Certification vs Experience

[Meng_Tze]

Experience is more important. A course will set you up to start on a path, you yourself have to gain experience.

Like was said, some corse courses will be very valuable, others are just money makers. When it comes to balancing these always use logic and think through possibilities. Sometimes operators will not allow people to do cetain dives without certain certs. These are the general onse to go for, the others knowledge can be gained through study, exprience, working/diving with other experienced divers.

But experience is not a substitute for knowledge, in this case they go hand in hand. What I am trying to say is that you should not be going off trying to gain experience in something just like that, study, learn the background first and then start small/slow... gradually building up. If that background knowledge comes from books, a course or somewhare else, make sure it is correct

 

[Sarahann]

Thank you for your views.Never thought of it from the angle of letting a course sink in,into experience, before taking another course.

 

[jeckyll]

Sarahann: I agree with what Bob said of course (it's hard not too ).

To add some concrete examples from my own experience: I was the most experienced student in my "Advanced" class. I had 12 dives. The other 2 participants were straight out of OW. I really don't think that makes alot of sense. I did get a few things out of the class, mostly out of the navigation portion.

In my Rescue class, I had one person who had no buoyancy control in their drysuit and another who dove very infrequently and didn't bother doing a single knowledge review before class and who was unwilling to listen to suggestions from the instructor or DM's. I can tell you that I wouldn't want to be rescued by either...

For reference, I took rescue around 45 dives (all within about 6 months or so). Having good in water skills and knowing your gear are essential to that course IMO.

From my experience, when it comes to courses 2 things are very important:
1) The instructor is the most essential piece of the puzzle, however,
2) other students can make a huge difference to your enjoyment (or lack thereof) and how much you learn.

I think if you work out what is important in your diving and find people who are similarly inclined, you'll find your path through the certifications at the right time based simply on where your diving is taking you.

 

[nolatom]

Get about 25 dives in, then take AOW. Then another 25 and take Rescue.

 

[terrasmak]

a) Both are important - Diving, like most recreational activities, relies heavily on training your body to respond in certain ways to produce the desired results. We take classes to learn the proper techniques. Then we have to go out and dive in order to provide the repetitions required to develop the muscle memory our body needs to produce those responses. It's the same as with other sports, like skiing, golf, etc. ... you should come away from the class with a better idea of what constitutes better technique ... but then you need to get out there and practice the technique in order to get good at it. I'll add a third component ... mentorship. Those who are fortunate enough to hook up with more experienced dive buddies tend to learn faster, because their buddy provides feedback and coaching that helps them avoid developing bad habits while practicing.

b) You asked about certifications, but named agencies. They are not the same thing. Certifications that matter? I would say that after basic Open Water classes, the most important class you can take is Rescue ... because it focuses not just on what to do in an emergency, but more importantly, on how to recognize when a situation might ultimately lead to an emergency, so you can take action to avoid getting yourself into one. Advanced Open Water can be a good class, but that depends entirely on who's teaching it and how much effort they put into skills.

My advice on the first point is that after taking a class, get out and dive. Put some bottom time on your fins before signing up for the next class. Get comfortable with the things you learned ... then in your next class you can focus on the new skills you will be introduced to, rather than struggle with the ones you were supposed to have learned in the previous class.

My advice on the second point is to concentrate on finding an instructor who you are comfortable with, and who is putting real effort into what YOU want to learn. Don't get hung up on certification agencies ... there are good and bad instructors in all of them.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

+1 , but i would like to add if possible find an advanced diver to mentor you as you gain experiance and bottom time.

 

[shakeybrainsurgeon]

I have seen some facilities require at least 20 dives before allowing a student to do AOW. I would add, however, that nothing says you have to do all the AOW at one time (I've been working on it for a year and still need the deep dive). For example, I did the peak performance buoyancy dives early on --- its never too early to work on those skills and I learned something about my weight distribution that has helped me since. However, doing navigation skills while you are still struggling to maintain an even depth or horizontal trim can be useless.

Taking enrcihed air early is also helpful, since it reinforces concepts about dive tables and gas management.

As others have noted, it isn't an "either or" situation, either take courses or dive with a buddy. Check with your local LDS --- ours rents out experienced divemasters as buddies for only 20 bucks for two dives plus a tip and I found that to be very useful.

 

[Dave in PA]

I admit that I only skimmed the previous posts after reading Bob's reply and they all seem to say a similar thing. I will echo the sentiments and add my views on specialty certifications: Each specialty certification is like your Open Water course, they introduce you to a new aspect of diving and teach you the basics of that new aspect. It is then up to you to practice the skills that were introduced in the specialty course and develop yourself as a diver by gaining experience.

 

[3ddiver]

I would have to agree with most everyone else. I feel that the diving is the greatest way to learn. Classes are good but if you do not first master the basic skills there is not a very good chance on mastering anything else. I believe in practice, practice, practice before moving on. It has been a while but it seems like PADI encourages taking classes right away. I like the idea behind the system that SSI had or still has where you had to have a certain number of dives before moving on to the next level. I understand this doesnt mean that you have mastered anything but at least you have been in the water.

 

[Toolbox-13]

I feel that the experience makes the classes go so much more smoothly. The more comfortable you are in the water with your basic skills make learning new skills so much easier. Dive often and keep up with your basic skills then when you add advanced skills the task loading isn't so bad. I agree that Rescue Diver is one of the best courses you can take as it deals with identifying stress and helping others as well as self rescue. Good luck and keep on diving...

 

[jpsexton]

I really can't add to anything Bob said but I will offer my experience. After I got OW certified I just got out a dived as much as I could. I hooked up with a couple of regulars around here and they were kind enough to let me tag along on their dives. They offered pointers and feedback as well as setting a great example that really excellerated my diving skills. (Thank you Land Locked and KROBI!) Somewhere around 30 or 40 dives I found a great instructor who I am taking AOW from (jbd, and thank you Bob for pointing me to him) and as of yesterday I only have my deep dive left to be finished. I will always be learning, but when I first got certified I never imagined I would have come this far in a little over a year.