AOW immediately after OW?

[iztok]

I agree with you Pitchblack!

I completed my OW end of June. Then I did more diving and more classes and more diving and just today I've completed Rescue Diver class and Oxygen Provider class. This concluded all my requirements for MSD and I did it in 3 months.

I think I am done for the course part with exception I need to complete PPB as specialty (need second dive).

As for the Rescue class I've just finished... it was well worth it! I had a blast, yet I am tired as hell! My mind is still racing 100 miles an hour while my body that was already weak from the sinus infection is screaming that it needs a break...

For all of you who completed OW... truly and honestly, do yourself a favor and if nothing else, complete what you need and enroll in a Rescue class and complete it. Your time and effort will be well worth it!

And this is coming from someone who just 3 months ago was digging his knees into the pool bottom and fighting to descent, fighting to stay off bottom, fighting to try to do any buoyancy control beyond bottom and surface...

 

[dhuskins]

If you had simply asked the question "Should I take AOW immediately after OW?", then my response would have been one way. What you posted makes me want to go off on a tangent.

My response would have been: AOW is less "learning" and more "practicing diving that pushes the OW skills under the watchful eye of an instructor." The extra experience provided by the AOW classes is a great way to transition between OW and diving on your own.

Having said that, I don't think a dive operation should "insist" you do anything.

 

[robway034]

Got to agree with dhuskins on the "insisting" part of what classes you take especially those that might put any new diver (unsupervised) into "deeper water" so to speak. I have always been a little leery of the OW-2-AOW in a day. Even if a diver is confident, it can lead to some less than desirable outcomes. Even for people with a1000 dives or more. No matter what you C card says you have to exercise prudence in choosing our dives and limits.

 

[JPAPPAS]

The shop where I did my certification insists that it is important that I do my AOW immediately now that I got my OW. I'm of the opinion that I want to get some dives under my belt first. Their argument is that the OW is a very limited skillset and getting an AOW will increase my comfort level. My opinion is that comfort level comes through actual experience and time in the water so I should concentrate on that first.

Who do you think is right?

i agree with the dive shop - and thats exactly what i did - the new skills learned were very helpful to my overall diving experience and skill level - my 5 specialties were Peak performance, navigation, search and recovery , deep dive and night dive. Yes i dont have the diving experience that one would tag with the AOW diver, however i have been taught the skills needed to do dives that may be encountered on in the near future ( and have ) i dont believe that its all about the dive shops looking for business - because mine actually told me things not to purchase and which type of equipment would suit me for my future needs.

john

 

[dry heat diver]

We have been diving for about 3 1/2 years. We took the AOW right away with a total of about 15 previous dives including the OW. In retrospect, although we found the additional training to be very helpful, I think we would have received a greater benefit by waiting until we had about 25 or so dives before taking the AOW. For sure I would recommend that you take the AOW when you are not on a trip to some really cool place. We did ours on our first trip to Roatan with our LDS and, while we had a great time, we were so absorbed with the training that we missed a great deal of the things we hoped to experience. We returned to Roatan last February with about 65 dives and had a bunch of awesome dives and saw 20 times as much as we did the first time around. In the end it is whatever you feel most comfortable with and don't let yourself be pushed beyond your comfort and skill level by others around you. Do keep moving forward with the training. You can't get too much of it.

 

[austriandiveress]

I personally feel its better to wait til you have more dives under your belt. AOW is often very misleading, both to dive ops who insist on divers having this certification level to dive a particular site, as well as to other divers and even ourselves. The "A" is supposed to stand for "advanced", and, while this word is of course very subjective, to me it means having more than just a few dives...

 

[Kingpatzer]

The "A" is supposed to stand for "advanced", and, while this word is of course very subjective, to me it means having more than just a few dives...

That's sort of true, but not really reflective of the course. The certification name has not changed, nor has the card. However, the instructor's manual doesn't call it "Advanced" anywhere that I can find except for the box on certifications, where it is clear that the distinction between "Adventure Diver" and "Advanced Open Water" diver is limited to the age of the person receiving the certification.

"Adventures in Diving" appears about a thousand times however. The student book is titled "Adventures in Diving."

PADI's instructor manual and materials assume that the AOW student is merely STARTING to think about specialties and it is structured as the first course for continuing education in diving. PADI's philosophy is that education in diving should continue for the life of the diver. The course is structured for the inexperienced diver. This is reflected in everything from the course materials to the maximum student-instructor ratios.

 

[Texasdivechick]

I want to retake my AOW with you, Jim.

 

[exposure]

I am not well placed to give you some advices because I am still a beginner in diving. But here is my story about OW, AOW and so on. For a very long time I wanted to try scuba diving but, for a lot of stupid reasons I didn't (too impressive on first sight, not enough time...). Finally, with more than one week of holiday in Philippines, I decided to start a scuba discover then to continue with OW. So after some exercices and 4 dives I was able to understand (even to explain and practice) the main skills needed for that level but I didn't really felt comfortable to dive, specially with another instructor. So, to feel more comfortable, my choice was to loose my knowledge (maybe I was wrong), to ask him for some dives or to continue improving my knowledge with the AOW. My choice was for the AOW with Navigation, deep, wreck, night and photography. After 9 dives I was certified AOW with a very interesting night dive

I don't live near the sea, so for me it is difficult to dive very often. After 6 months without diving, I went to Thailand in order to continue my diving and why not my knowledge. I asked a dive shop to have to continue with the Rescue level. Normally, it is after 20 dives. The instructor said that it is largely possible for me to go to Rescue level. So after 13 dives, I passed the Rescue with some really nice moments. I continue to dive there for 3 more dives with a very nice divemaster and specially to discuss around boyauncy, etc...

6 months later again, I went to Philippines and in 2 weeks I have 26 dives and I practice some knowledge of the rescue courses (it is another story). Now I think about the divemaster level because I think improving his knowledge is part of scuba diving (or maybe, it is just because of me).

As a conclusion, I am really happy by that rythm even if some people think that it is better to wait a litle bit between AOW and Rescue. I don't feel comfortable at all time but I can improve it by fun dive and discussion with the other divers. But, if I have to wait a long time without diving, I will always ask to have a fun dive with an instructor.

Yvan

 

[leapfrog]

[...I am still a beginner in diving. But here is my story about OW, AOW and so on. ...So, to feel more comfortable, my choice was to loose my knowledge (maybe I was wrong), to ask him for some dives or to continue improving my knowledge with the AOW. My choice was for the AOW with Navigation, deep, wreck, night and photography. After 9 dives I was certified AOW with a very interesting night dive .... After 6 months without diving, I went to Thailand in order to continue my diving and why not my knowledge. I asked a dive shop to have to continue with the Rescue level. .... Now I think about the divemaster level because I think improving his knowledge is part of scuba diving (or maybe, it is just because of me).... But, if I have to wait a long time without diving, I will always ask to have a fun dive with an instructor.

Yvan, my take on OW, AOW, Rescue are that they are three parts of a modular OW syllabus. In other words we could call them OW1, OW2 AND OW3. IMHO, a recreational scuba diver starts to have a full skill set on completion and mastery of the Rescue Diver course. What I mean by that is that once you have done Rescue you should be totally capable and safe, diving with a buddy where ever it is you're diving and without any supervision from a DM, Dive Guide or Instructor.

You remember "Discover Local Diving" from your OW course? That's the way to approach diving when you go somewhere new and you have a buddy. From then on, you should be able, as a buddy team, to plan your dives and dive your plan.

Of course many divers don't have buddies that go diving with them the whole time and end up with an "instabuddy" at a Dive Resort which leads to you doing guided dives with an instructor/DM.

In New York they say, "If you want a friend, get a dog". In diving, you want a buddy or buddies. Look for a local diving club, use SB and other social media to locate a buddy. Diving with a buddy who has a similar experience level as you will do wonders for your diving. Hanging behind an instructor every time you go diving turns you into another "Resort Diver" whatever your level of diving.

On becoming a DM, if I were you I would spend the money on travel and equipment before doing a DM course. See the world and dive it! If you are serious about DMing, then do a proper internship and not a "quickie" with an instructor. It's the daily interaction with real divers and students, day in, day out, that gives you a higher understanding.

If you are intellectually stimulated by learning more about diving you can buy the "Encyclopedia of Recreational Diving"(my favorite book ) and the workbook to learn and check your knowledge development.