How many of you have your OW with no intention of getting further qualified?
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Taken the ones I think would help my diving-navigation, buoyancy, night diving, drysuit. I did get my AOW, but it kind of happended along the way to taking the Specialties I was interested in.
Some to me (SSI) are not of interest, like Boat Diving. Half my dives are from boats. And I have two full photos rigs (DSLR and M4/3rds), with thousands of UW photos, so I think I'll pass on UW photography.
Like any educational situation, it also depends on the instructor's level of actual experience vs the instructor's certification ratings. Sure you can have an instructor who is qualified to teach search and recovery diving... But how many of them do it practically in real life? Same goes for any of the ratings. Even an experienced photographer can learn about underwater photography... from the right instructor. Regardless of what agency's brand is attached to the certification.
How many of you have your OW with no intention of getting further qualified?