Master scuba diver - why the negativity?

[Quero]

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[DaleC]

The only fault I can see with MSD status is when the card is issued. I believe mastering something takes time and experience ie. a master painter, a master carpenter, a master craftsman. Scuba courses do not allow enough class time to master anything; they only introduce the student to the material. The card should be mailed out after the student files a logbook with some hundreds or thousands of dives in varying locales that demonstrates they aquired ability to master diving.

A temporary MSD card could state: "The bearer of this card has been formally introduced to the concepts and techniques required for mastery of non professional, recreational scuba diving. They are hereby certified and commited to begin a process of practice and refinement that may take years or perhaps a lifetime. Please be patient".

Sounds funny at first but imagine the looks of respect you might get get from operators who deal with arrogant know it all's day in and day out. Probably be a great ice breaker as well and a few might even go out of their way to add to the bearers knowledge base.

 

[String]

Id have far less of a problem with MSD if a person was automatically upgraded to the level and given a free card when they complete their 5th speciality (or rescue, whatever is last).

 

[HiQPen]

It is hilarious to see how many ninnies get their speedos bunched over the terminology. "Master Diver" is SOOOOO offensive, yet "Dive Master" offends nobody?

The fish don't care what the tittle on your cert. card says, they laugh at us all.....

 

[TMHeimer]

It is hilarious to see how many ninnies get their speedos bunched over the terminology. "Master Diver" is SOOOOO offensive, yet "Dive Master" offends nobody?

The fish don't care what the tittle on your cert. card says, they laugh at us all.....

My exact words. Except for the tittle part.

 

[Crush]

It is hilarious to see how many ninnies get their speedos bunched over the terminology. "Master Diver" is SOOOOO offensive, yet "Dive Master" offends nobody?

The fish don't care what the tittle on your cert. card says, they laugh at us all.....

@TMHeimer: theduckguru might have gotten it right in http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5653251-post49.html .

 

[Firefishvideo]

I think the problem - if there were one - would be in what people don't understand about the certs.
Master Diver = continuing education class
Dive Master = Professional, insured and in charge of other divers

Good for you If you get either, but if you want to "reach the end of the road" that would be somewhere in the range of :Full Cave, ADV TRIMIX, or TRIMIX REBREATHER.:cool2:
.....although these just mean you have even more to learn, you will just be judged by living or dying, not by the card you carry.

 

[hillbillydiver]

I tend to keep my eye on those who like to brag to me,when I do not even know them,about there certification.I have saw many "master divers"as well as "public safety divers"do and say of the dumbest things while diving.While on a boat off the sc coast,I had a "public safety diver" tell me and all who were around him about all his dive experience as a psd.He did not have a dive buddy and ended up paired up with one of my friends we all kinda stuck together.The guy did not want to leave site of the anchor rope and after about 10 min was grunting at us through his reg.wanting to go up.The friend of mine did,after we got back on the boat he told us that was his first ocean dive.I believe the title "Public safety diver"kept him from telling us that he was really inexperienced.I also saw a MSD,again who couldn't help but tell everyone on the boat how experienced he was as a msd,dive nitrox in 15-30 ft of water off key largo burst the top like a breaching submarine,hang onto a buoy and had to be rescued by the DM.He had ran OUT of air after 10min or so,he said "my octo was free flowing and i thought i had it stopped but i guess i didn't",this guy was on our boat 3 more times that week and he always bragged about his certification and always did something stupid.I had a msd argue with me after he dove with someone else's nitrox tank(he was diving air)that it was not really nitrox cause nitrox tastes different.It is not the certification most people have a problem with,but divers who think that a cert card or title trumps real experience.

 

[drrich2]

I believe mastering something takes time and experience ie. a master painter, a master carpenter, a master craftsman.

There are different things to be mastered, and different levels of mastery. The above comment made me consider that when people give examples of what they consider 'mastery,' it's often in the context of a professional career or a teacher of others (such as a martial arts instructor with a dojo).

Perhaps the Master Diver has mastered some 'basics' across a variety of diving disciplines/specialties? This may sound inconsistent, but it isn't. After all, to be called a 'master diver,' would one have to master all aspects of diving? Should someone who excels in the GUE program and teachers others yet has never done a cave dive be ineligible because there's a type of diving he lacks mastery of?

The certification as it currently exists is more about encouraging people to pursue further training as opposed to honoring the '1 in a thousand' class gurus.

I hope to one day get the Master Diver certification; it'd be nice to have one card showing all my certifications. For example, if I want to show on a charter I'm okay to dive over 60' deep (AOW, Deep) and am certified for Nitrox. Save wallet space. Not to show off.

Richard.

 

[TMHeimer]

I hope to one day get the Master Diver certification; it'd be nice to have one card showing all my certifications. For example, if I want to show on a charter I'm okay to dive over 60' deep (AOW, Deep) and am certified for Nitrox. Save wallet space. Not to show off.



Unfortunately it doesn't work that way. MSD card just says MSD. You still need the Nitrox card for the fills and Deep card if you go between 100'-130' --because those may not be among your 5 specialties. Can't think of any others you'd need-not Rescue, because that's required for MSD. So those are the three cards I keep with me. Nitrox is still the only one I've ever been asked to show.