any aspects of planning.

 

[spectrum]

OW and AOW do not add up to an old school course, the whole middle missing.

NW GratefulDiver said it all very well.