So why are we bustin' on PADI again? Virtually every agency I've been exposed to offers a range of specialty programs ... some with cards, some not ... and for the record, I own about three dozen different C-cards from a half-dozen different agencies (none of them are PADI cards), have taken workshops in things like drysuit diving, equipment maintenance, doubles diving, and scooters that didn't come with C-cards, and teach a number of specialty classes myself.
The value someone gets from a program ... whether it's a workshop that doesn't involve a certification or something that comes with a card upon completion ... will depend on a number of things ... the learning style of the student, the ability of the instructor to make the class effective, and how applicable the subject is to the conditions the student will be applying what they learned. I view some specialty classes as a complete waste of time ... but that's as applied to me. I view others as extremely valuable ... but again that's as applied to me.
Someone who claims that they learned everything they needed to know about diving in one or two classes is either living in the past, or is someone who learns best by experimenting, or is simply someone who likes to take chances. Certainly you can learn a lot of things by diving. You can also get yourself into a great deal of trouble through ignorance. And even if you don't get yourself in trouble, learning on your own ... or even through a mentor, unless you get lucky and choose one who's very good at mentoring ... can take a great deal more time and effort than taking a class from someone who can show you specific techniques, and explain to you why those techniques work better than alternatives.
I dive a lot ... and I've learned a lot just by going diving. But the downside is I picked up a lot of bad habits along the way ... and after a time those bad habits inhibited my ability to progress, and I had to unlearn them. Unlearning bad habits takes a lot more effort than learning how to do something correctly in the first place ... I still find myself falling back on some of that old, bad "muscle memory" from time to time. And so I try to teach my students how to avoid those pitfalls. Perhaps that's the best argument for specialty classes ... you get to focus on a specific set of skills and learn them correctly the first time.
The cards, for the most part, are irrelevent ... most of mine got tossed in a drawer and never looked at again. Take a specialty class because it offers some aspect of learning skills that you need in order to increase your knowledge and ability. Find an instructor who offers real value, and knows how to challenge you to take your diving skills to a higher level. If you ever come out of a class feeling like you didn't learn anything, you chose the wrong instructor and should shop around before taking the next class.
And don't worry about what other people did, or what other people might think ... they're not you. Assess your own goals. If a specialty class helps you achieve them, take it. If you think you'd be just as well off getting out on a dive and learning by doing, then do that. What someone else thinks about it is irrelevent ... and usually just boils down to them wanting to rationalize their own choices by influencing yours.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
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