Certifications worth earning

[ScubaInChicago]

Instead of taking a course for the title on the card, take the time to research the instructor who will make any class the best you've ever taken. For the money, I think GUE's Fundamentals course GUE Fundamentals | Global Underwater Explorers is the one to take to get the most out of your future diving. FWIW, you also get a nitrox certification as part of the class.

 

[NAM001]

Your AOW does not include the certs for the specialties. They are introductions to the specialties. Using a compass in AOW is for exposure to a compass not to certify you . Same with deep, nav,, night ect. Ypur instructor should expose you to perhaps 4-5 specialties. Yu then take teh formal course for specialties. The certs for specialties count for Master diver and not for AOW.

Hello all,

After finishing my SSI Open Water certification I am working on my basic open water skills and diving with a variety of divers for experience. I plan on earning my advanced open water through SSI which, as I'm sure you already know, involves a series of "specialty" courses and a certain amount of logged dives. My instructor runs an advanced open water series including at least the minimum requirements, but I don't have the list off hand.

What I am getting at is this: I'm not a title junkie or card horder, and I'm more interested in the actual experience. Learning from an experienced diver is just as valuable, if not more, than taking a course and getting a new shiny card. That being said, I'd rather not get somewhere and be handicapped for not having a proper certification.

So, over the next year, beyond OW and AOW, what would be the core certifications for diving trips (excluding cave diving and technical type certs) and those courses that are just truly worth it?

I was thinking nav, deep, and nitrox (maybe?), keeping in mind that my advanced series probably includes at least the nav and deep certs.

So what say you, experienced divers? What was worth it? And what was a waste (if anything)?

Thanks, as always.

-BC


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Your AOW does not include the certs for the specialties. They are introductions to the specialties. Using a compass in AOW is for exposure to a compass not to certify you . Same with deep, nav,, night ect. Ypur instructor should expose you to perhaps 4-5 specialties. Yu then take teh formal course for specialties. The certs for specialties count for Master diver and not for AOW.

Since he specifically mentioned SSI, the AOW does in fact include certs for the specialties. Unlike the PADI AOW, which is a few "sampler" dives, the SSI AOW is awarded for completing four specialty courses that encompass 24 dives. To my concern, that's a way better approach if the intent is to learn something rather than simply collect a card that allows you to do dives you're probably not going to be qualified to do ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Oldbear]

... Not much help but I don't think any of them are a total waste, except the Zombie cert, that one seems useless, everybody knows Zombies can't swim.

Zombies might not be able to swim, but werewolves can.

 

[t4e]

nitrox, perfect buoyancy and stress and rescue, for the latter you will also do CPR and Oxygen, with those once you have 50 dives SSI sees you as advanced diver which will qualify you for the Master Diver certification

that was our choice of courses

 

[victor]

Rescue should be your target as it gives you a good insight into many areas of diving that you may not have considered before.
I would say NO to solo at this point in your dive experience. You do not know if you want to dive solo and have the temperment necessary to do this safely.
I would not recommend Cavern unless you have a particular interest in overhead and technical diving, the same applies to wreck penetration.

Get some dives under your belt in varied conditions and locations. Enjoy it diving is not all about a newcard whatever some dive shops might say.

 

[Kharon]

One bit of training I never though of was Altitude Diving - till I visited my Daughter in Crested Butte (nearly 10K feet). I can probably figure most, if not all of it, out on my own but there might be more than working from the tables (or not) - so I might take the course to make sure I get everything I need to know. I could probably track down the info and study/master it on my own. But SDI doesn't have a manual and PADI only has a short section in their AOW manual that is in excess of $60. The SDI course is probably around $100 and I get the materials + instruction.

---------- Post added July 21st, 2014 at 09:17 AM ----------

Am I the only one that thinks that Solo is more on the tech side of diving which the OP said that he does not want to do?

I don't think solo is tech. It is advanced skills & equipment that get's you started on the road to self-sufficiency in case the buddy system breaks down, not only for diving solo. Skills & equipment that every diver should aquire (IMO). Divers with solo training are far safer divers and far better buddies.

I agree with Victor that it's way premature for the OP to go for solo. But it's something they might think about for future certs - once they get their OW/AOW skills down.

 

[dmoore19]

This is a good example of what I was trying to say in my post.

I think it is variable what one would consider to be a course worth taking. Everyone has different goals and needs when it comes to training.

One bit of training I never though of was Altitude Diving - till I visited my Daughter in Crested Butte (nearly 10K feet). I can probably figure most, if not all of it, out on my own but there might be more than working from the tables (or not) - so I might take the course to make sure I get everything I need to know.

 

[uncfnp]

I find it interesting in what a dive considers technical. To me your first step into the tech side of diving is Nitrox...//...

Am I the only one that thinks that Solo is more on the tech side of diving which the OP said that he does not want to do?

Interesting question Tony. My understanding is that Nitrox was indeed considered a step into tech but I doubt you will find too many divers today that still see it that way. I think that Solo training is headed the same way. It seems more and more recreational divers use the course as a way to be a safer diver, when used in a recreational context (obviously not talking solo penetration diving here).

So what is the definition of tech? I am certainly not qualified to say. But it seems there are several ways to define tech diving including dives that involve a higher risk then recreational dives or dives that preclude a direct assent to the surface. Solo as taught to the recreational diver specifically precludes hard or soft overhead dives and some might argue that a solo trained diver is actually a safer recreational diver.


As for the rest, I did say that the OP would need a minimum of 100 dives before the Solo. And I also understood that the OP did not want to collect cards but did want to consider worthwhile courses beyond SSI AOW.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

Everyone has their personal preferences, but everyone can also benefit from a peak performance buoyancy class, a navigation class, and, if you want the nitrox option, a nitrox class. Your AOW certification will be sufficient for most operators to take you on any recreational dive they offer. The courses I have suggected are to make you a better diver who can dive independent from a a group or DM.
DivemasterDennis