I've taken a few classes in my time, and also do not own a PADI card. I was once denied access to a dive charter on Maui because they only accepted PADI certifications.
Apparently, I wasn't qualified to dive Molokini by their estimation ... none of these were considered valid ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
Come on out to Kwajalein and you can take the PADI Zombie Diver course with me. Then you will really be prepared for "ANYTHING" on Maui. :d
This reminds me of another act of misplaced stupidity that happened in my life:
I grew up in Denver Colorado and was very active in Boy Scouting...even made Eagle Scout. So I am very familiar with camping, hiking, fishing, first-aid, knots, etc.
Nearly 30 years ago, when I wore the younger man's clothes or more correctly U.S Army uniform, as a young Buck Sergeant I was tasked to instruct a Wilderness Survival class for a summer JROTC camp for High Schooler. This was in Ft. Richardson, AK outside of Anchorage, a beautiful place to hold such a 90 minute class. I got hold of the U.S. Air Force's Wilderness Survival Manual for it pilots and pulled about 5-6 topics out to show the students. We tied five basic knots, I built several improvised snares and trap, I built a water capture system, I drew diagrams that covered things like where's the best place to find a fish in a stream or wild berry identification. The course was a series of stations and I would take the students along a trail to each station. The students liked it, the High School ROTC Instructors liked it, my command liked it...overall it was a very successful 90-Minute generalized "exposure" course for a High School audience.
My my command liked it so much I was asked to give it again to a Army National Guard maintenance unit we were supporting during their 2-week summer training. Again the audience was appropriate for such a generalized course. And once again the Guardsmen liked it, my command liked it and the Ak National Guard's command liked it.
After the second Widerness Survival course the Army showed its Stupidity...The asked me to teach "my wilderness survival course" to the Alaskan Army National Guard's Scouts...these soldiers are northern native Alaskan. So I said He'll Yes. :d
I flew north of the Article Circle to a small Compound where all of the Army Scouts had gathered for their annual two-week summer training. About two days into their traing I presented my very simplistic course to these true masters of their elements. They were polite and asked a few question that I tried to answer...but I knew I was just showing a Master Painter a paint-by-numbers picture of Donald Duck. A couple of days later we were in the field and I became their student. It was truly one of the most memorable events of my military career. I was and still am in awe these scouts. When we went into the Alaskan Bush, a lot of the cheap U.S. Army's gear that we had at the time, disappeared and native/local tools, clothing and equipment appeared. I learned so much from these generous soldiers in that week, that it surpassed everything I knew before.
In summary...
While I was qualified to teach a Specialized Subject to a Specific Audience, that did not make me a Master of the Subject qualified to teach all Audiences.
Just because a person is not an instructor does not mean they are not an expect.
Not all DMs start out as fully experienced divers.
Not all non-Pro divers are unexperienced divers who need a hand to hold.
Whether you are a highly experienced diver, DM, Instructor, ect., you can always keep learning...if you choose do do so.
~Oldbear~