Do certs matter to you?

[scubajoe]

All you really need is a Visa or Master Card!

Joe

 

[Ron Brandt]

They shoud to a certain degree if you want to advance.... become a DM or instructor.

SIGNING certs matters to me right now as I would like to have my MI rating.
No students,no students advancing all have bearing on as to how long it will take me to reach that level.

In all honesty,if you just want to travel and dive, regardless of what rating you have is an Advanced and possibly a Nitrox. Also a log book to back up your experience.

Ron

 

[Genesis]

Why would I ever want to teach, given that this would mean I'm signing onto the agencies that currently exist? (That is, unless I was to form a new one!)

 

[DFC5343]

Certs mean you paid money for a card, a patch and a whisper to come back with more. Its all about what the diver can do in the water. We all are on one planet when we say that the system of certification is worthless. The agencies need to hear it. They are like a union...take your dues and spend it for you on them. Funny but true. I will keep my cash and buy beer.

 

[fins wake]

What do you think about someone that does not have a open water cert? (commercial or military divers?)

Just for the record, conscripted Swedish Navy EOD Divers at least until very recently used to obtain sports and primary commercial diving certificates for free as a perk when their tour of duty ended. The two sports certificates issued were the CMAS*** and PADI DM.

Of course, this was mainly for fun and as a perk for civvy street. The Navy requirements are - as in any country - far tougher than any sports diving course in existance.

 

[DFC5343]

We too get a rec card and a commercial card for our experience. Again it all means nothing. Its what you prove your level to be. You could be choking hose for two years or doing water jumps right away. You have to prove yourself.

 

[Uncle Pug]

I think most of us are in agreement... the cards/certs aren't as important as what the diver knows and is skilled at doing.

DFCF5343 ~ You can't buy a GUE card... and the one you do manage to earn has an expiration date.

 

[GQMedic]

*shakes head*

The level of respect (lack of) shown for certification and continuing education in this thread by some of our more experienced members disgusts me.

 

[diverbrian]

*shakes head*

The level of respect (lack of) shown for certification and continuing education in this thread by some of our more experienced members disgusts me.

I have earned all the cards that I have (which is a fair number for someone that certified in July of 2002 and just became obsessed with the sport), but they MEAN nothing until the people that got the same cards out of a crackerjack box no longer carry them.

I will still judge other divers abilities by the way that they DIVE and not by the amount of plastic in their wallet. All smart divers will judge my diving the same way.

There are too may bad divers out there with instructors certs and too many excellent divers that never certified for me to judge a diver any other way.

 

[diverbrian]

I basically said this on the other thread but...if you want to take it here...alright

What does a GUE Tech 1 certification say about the diver holding it?

For all I know, the diver holding it is an arrogant person who has perfect buoyancy and no desire to help out anyone that didn't aspire to his/her level of training. Or it could be somebody interesting in diving and nicely demonstrating his system. One of these could/would dive with me, and the other wouldn't.

As our Navy diver said, (and they run tougher training that any recreational agency) just because you can behave and perform during the relatively brief time covered in a class/course doesn't automatically make you good. If the Navy divers have to continually prove themselves, so do the rest of us.

I will say that most of the advanced technical certs force you to perform in that most of the instructors have to interview the students. The students have to earn the privilege of taking that instructors course so that the instructor doesn't waste all of his/her time. Then they earn the certification (the student could still fail). This is not exclusive to GUE (the expiring non-professional C-Cards are, I believe). This is because it is so easy to screw up in technical diving if one's attitude is horrible. And a screw-up in that realm of diving is often not a pretty picture.