A different take on Master Scuba Diver

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I would never have considered PADI MSD as it feels like the only route advocated is to push to be a highly trained amateur diving specialist.

Because the MSD isn't really highly trained, you said so yourself:
The speciality courses on their own haven’t made me an expert, or even competent, in the skills taught.

MSD can have fish ID, boat diver, nitrox, Dive against debris, and underwater photographer from an intructor that teaches to the standards. Or they could have all the hard certs, heck they could be like me who if I wanted to get my MSD I would do it under SDI where all my tech certs count. Are both cases highly trained?

But hey it is your money, but don't expect people to recommend that course of action, when there are other arguably better ways to go.
 
The received wisdom on SB is to do courses such as NAUI MSD and GUE Fundies. If I’d followed the advice I’d read on SB I would never have considered PADI MSD as it feels like the only route advocated is to push to be a highly trained amateur diving specialist. I’d like to advocate an alternative for other newcomers to diving - PADI MSD has been challenging enough to be rewarding, but modular and flexible enough to be relevant and accessible. It has given me a good foundation to enjoy a new hobby, receive some good training, learn new skills - and have a lot of fun. Let’s not lose sight of that!
People recommend Fundies because being really good at the fundamental skills of diving is what separates excellent divers from everyone else. It also makes adding other rec skills a fairly trivial exercise.

Of course taking a Fundies class isn't the only path to getting really good at the fundamental skills. Most good divers in history got there through practice and informal mentoring. But if your goal is to become a better diver through formal coursework then it's a far better option than the mishmash of course that qualify you for MSD.

What if becoming a better diver isn't your primary goal? Say you are happy with your fundamental skills and just want to get some new experiences or broaden your skills through additional courses? Since MSD is a purchased card instead of an actual course, even in this case literally the only reason to pick up the MSD is vanity.

Seriously, no one cares. Actually it's worse than that, when someone is asked about their cert level, a reply of "Master Scuba Diver" is a warning flag to many (most?) experienced divers because this often indicates a diver with more ego then skill. You'll probably get more respect answering "Rescue Diver".
 
MSD can have fish ID, boat diver, nitrox, Dive against debris, and underwater photographer from an intructor that teaches to the standards.
Fish ID can be extremely difficult and rewarding, and often leads to regular fish surveying (species and abundance) for REEF.org and having your survey data including in the global survey database that is now up to over a quarter-million surveys over almost three decades. Although some clearly feel that the only specialties worthwhile are those that improve your personal diving, others prefer to learn about and contribute to the ocean's health and understanding.

Boat Diver used to be a nothing course. It was revised in 2008 and is now potentially very useful to anyone not familiar with boats, such as inveterate quarry and shore divers. If nothing else, it is obvious from the way far too many people dive from dive boats that they need the training that is in the Boat Diver course, so as to keep their gear neatly together and tucked away under the bench and not spread out all over the deck where it is a hazard to other divers.

Nitrox does not require any dives for the specialty, because there are no in-water skills Never the less, it really is an essential specialty these days for most divers, to mitigate the negative aspects of nitrogen in their breathing gas.

Dive Against Debris is an odd-ball. PADI was resistant for many years to this being an easily available specialty aimed at surveys of trash in the ocean, but consumer demand really brought it to the fore. It started in 2014 as a Distinctive Specialty; in 2016 the dive of the course became an allowable Adventure Dive for AOW; in 2018 it became available to freedivers; and in 2021 it became available to 10-year olds. It is another class that does not aim at improving one's personal diving skills but rather at one's contributions to ocean conservation through use of use's diving skills.

Underwater Photography is deemed by many to be a trivial course; the u/w photos many people take -- and how they take them -- suggest they might benefit significantly from a little instruction, and a little help with exposure, focus, lighting, color, composition, subject matter, buoyancy control, and situational awareness. Many find UW photography a compelling reason to dive; it where they get their diving joy. They want to take pictures that someone would like to look at twice, they want to do so without harming the environment or irritating their dive buddy, and they want to contribute to showing as aspect of the ocean that so many have never seen.

Too many divers on SB are focussed only on self-improvement of their own diving skills. Others wish to use their skills for exploration, surveys, pictures, conservation, things outside and in additiona to their own personal skill-improvement.
 
Although some clearly feel that the only specialties worthwhile are those that improve your personal diving

Yes that is the way. Unless there are specfic in water skills to perform anything else can be a pamphlet or a book.
 
Unless there are specfic in water skills to perform anything else can be a pamphlet or a book.
Nah. You are missing the value of critical and targeted feedback. I guess, of course, if you don't/can't accept feedback, that won't help.
 
MSD is essentially a participation trophy you pay for. I’ve known some recreational divers who used is as a diving goal as they wouldn’t be going past MSD (aka no tech diving). That was fine. The ones who open themselves up for ridicule are the “my sh*t don’t stink” crowd who strut their stuff around for having MSD and even have the jacket covered with patches to prove it.

Seeing MSDs with the jacket full of patches strut their stuff around a bunch of tech divers at the local quarry is pretty damned funny.
 
Nah. You are missing the value of critical and targeted feedback. I guess, of course, if you don't/can't accept feedback, that won't help.

And that can be done informally without the need of paying an instructor or agency. Like posting online your photos, or asking if you fish ID is correct.
 
MSD is essentially a participation trophy you pay for. I’ve known some recreational divers who used is as a diving goal as they wouldn’t be going past MSD (aka no tech diving). That was fine. The ones who open themselves up for ridicule are the “my sh*t don’t stink” crowd who strut their stuff around for having MSD and even have the jacket covered with patches to prove it.

Seeing MSDs with the jacket full of patches strut their stuff around a bunch of tech divers at the local quarry is pretty damned funny.
I hear this a lot, but in my experience I have yet to actually spot anyone displaying their PADI MSD patches or who even lists it as a cert when asked what their highest level is. And I know a lot of people who have MSD. None of them strut around like their "sh*t don't stink." In fact, if anyone struts around like that it tends to be the DIR folks. I know, I just opened a huge can of worms there.

I'm not saying that there aren't people out there with their MSD patches on full display, but I think the VAST majority of anti-MSD hate is confined to a corner (sizable as it may be) of scubaboard and pretty much nowhere else.
 
And that can be done informally without the need of paying an instructor or agency. Like posting online your photos, or asking if you fish ID is correct.
By your logic, just about all learning and skill development can be done informally without an instructor. Just use the Internet!
 
And that can be done informally without the need of paying an instructor or agency. Like posting online your photos, or asking if you fish ID is correct.
Why can't this be done with tech skills? A video of yourself in SM, for example?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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