I didn’t really learn much from my AOW “instruction”. The guy gave me a book told me to read it and said there were no tests. I remember doing some BS navigation refresher, fish ID a narc test and out of six dives doing three deep ones. Had an awesome time though, saw sharks and dolphins. Just don’t remember learning much.
Advanced
- Thread starter Jody Freitas
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
Erich S
Contributor
Rescue ended up being one of my AOW dives when I had to rescue my instructor who was having a heart attack during the dive.
I can say that my AOW was a hands on course!
I can say that my AOW was a hands on course!
Doctor Rig
Contributor
Lots of good comments!
All AOW classes are not the same because the instructor makes the class, as you’ve already heard. I got my AOW in March. It setting up my class, I struggled in deciding which specialities to take, in an effort to get the greatest usable value from the coarse.
Ultimately, I was disappointed with what I got out of my AOW class. On the positive side, yes I got a card and was exposed to a number of specIalities, which had “learning value“. That learning value could also been obtained by Diving, Diving, Diving, as you’ve heard before.
If one is having a hard time getting in quality dives with experienced divers for those learning experiences, then the AOW class is a good way to go. The AOW class likely gets one those learning experiences more quickly, but at an additional cost.
Suggestion: Find a good instructor in an environment that exposes you to new dive experiences and ignore the need for a specific certification agency.
Option: if you have a specific diving learning objective, a dive class may not be the best. Instead pick the brain of a knowledgeable instructor and do a dive or dives with him/her to met your objectives..... no cards earned, but you’ve likely met your objective for less money.
All AOW classes are not the same because the instructor makes the class, as you’ve already heard. I got my AOW in March. It setting up my class, I struggled in deciding which specialities to take, in an effort to get the greatest usable value from the coarse.
Ultimately, I was disappointed with what I got out of my AOW class. On the positive side, yes I got a card and was exposed to a number of specIalities, which had “learning value“. That learning value could also been obtained by Diving, Diving, Diving, as you’ve heard before.
If one is having a hard time getting in quality dives with experienced divers for those learning experiences, then the AOW class is a good way to go. The AOW class likely gets one those learning experiences more quickly, but at an additional cost.
Suggestion: Find a good instructor in an environment that exposes you to new dive experiences and ignore the need for a specific certification agency.
Option: if you have a specific diving learning objective, a dive class may not be the best. Instead pick the brain of a knowledgeable instructor and do a dive or dives with him/her to met your objectives..... no cards earned, but you’ve likely met your objective for less money.
Diving with more experienced friends, who enjoy serving as your mentors and paying forward the debt they owe their mentors, is great. But please don't be one of those people who tries to get professionals to work for free.
OP
Jody Freitas
Registered
Why would you think that I would do that?
I wouldn't. But this comment:
...reminded me of people who would. Not that I think that's what Dr. Rig was proposing, but I've seen others here propose exactly that, and I didn't want anyone who might interpret his comment as encouragement to pressure an instructor for a freebie to escape my look of disapproval.
Doctor Rig
Contributor
The missed point of my comment was hiring an good instructor and usIng that dive time to meet ones learning objectives is another option which can be and is likely cheaper.
Barnaby'sDad
Contributor
I didn’t assume that’s what the poster meant either, but as you were getting at...I’ve seen that play out firsthand on a number of occasions. There’s a fine line between receiving assistance from a buddy and expecting something for nothing.
Doctor Rig
Contributor
Check out this related Divers Ready video, especially at 4:00!
I've seen that video before, really good.
Similar threads
