PADI Certification too quick?

[Stryker]

Mine was even faster than that. I happened to LUCKILY have a private class (everyone dropped out before class started), and I finished ALL of the pool and classroom in 1 day (10am-7:30pm)... but I had all the knowledge reviews done before I came in.... then again I am a quick learner.... Maybe that is still very quick, but I didnt feel like we "skipped" anything or went too quickly.... guess we will see as I get more experience....

 

[miketsp]

Mine was even faster than that. I happened to LUCKILY have a private class (everyone dropped out before class started), and I finished ALL of the pool and classroom in 1 day (10am-7:30pm)... but I had all the knowledge reviews done before I came in.... then again I am a quick learner.... Maybe that is still very quick, but I didnt feel like we "skipped" anything or went too quickly.... guess we will see as I get more experience....

I believe that most students that survive their OW checkout without problem come away thinking that theirs was the best course and the best instructor.
Wait till you have about 50+ dives and have witnessed a few other courses and checkouts by other instructors/agencies.
You will then realise what was left out, what was out of date and what was purely misinformed.

 

[OWSI176288]

IMHO, it has nothing to do with what, or which agency you get certified through; but has all to do with which SCUBA instructor or dive center you get your certification from. Basically it comes down to is:

(1) do you want to just get a C-card ASAP?
Or
(2) do you want to lean how to dive, and I mean really learn to dive!!!


As the old knight said in the move Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade...... “choose wisely.”

 

[solo_diver]

glad you asked.

i was recently faced with the same shock when I audited a PADI class as a Dive Master Intern.

It sickened me how quickly these students got trained and furthermore 2 of them had no business holding a C-Card yet. They needed more training. So I quit the DM program. I'm not going to be a part of that.

 

[Stryker]

well in my opinion I think the instructor did a fairly good job... The reason we moved so quickly is because several weeks before the class I read the textbook, learned it cold and did all the study reviews. Then while at class he didnt need to explain anything to me so we went over the answers and then I took each quiz (which I aced)...

In the pool the reason we moved so fast is that I am VERY comfortable in the water. I swam competitively for 12 years so it only took me about 20 minutes to get comfortable wearing all the gear. All of the techniques we practiced I got the first time I tried them.

I guess we will see how well I picked everything up this weekend when I do my O/W dives. I still feel pretty confident either way... Any words of wisdom before I do my first one?!

 

[snowcat]

My wife enrolled in the PADI O/W class two weeks ago. On her first day they went thru the "Book". (In five hours) On her second day they went to the pool and spent an hour or so going thru the equipment set up. They then spent 5 or 6 hours in the pool. This coming weekend they are going to the lake and going to do the checkout dives. In my humble opinion this is a little fast. I got my cert in 86 and it sure seems to me like we had several classes, several pool dives and I do remember that it wasnt the second week that we went to the lake. Maybe I am blowing this out of proportion, maybe not. Do you think this is enough time to grasp the skills that are necessary to be a safe diver? I'm just having a really hard time accepting this. Any input?

I have a similar experience to yours. I got certified through PADI in 1984. At that time we had 5 weeks of 1 or 2 classes per week along with quite a bit of pool time. Then we had 6 open water dives. I don't remember exactly how many hours there were all together, but it was by far more than my sons got when they got certified through PADI in the last few years.

I was inactive in diving until about 6 years ago when I started diving again and received my Advanced Open Water and Rescue Diver certs through PADI. When I took the AOW course I was immediately dissapointed because I had already done everything in the AOW class except a deep dive and dry suit (which was great) in my original Open Water Class.

My first son got certified through PADI a few years ago, and I was horrified at how very little he had to learn and practice to earn his Open Water cert. He covered the entire book in two short classroom sessions, had two pool sessions, then did his Open Water Dives. I thought the book was very weak, and the entire class gave all of the students a bare minimum of skills and knowledge to avoid killing themselves on their first free dive. The instructor was a PADI course developer, so he was supposed to be one of the cream of the crop, yet he was a very disappointing teacher.

I paid for the AOW class for my son just so he would finally have the skills and knowledge to be somewhat safe. Even then, the AOW class is mis-labeled -- it should not be called "Advanced". I think most of the skills taught through AOW are just the ones that should already be included in basic open water, not because that is how I did it back in 1984, but because it just makes sense from a safety and enjoyment point of view.

When I watched the students in my son's class floundering around and struggling on their last Open Water dive, it was obvious that they were not yet ready to be turned loose. No one expected them to be as smooth as a diver with hundreds of dives, but they did not display the basic competancy that they should have to be safe.

I have since then tagged along with some other junior Open Water students who got a wonderful class through PADI only because the instructor and shop went far above and beyond the minimum requirements of PADI.

I went on to earn a couple of other specialty ratings through PADI, not because I wanted to use PADI by then, but because I had no other choices in the area I lived in at the time. I was almost as disappointed with the specialty classes.

After all of this experience with the new PADI, my opinion is that PADI seems to be geared more toward marketing and money making oportunities for PADI and the shops rather than what makes sense and is safe for the students.

It is such a shame because PADI could and should be one of the best dive instruction organizations in the world. I hope they come to their senses.

I am now working on Dive Control Specialist through SSI. Even though SSI has some of its own weaknesses, so far I am much more pleased with its common sense and more comprehensive approach to diving education. At least it does not appear to focused on being as much of a "marketing machine" as PADI.

P.S. It is interesting to note that PADI's 800 number is "800-PAY-PADI".

 

[diveninja]

I'm going to have to agree wholeheartedly with OWSI176288, with one addition. The quality of instruction plays a vital role, but it's still the individual's responsiblity to understand the risks they are taking and act accordingly. If they've read the PADI OW book then they've been exposed to the potential dangers of diving. If they choose to disregard this, then what follows is their fault and I hope that some kind soul is there to make sure the lesson isn't fatal. This sport is like anything else in life in that you've got to start with baby steps. You don't get your automobile learner's permit and then sign on to race Formula 1 the next morning. And when you wreck the car, it's your fault, not the DMV's. I just want to know what the heck ever happened to personal responsibility?

 

[Stryker]

It died along with common decency and the onslaught of political correcness.