Advanced Certifications....Suggestions??

[wardric]

Personnally, i'd go this way.

After OW, i'd say dive a bit to get comfortable with your equipement and buoyancy control. Number of dives depends of yourself and how you progress.

Then, take AOW. You will better learn the new theory and skills if you are comfortable with the basic ones.

After your AOW, you can pretty much do your rescue anytime since it doesn't require diving skills as much. I strongly recommend the rescue course.

Other specialties will be according to where and how you intend to dive. (It's not relevant to do the Ice dive specialty if you will only dive in tropical water )

 

[agilis]

I would recommend getting advanced certifications only from organizations that utilize standardized testing to evalute competency in the relevant area, in a manner as decommercialized as possible. Testing out of training should always be an option, meaning that individuals demonstrating competency should receive certification, paying only for the cost of the testing protocol. Avoid any certification agency which fails to offer this kind of service.

 

[danclem]

Another two cents worth. I second what ROBINT mentioned, but I would add peak performance buoyancy after 15-20 dives, and prior to Rescue.

When you get your weighting and buoyancy "nailed" your air management will greatly improve, underwater photography gets much better, and reefs & wildlife will survive a good deal longer.

You can get Deep, Nitrox, and Night as part of your AOW.

Have Fun!

Dan

 

[Buoyant1]

I did OW, Nitrox, AOW, and Wreck so far...I'm thinking Deep and Rescue on the list next, if I can get either or both in this summer.

I think all of those courses can help the average diver..but more diving is the best thing to do in between classes!

 

[human1]

AOW is not bad, only because most believe/perceive that you are more experienced because of it (even though it could only be 9 dives). The main thing that you can do is log more dive time. There are tons of people out there that have lots of certs but no real dive experience. So, log some dive time and have some fun... I would do nitrox before Bonaire just for the fact that places like Buddy Dive gives free Nitrox for those with certs.

 

[ClayJar]

As many have said, Rescue is a great course to have taken. Just getting out and diving is also quite useful, but diving does not automatically make you a skilled diver. I'm sure we could spend a week telling stories about how we thought we had everything together until we took some class, at which point we found out that with all that experience, we were diving with terrible trim.

I'll also add that the NAUI Master Scuba Diver course is something to think about if you want an academic class from which to learn quite a bit about diving. Other "master diver" programs seem to usually require 50 dives and five specialties, but the NAUI course is an actual course. The intention of the NAUI MSD course is that to pass it you must have the academic knowledge of diving that would be required of an instructor (not just specialized knowledge in a few areas, but broad-based knowledge as well).

If you want to hone your diving skills, something like GUE Fundies may be right up your alley, or you could work on skills with knowledgeable and skilled mentors. If you'd like to build a strong academic foundation from which to continue to learn more about that side of diving, on the other hand, the NAUI MSD course can be invaluable.

 

[ehuber]

I'm an advocate of early education. Take courses all the way up through Rescue at whatever pace you feel comfortable. Once you "ding" Rescue, get a great amount of experience diving before you progress any further and certainly before you consider tech or DM.

Please consider, however, that certifications mean very little with regard to buoyancy control, comfort in the water, multi-tasking, and problem-solving. Those are done in the water over time.

 

[pir8]

Considering I'm an Instructor, of course I'm going to tell you to continue and take classes. But don't forget that any of these certifications are only a lisence to learn. None of them are designed to make you an instant expert but instead are going to accelerate your learning curve and hopefully give you enough pointers to keep you safe. I can't say it enough
"You Learn To Dive By Diving"

 

[BarryNL]

If I was developing a plan I'd say something like:

- Open Water
- at 10 dives, Advanced OW + Nitrox
- at 50 dives, Rescue
- at 100 dives, GUE Fundamentals
- at 200 dives, Divemaster, Tec, Cave, whatever.

Any time after AOW you could also take any specialities which particularly interested you.

 

[TSandM]

I think everybody ought to take Rescue. The PADI Rescue class I took was an excellent class, and I've even gone back and played "victim" for later classes, just to get the review of skills.

The other class that's been recommended to you, GUE's Fundamentals class, is a superb class, but it does have some rather hefty prerequisites in the way of equipment. To get a good deal of the same information without as many gear problems, you could consider taking a cavern class, something which would be pretty easy for you to do as you live in Florida. Even if you don't ever want to dive in overhead environments, the buoyancy control and non-silting propulsion techniques you get from cavern, as well as the practice in emergency procedures, is great diving education. You're lucky enough to live where a weekend to do a cavern class is quite doable.