Master.........Really?

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I have over 500 dives in a wide variety of environments. I'm a MSD, unqualified to lead anyone but myself and family. I'm very glad to do that and am confident in my abilities. I love to dive.

Good diving, Craig
 
I have a PADI MSD card. It was a novelty idea, and too be honest I was hoping they would list all my certs on it so that I could just bring one card on trips instead of Nitrox and Advanced and whatever else some op might claim they want on their website.

The only time I have ever pulled it out was to shut up a know-it-all cousin who has never dived but was spouting some stupid Hollywood crap as if he had done it. My brother's 1979 YMCA card didn't make much of an impression but my Master Scuba Diver card sure did:rofl3:

But this is the first time I have ever admitted to owning one...I am sure you all understand...right?:coffee:
 
I have a PADI MSD card. It was a novelty idea . . .

Yep, I must agree. I have met all the requirements, except for paying PADI the money.

Will I do this at some point? Probably just for the novelty.
Will I show the card to anyone? Only to my mother cause she would be proud regardless.
 
Am a Master Diver and SHOULD soon be a Divemaster. Would I be an MDDM or a DMMD? Both sound like doctors. Then again, my DM is taking about as long as medical school.
 
I agree that it's how you dive that matters and who cares what c card you have. I'm halfway through the requirements for my MSD (still have to do nitrox and rescue) and then I'll be taking tek. After that I'm planning on doing dry suit diving in cold environments in BC and then in Alaska before I go on to do my DM and then instructor courses.

For me, these are just things to go through in order to learn everything I can about scuba and to experience all the ocean has to offer. I don't want to have bragging rights, I just want to learn and be self reliant in the water in order to assist other divers when they need it and at the same time, not become a liability to the DM who's leading the group during dive trips.
 
Since I started this thread and it has ended up a pretty long one, I will try to explain my thoughts now that I have read all of the opinions. It is really not far from where I was originally.

My personal issue is with the name. It is simply too close to the DM name and laypeople, including new divers may not understand the difference. There are probably tons of OW divers who have been diving for a long time responsibly and have a ton of dives that are of better skill than a new DM. Like it has been stated before, we all have to start somewhere. I just wish they (the qualifying organizations) would come up with a better name such as AOW1 or AOW2 stricly as an example.

We could debate the quality of a DM and say that it was harder back when........... yada yada yada, but the DM does exist and there are standards for all organization to get to this level AND there are quality control procedures in place to help ensure compliance with the standards. This thread was never meant to debate the quality of the DM, just point out that the MSD name, in my opinion should be changed. Since just about all qualifying organizations use it, I don't think that is going to change anytime soon.

Diving has too many variables based on where you dive, how you dive, what equipment you dive, how often you dive and so on on. These variables must always be taken into consideration for any debate and there will always be debate.

You cannot fault anyone for wanting to advance in their level of training which does give experience and you cannot fault anyone who does not want to advance in levels but continues to dive responsibly within their C card. Since there are levels that you can attain at the recreational and professional levels, many divers will always want to progress. There is a program for these levels, each with established standards. You don't have to agree with the standards but they are there and those that choose to progress in their training for whatever reason should be commended for their pursuit of improvement.
 
My personal issue is with the name.

I see this a lot, and have fallen victim to it myself.

The MSD title makes sense if you rate it next to what other "Master" titles have been. It is the highest recreational certification for various agencies.

My issue, at least with the one I have, is that I didn't have to prove anything or take a specific set of classes to get there. It doesn't mean anything, I suppose it should not even exist in its current state. The NAUI card actually means something.

My issue with DM is that the industry either does a poor job making sure that active DMs are doing their job, or that new divers are not being accurately informed what the role of a DM is on their vacation dives.
(Im not a DM so maybe I am wrong about their official function on a dive boat)

I just don't put much emphasis on names anymore, its just a name and seems to detract from the heart of the issues we are looking at. It seems...I don't know almost political to me. Politicians spend a lot of time distracting people by using buzz words and such. I guess I look at names the same way.

I have the card, I don't pull it out because anyone who knows what it is knows it means nothing, and those who would be impressed, unless they are jerks, I would feel bad for deceiving them...
 
It is simply too close to the DM name and laypeople, including new divers may not understand the difference.

This is a good point.

You don't have to agree with the standards but they are there and those that choose to progress in their training for whatever reason should be commended for their pursuit of improvement.

Amen.
 
That's why I suggest one not be so quick to be impressed with titles, badges, patches, or diplomas hanging on the wall and be less inclined to label people. Instead, check them out and see if their skills match up with whatever titles to which they may lay claim.

Bingo. My thoughts exactly. I still believe experience counts for something. I recently finished up my IDC and there was an individual in it that had to complete 6 dives before class started. (100 logged dives are required prior to starting IDC). Of those 100 dives he had, 75 where completed in the same reservoir. Do you think that person will have the experience to teach others drift diving, wreck diving, etc. and have it be a quality lesson?
Just my .02
 

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