Are there benefits to being certified by multiple agencies?

[schoolba]

If say, I am certified through NAUI, is there any benefit to also being certified through another agency?

My interest in this is being able to rent gear when traveling around the world. Is there some reason to want to be certified through multiple agencies?

Thanks.

 

[RonFrank]

PADI is the largest agency in the world. I hear the Europe has some strange agency requirements, so not sure about certification to dive there.

In general, there is NO advantage to having multiple certifications from different agencies. You would be better served to continue training, and have more advanced certifications. I suggest the EVERYONE take rescue once they are comfortable with skills.

The only folks that benefit from having multiple certification agencies are instructors. I do know a few people that have instructor level certifications from multiple agencies. This allows them to teach with different shops, and may provide a broader knowledge base even if the certs are more similar than different.

 

[annlaur]

It all depends on where you travel and which shop you dive with.

I know in France that clubs not affiliated with Padi won't let you dive without an instructor (actually, a level 4 FFESSM) unless you show them a FFESSM or CMAS level 2 card.
Being French, it's useful for me to be both PADI and FFESSM trained and certified.

Now if you're American and were to come to France to do a few shallow (less than 66 ft) dives, it would be pointless to seek a CMAS certification just for that. You could either choose a PADI shop or get a CMAS level 1 equivalent card in just one dive that would then allow you to go to 66 ft with an "instructor".

So basically, it all boils down to where you plan to do your diving.

 

[Walter]

If say, I am certified through NAUI, is there any benefit to also being certified through another agency?

No .

 

[Doppler]

PADI is the largest agency in the world... <Other good stuff snipped>

PADI is the largest SPORT diving certification agency in the world... That's all.

 

[Walter]

PADI is the largest SPORT diving certification agency in the world... That's all.

True, irrelevant, but true.

 

[Air One]

I hear the Europe has some strange agency requirements

Yes.
Strangers use to be strange...
Weird...

 

[pacchill]

The only issue I have seen is that with my EAN cert, a certain dive shop will not take a certain large certification agency's card for fills. However, I don't need to show that card anymore, because I have one from a different agency. I do believe that is unfair, they look at that agency as being sub-par with training. Even-though the curriculum is the SAME between both agencies, and when I took the "class" with their "poorer training company" my instructor covered mixed gasses with far more depth than the instructor with the "better" agency.

That is the only time I have seen a DS turn down a card. As others have said, PADI is in fact huge. A buddy of mine has his GUE card turned away for and "advanced" dive in Thailand. We all had to sign wavers for a dive that was less than 60 feet since we only had OW cards on us. I believe this was mostly because the DM was an intern, and was concerned with legal issues if we got hurt. Once the first dive was over, he felt quite confident we could handle any dive he could find.

With all this being said, I would bet most shops anywhere in the world will take your NAUI card. I would recommend getting an AOW too though. DM's tend to think of you as a much better diver with it so you get better dives with less coddling.