Master Diver - worth getting?

[Bert van den Berg]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask so feel free to move it.

Just finishing my 5th PADI specialty and will soon qualify to apply for the Master Diver cert. Have any of you done so? Is it worthwhile? Any advantages to doing so?

Regards,

Bert

 

[Centrals]

I got mine back in late 90s and it was FREE then.
Why not if it is FREE otherwise save your dosh for something useful.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I have qualified for it with PADI, but I didn't pay the fee for it, so I don't have it. Some shops will pay the fee if you get a package training deal. It doesn't give you anything however. I did qualify for it with SSI. It was free and they sent me a t-shirt.

 

[BoltSnap]

With NAUI, you would have had to earn it and worked very hard for it!

 

[boulderjohn]

I don't qualify for it, so I can't answer meaningfully.

 

[NYCNaiad]

I'm on my way to doing it. Got my 5 specialties. Just need to do Rescue which somehow keeps on getting moved due to a lot of random circumstances.

I think Rescue makes you a better diver. I also think that some of the specialties can also help with that too (e.g., my Drift Diver in Cozumel years ago definitely helped me understand diving in currents & using an SMB neither of which I had done before).

But experience can make a big difference too. You seem to have a helluva lot of dives under your belt, but why not get your Master? It's a fun & nice card to have, I think. A little bragging never hurts.

 

[mockney]

if you have completed your 5 specialties and minimum dives then you may as well collect your MSD rating if for nothing more than a sense of achievement and its of course its nice to hand the card over the counter to any new dive shops. I think even though some alternative agencies make it more challenging to achieve your still going to be a in low percentage of people that have achieved the rating so why not go for it.

But it's a certification for show only, in terms of actual usefulness it doesn't have any.

 

[scoobydrew]

if you feel like you want to have it then it is worth having

 

[Joneill]

if you have completed your 5 specialties and minimum dives then you may as well collect your MSD rating if for nothing more than a sense of achievement and its of course its nice to hand the card over the counter to any new dive shops. I think even though some alternative agencies make more challenging to achieve your still going to be a in low percentage of people that have achieved the rating so why not go for it.

But it's a certification for show only, in terms of actual usefulness it doesn't have any.

Agree: I have only been diving since 2015 and have 50 logged dives at present. All I need is 1 more Specialty and the Rescue Diver cert and I qualify for the Master Scuba Diver rating... with a little more than 2 years of experience and a little over 50 dives!

Really??? I still have a lot to learn and would need many more dives under my belt to consider myself even remotely a "master".

To me, it's more a PADI money grab - but if having the card and the title is important to you, then go for it!

 

[Got2Go]

No.