AOW Certification question

[mahoneme]

This may be a stupid question, but I'm not really sure how this works. My OW certification is from PADI and am thinking about getting my AOW. I have heard that the NAUI AOW is better than PADI's. Can I get my AOW from NAUI even though my OW is from PADI?

Thanks!

Maria

 

[Spectre]

Yes

 

[Far_X]

Yes, of course. They all want each other's business...

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

As others have said ... you can take any certification from any agency without cross-over requirements up until you reach the professional (divemaster) rank.

A bit of advice ... at your level, focus more on finding a diligent instructor, rather than what agency he or she teaches for. AOW curriculum can vary wildly, depending on the instructor teaching it ... those who teach to the minimum standards (in any agency) won't really teach you a lot, so much as simply take you on a few guided dives. Those who are interested in really teaching will focus on new skills and knowledge ... then take you diving.

Interview the instructor before signing up for the class ... find out what the class involves. If it's just diving, with little or no class work, don't waste your time ... regardless of the agency.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
NAUI Instructor 41751

 

[Lightning Fish]

Bob:

I took PADI's AOW. There was no class time, just read the book and do the knowledge reviews. The knowledge reviews were then reviewed and handed in before the dives. If we had any questions our instructor would answer them. There were times he would take 20 minutes to answer a question and would end up answering your next 5 questions at the same time. My question to you is, what do you teach in the classroom? If I've missed something in my education then it might make for some good reading.

Cheers,
Bill.

 

[Walter]

Send MB a PM. He's an excellent NAUI instructor who happens to be in your general area.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Bob:

My question to you is, what do you teach in the classroom? If I've missed something in my education then it might make for some good reading.

Cheers,
Bill.

I teach from a workbook that I wrote. It includes topics in dive planning, gas management, buoyancy control, buddy skills, navigation techniques, limited visibility diving, and search & recovery techniques. I have two class sessions ... each about 3 hours long. The presentation is informal and workshop-style ... in other words, the students don't just listen, they participate in actual dive scenarios. By the time we get to the dives, you'll have knowledge to plan your dive profile, figure out how much gas you'll need for the dive, how to communicate and keep track of your dive buddy, how to work together to manage certain situations, how to control your buoyancy enough to maintain a specified depth for several minutes (regardless of the fact that you won't be able to see the bottom), and how to navigate your way back to where you started.

There are a few folks who post here who've taken my AOW class ... perhaps one of them might read this and comment on how much they got out of it.

BTW - I'm not unique in this approach ... I learned most of it from instructors I worked with when I was a DM.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[scubatoys]

This may be a stupid question, but I'm not really sure how this works. My OW certification is from PADI and am thinking about getting my AOW. I have heard that the NAUI AOW is better than PADI's. Can I get my AOW from NAUI even though my OW is from PADI?

Thanks!

Maria

Yes... we just have to talk slower.