Putting Another Dollar In - taking more classes

[fjpatrum]

As someone who generally recognizes the value of education and who is clearly in the minority opinion here, I would say don't bother with most of those classes. Take the rescue class and dive the things you want to dive. The rest will come with time. Take that back, take the rescue class and the nitrox course if you want to breath voodoo gasses and of course wreck penetration/cave courses if you're into those things but all the different specialties are unnecessary. As long as you're doing NDL diving, you already know the major points of what you need to know. Experience, especially with mentors, will fill in the rest and give you a much better/broader diving resume than taking a bunch of classes will.

Yes there is value in the classes, if taught by a motivated instructor, but most of the information can be (and likely already has been from what I know of your posting habits) gained here on scubaboard. You likely already know the symptoms of narcosis and other pitfalls associated with deep diving. Diving 60 feet in a cold low-viz quarry, I would argue will help you with deeper clear-water dives, though, since it will increase your comfort level overall thus giving you a better SAC and more bottom time, etc etc.

I guess my point is it ends when you decide you'd rather dive than take classes. Education doesn't have to stop just because formal instruction stops.

 

[Searcaigh]

Hi Karen,

I have only done courses that interested me after doing OW, AOW and Rescue.

They did not include deep diving, night diving, navigation or boat diving I really don't see the point.

I usually do not do deep dives but when I do they are planned with the right amount of gas to do a non deco dive.

I have done several hundred night dives without killing myself

I have never been seriously lost underwater yet

What is so difficult about diving from a boat? Giant stride or backward roll!

Nitrox should be your next course then go on to do Rescue

 

[mselenaous]

It's an addiction that never ends....
(my friend Phillipe's cards)

 

[fjpatrum]

It's an addiction that never ends....
(my friend Phillipe's cards)

Holy cow! for the cost of the cards alone (at $20-$30 each) he could have done a couple of dive trips! I count about 40 cards there!

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

When does it end

There's an end ???

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[cocoajoe]

Night dive not one of your AOW dives? Really cool stuff on the reefs at nights and you can see the true colors.

If you travel, some dive ops want to see AOW cert on deeper dives, just sayin'.

Yes, get nitrox....help you on repetitive dives and bottom time

 

[redacted]

Well, if all goes according to plan I'll finish up my AOW on Monday. Later next week I'm heading to Florida to just dive (no classes, just fishes). All the dives I'm scheduled to do are shallow reef dives. I doubt I'll ever get below 40 feet at the sites we're going to.

I'd really like to dive some of the deeper wrecks there when I go back in October. However I don't really want to spend the money for the Deep Diver specialty here in Texas. I have no desire to submerge myself into 61 feet of 50 degree water to look at floating particles for 5 minutes, do a couple skills, and then come back up because I don't think that will help me much with the 100 fsw dives that I want to do in FL. Also, I don't think the conditions would be even close to the same so I think getting the deep diver specialty in Texas still wouldn't really qualify me to dive the Spiegel Grove.

Sooo, I just ordered the Deep Diver manual and will hopefully be able to do the three remaining deep dives in warm clear water in October and see the Spiegel Grove with an instructor by my side.

Then of course I want to take the Nitrox class (or should I do that one before deep?)

And then there's Rescue which really is a must.

Oh, and I can't forget Underwater Navigation so I don't get lost.

Oooh, and night diving so I can learn how to operate a flashlight under water.

Wait, I almost forgot drift diving so I don't die when I go Cozumel.

Of course I should also take the boat diver course since the dives in Florida will all be from a boat.

When does it end

The card collection ends whenever you are ready to stop collecting them. Learning should never end but how much you learn will depend on how much learning opportunities you want to expose yourself to and how much you want to expand your horizons.

I don't really understand why you need to take navigation, night, and deep after taking AOW. That may be, in part, because I never felt the need to take an AOW course. I read the book and didn't see any reason to go to the movie. I eased my way into deep and just never had any problem with night or navigation. Similar situation with rescue except there I would have liked to do the PEs but I was not interested in all the other stuff they insisted on including like CPR and oxygen provider. Also, while 100 FFW (cold, dark, and mostly void) is very different than 100 FSW (warm, clear, and full of interesting life) if you can do it in FW, SW is a piece of cake. You just have to ask yourself why you want to avoid that readily available learning opportunity. If your answer is that you are happy just being a vacation diver, then so be it, but you will be missing many TX diving opportunities.

 

[Downing]

Boat is the one course I just don't get. But since there's a certification for Boat, shouldn't there be one for Shore, too?

 

[k ellis]

It's an addiction that never ends....
(my friend Phillipe's cards)

Wow I hope you never loose your stash. You know to replace all of those cards is about 40 dollars. Maybe if you order replacements as spares PADI can build a new headquarters closer to my house!

 

[TMHeimer]

DevonDiver and TS&M pretty much told it all. As DevonD said, there could just be a very comprehensive OW course (like there used to be?- so I've read). How much would this cost, as opposed to taking all these specialties?