PADI specialties: how to choose

[Sbiriguda]

These are PADI specialties

• Adaptive Support Diver
• Adaptive Techniques
• Advanced Rebreather Diver
• Altitude Diver
• AWARE Shark Conservation Diver
• Boat Diver
• Cavern Diver
• Coral Reef Conservation
• Deep Diver
• Delayed Surface Marker Buoy (DSMB) Diver
• Digital Underwater Photographer
• Dive Against Debris
• Diver Propulsion Vehicle
• Drift Diver
• Dry Suit Diver
• Emergency Oxygen Provider
• Enriched Air Diver
• Equipment Specialist
• Fish Identification
• Full Face Mask Diver
• Ice Diver
• Multilevel Diver
• Night Diver
• Peak Performance Buoyancy
• Project AWARE Specialist
• Public Safety Diver
• Search and Recovery Diver
• Self-Reliant Diver
• Sidemount Diver
• Underwater Naturalist
• Underwater Navigator
• Underwater Videographer
• Wreck Diver
• Distinctive Specialties

Specialty Diver Course | PADI

I am struggling to narrow the number of courses I have to take myself...
I already got Nitrox, Deep and will finish soon the Drysuit

I am planning to take the Search and Discovery and I would like to choose at least another one. Right now I am undecided between Peak Buoyancy and Night Dive

 

[Marie13]

If you don't need the bouyancy course, don't do it. I enjoyed my SDI wreck speciality as I'm wreck crazy. It included penetration within the light zone and running lines.

 

[Raphus]

Skip Bouyancy course, if you dont have mayor bouyancy issues..

Deep nitrox and drysuit is all i "need".
You can do night diver, if you didnt do any night dives and want to do it with a pro..
Search and recovery might be good. Didnt took it myself, but heared good stuff about it.

Then just do what makes you happy. I think there is no specialty left, that teaches you necessary skills.

Personally i would like to take fish ID, if there would be more then 5 fish species in the lake i dive

 

[JBFG]

Deep, wreck, nitrox, sidemount, and of course ICE diver.

 

[jale]

you have already Nx and deep and that all you need for rec.
You can.learn everything else informaly whitout the useless plastic cards.
Dive dive and dive

 

[Sifossifoco]

I wouldn't suggest peak buoyancy, unless you have problems with that. Altitude diver, if you are planning to dive lakes in the Alps. And ice diving, of course

 

[MightyDuck]

This is a quite good video which covers the topic:

 

[Bob DBF]

Navagation, Search & Recovery you mentioned, and Ice diver someone mentioned. Altitude you can learn from the section in PADI AOW. If you needed buoyancy training, you would have heard about it in your deep class, nothing more dangerous than bad buoyancy on a deep dive.

If you haven't taken it yet, Rescue.

 

[Manatee Diver]

Outside of nitrox take the courses as needed.

 

[TMHeimer]

Underwater Navigator is one that stands out. I really don't use all the stuff I learned there, but that's because my diving is to the same benign shallow shore sites. For varied diving, I think will be a valuable course. The rest are dependent on what type of diving you'll be doing. Take Night if you'll dive then. Wreck if you want to penetrate (but you really need more than the intro. Wreck course, even if there is limited penetration as we did in mine). ICE if you like that sort of thing.
Agree about Rescue, as will most on the Board (though it is not considered a "specialty"). Everyone should take that.
What do you mean by the courses you "have to take"? Are you working toward a goal?