Master Scuba Diver...WooHoooo

[Lee Taylor]

Welcome to the fraternity.

The card will mean more as time passes.

When you travel and present the card to dive shop owners and dive boat operators of which are total strangers, it carries some weight. It helps them to guage "who you are" and what they have on their boat.

 

[tkdgodess]

Congratulations. I have my msdt rating, and yes I already had all the parts of the puzzle, just not the card it was worth it to me to get it. It keeps me active, learning and growing. I'm enrolled in a class at student level right now. If I have a msd on a boat/shore dive with a group it's one more person who generally takes diving and safety seriously. IME anyways.

 

[scubadada]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the knowledge gained in the Ice Diver, Night Diver, Deep Diver, Enriched Air, Wreck Diver, and Rescue courses? What was the point in buying the Master Diver card? You already had the knowledge.

PADI MSD:

--Is it a course-no. Can you get it with ANY 5 specialties-yes (IMO that should change).
--Is it at times considered a joke on SB--yes.
--Is it a PADI marketing ploy--of course.
--Does it mean the same thing as the heralded NAUI MSD with it's written and skill tests similar to PADI DM (minus the teaching aspect)-no.
--Is it similar to a college degree-No-I don't think of it in any way similar to my M.Music, but,
the wall cert. is nice to look at.
--"Why pay for the card when you already have the knowledge'? --Asked frequently. Another way of asking why one would be vain. Most people have a little vanity--another way of saying most people like to be recognized for accomplishments, or we'd all do everything annonymously.
Think that about covers it.

Same few negative comments in an overwhelmingly postitive thread. MSD seems to have faired better than Spare Air and split fins. I made MSD in 2005 and now have nearly 500 dives and reasonable skills. Agency jealously seems misplaced, become a skillful diver and enjoy.

Good diving, Craig

 

[Thalassamania]

Welcome to the fraternity.

The card will mean more as time passes.

When you travel and present the card to dive shop owners and dive boat operators of which are total strangers, it carries some weight. It helps them to guage "who you are" and what they have on their boat.

I suspect that, on average, shops would judge you better and boats would judge you worse.

PADI MSD:
--Is it a course-no. Can you get it with ANY 5 specialties-yes (IMO that should change).

That just makes it an even less convincing credential.

--Is it at times considered a joke on SB--yes.

Not just on SB.

--Is it a PADI marketing ploy--of course.

What isn't?

--Does it mean the same thing as the heralded NAUI MSD with it's written and skill tests similar to PADI DM (minus the teaching aspect)-no.

Does it mean the same thing as the heralded NAUI MSD written and skill tests [-]similar to PADI DM[/-] the same as NAUI Instructor, way beyond PADI DM. But you can pretend, PADI does after all.

--Is it similar to a college degree-No-I don't think of it in any way similar to my M.Music, but,
the wall cert. is nice to look at.
--"Why pay for the card when you already have the knowledge'? --Asked frequently. Another way of asking why one would be vain. Most people have a little vanity--another way of saying most people like to be recognized for accomplishments, or we'd all do everything annonymously.
Think that about covers it.

That's all fine until one gets in the water and doesn't, in the eyes of the observer, look like their preconceived notion of a "Master Diver."

Am I down on the PADI Master Diver card? Well ... yes. I thought it was a travesty back when it was the about the same as NAUI, YMCA, or most other Advanced cards, then PADI reduced it even further. But, what the hell ... I'm not paying for it, and the jokes not on me.

 

[D_B]

getting more training is not a joke, it is if the instructor makes it that way

IMO ... most cards are only as good as the instructor that teaches it
... some agency standards are higher than others, and some are lower, but any instructor that only teaches to those minimums is not doing his title , or his students, justice

 

[Thalassamania]

There IS NO TEACHING involved in a PADI Master Diver certification, it is strictly a vanity plate.

 

[D_B]

Your right in that much, but I'm talking about the training in genereal, the training that you need to get before you can apply for that vanity plate

 

[Thalassamania]

So go get the training if that's what you need and what you want.

 

[D_B]

I think that's just what TM did

I have a National Geo cert card, got it just after AOW, I wanted it because I thought it was cool looking card , but my instructor turned what most think as a fluff course into a learning experience and an enjoyable one ... the ones leading up to Master Diver could be as much too and if I had them, I might get the card too

 

[drrich2]

There IS NO TEACHING involved in a PADI Master Diver certification, it is strictly a vanity plate.

But the teaching's in the courses one takes as pre-requisites to quality to apply for it, so there is a lot of diver education taking place before one can have it.

I went to NAUI's web site & took at look at their Master Diver course; looks to me like a big difference is that you don't have to complete a bunch of specialties as pre-requisites, but rather get into the specialty material during the Master Diver course itself. Is that difference really such a big deal?

On the other hand, if NAUI also teaches a lot of academics as part of the course, that could be worthwhile. Say, to buy the text book just to read up & learn, even if not taking the course.

Richard.