How answer "what is your highest certification level"?

Cards might be a clue, but show up with a double hose kit, and let the real fun begin!

 

I got OW and Nitrox years ago and have never found a reason to get anything "higher" since I have my own boat, compressor, blending equipment, etc... My dive buddies are mostly public safety dive team members and there has yet to be a dive we have done in which I felt I needed more certification cards than I already possess, even with transitioning to sidemount and rebreathers. That being said though, I don't go on commercial dive boats often or to places where they check for certification cards.

 

At least yours in plastic.... my YMCA card is manilla inside a plastic laminated pocket. The certification is a cut out window that the various levels of certification were put on it. The back is another small card filled out by hand....

 

AOW + number of dives tells them what they want to know. (+ Nitrox if diving it.)

 

forgot to add, the picture is stapled to the card stock....

 

I have only shown proof of certification a few times. Once at a SB meetup to dive with manatees, at a SB meetup to dive some holes in FL and some private trips to those same holes. My only offshore charter vessel experience was with a dive shop owner who was a close friend. All of my other dives have been on a recreational boat owned by a friend, my personal recreational boat, a shore dive or on a commercial vessel I crewed , Captained or owned. So maybe 5 or 10 times out of thousands of dives.

 

When asked for my highest cert how I answer depends upon the context. I have cards on three tracks ... rec, tec & pro. Rec I answer solo, if Pro seems warranted I’ll answer Divemaster, if Tec I’ll answer trimix. I have all of those cards along with my Adv Nitrox saved digitally on my phone.

These days my Solo & Adv Nitrox are the only cards I use with any regularity and even that is just a time or two a year.