Will PADI Recognize SSI specialties (Perfect Bouyancy)

[wetb4igetinthewater]

If you want to perfect your bouyancy do a GUE course.

Can I get an amen?

 

[TMHeimer]

I think we should start 2 threads--the merits of PADI MSD and PADI vs. NAUI MSD.....Don't forget, I got the free MSD backpack (good for storing beads at Mardi Gras) and the patch for the cap you wear anywhere but around other divers. AND.......I do (at times).

 

[tursiops]

This ^ ^ ^

The "master scuba diver" card is not really an achievement; it's more of PADI's way of saying "thanks for being a loyal customer."

Of course your have to pay PADI for that extra MSD card... you have to pay them so they will thank you for taking a lot of PADI courses. If you want to spend your money on that, PADI will gladly take it.

Disclosure: so that no one has to suggest I'm agency bashing, I'm a PADI instructor. And I'm not bashing PADI here... I'm simply explaining what MSD is without the clever PADI marketing.

Pretty good PADI bashing in any case, but kind of missing the point. MSD means not just five specialties but also Rescue and 50 logged dives. It will get you a better seat on a dive boat than an AOW card. I do wish PADI offered a NAUI-like MSD cert; it would be fun to teach and good to take.

 

[Steve_C]

So so SDI MSD. They do accept certs from other agencies.

I just like taking courses and set goals. So I picked up my MSD (SDI) along the way. Never felt it proved anything. Just a personal goal like walking for x miles a week.

 

[Bob DBF]

I'm not sure if the specialities cross over in this regard but my advice would be to focus less on the Master Diver Certification and more on acquiring the skills and experience. I

They are not mutually exclusive objectives

The OP has 400 dives. Not sure why someone with that many dives is considering doing this. If you want to perfect your bouyancy do a GUE course.

Everyone has a reason. I had a daughter that had taken up diving was AOW and was kind of talking about being a DM. To insure her interest continued that far, we made a bet. I won twice , I made MSD before she certified Dive Con, and she got the knowledge and experience I thought she needed to have. I made it past OW and learned a few things along the way, sometimes experience dosent teach you everything.

Of course your have to pay PADI for that extra MSD card...

I didn't, directly. The instructor would give it to divers that had done the specialties through him.

If you want to move your diving skill and knowledge levels up to much higher levels, entry-level instructor level without the teaching credentials, take the NAUI "Master Scuba Diver" course. NAUI's MSD is a real course with very heavy academic knowledge and skills training. NAUI's MSD is the only "MSD" course in the industry that has actual content at its advanced level, it is without an equal in the recreational dive industry.

Not having a NAUI shop/instructor convienient at the time limits choices. This. Does not stop anyone from studying those materials or the encyclopedia of diving and DM manual as I did. There is a lot of information available if you want to read. As an example, during AOW, I was the only student that completed the whole text rather than just the dives scheduled. The information was irrevelent for those dives, however it may come in handy in the future on another dive.


MSD may not be a course of PADI's, but it is an accomplishment, and could be a rather good one if taken seriously, and used to develop ones diving skills.


Bob

 

[Trailboss123]

It’s just a goal. Won’t stop taking courses. Dive any chance I get with divers of all cert levels. Just want to expand knowledge. Realize MD is not a skill building cert. just a milestone along the way. Don’t want to get dive master but I do want to expand my skills as a diver. Always learn every time I dive still practice all basic skills learned in OW, AOW on most dives. Sorry to hear MD doesn’t add to those skills, figured there would be at least a couple of dives to demonstrate required skills or at least a knowledge test. Thanks for the info!

Good for you to have goals and work toward realizing them. Since PADI will not accept the SSI class and since you still need 2 specialties to achieve your goal and you are clearly asking us to recommend courses that we feel might be the most helpful in making you a more well rounded and skilled diver, I would suggest the following:
1. Peak Performance Buoyancy (since you are already interested in this anyway)
2. Self Reliant Diver (which apart from my Rescue Class, I found to be the most rewarding experience I have had).

Like any training we take, the quality of instruction varies and can really make the difference in what we get out of it. Hopefully you will find some great instructors that will help you grow.

All the best!

 

[lowflyer]

Pretty good PADI bashing in any case, but kind of missing the point. MSD means not just five specialties but also Rescue and 50 logged dives. It will get you a better seat on a dive boat than an AOW card. I do wish PADI offered a NAUI-like MSD cert; it would be fun to teach and good to take.

To the OP, tursiops' post above is the one I suggest you pay most attention to. How anyone can suggest that taking 5 Specialty courses and Rescue is not a learning experience is beyond me. Sure, you can do all of that and not apply for MSD, but I can confirm that before I got DM, MSD did get me a little more respect at dive ops.

 

[yle]

Pretty good PADI bashing in any case, but kind of missing the point. MSD means not just five specialties but also Rescue and 50 logged dives.

I'm not PADI bashing at all. In fact, I'm acknowledging their awesome marketing. If PADI's MSD is all about recognizing a diver's accomplishments, why aren't specialties from other organizations allowed? PADI allows other org's certs as pre-reqs for some other PADI courses.

The fact is that PADI's MSD is designed with the same marketing psychology as a frequent flyer or frequent buyer program. "Buy exclusively from us and you'll achieve this award!" As the popularity of these programs testify to, they are very effective marketing.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it; I'm just calling it what it is.

It will get you a better seat on a dive boat than an AOW card.

Maybe it's an east coast thing, but I've never witnessed anyone getting a "better seat" on a dive boat because of their MSD vs AOW card. But then I've never been on a dive boat with assigned seating.

To the OP, tursiops' post above is the one I suggest you pay most attention to. How anyone can suggest that taking 5 Specialty courses and Rescue is not a learning experience is beyond me. Sure, you can do all of that and not apply for MSD, but I can confirm that before I got DM, MSD did get me a little more respect at dive ops.

I think I'm the "OP" you're referring to. And I never suggested that taking all those courses is not a learning experience. Pretty disturbing that you could interpret my post that way. If you can point me to what I wrote that caused you to read "taking 5 specialty courses and rescue is not a learning experience", I will gladly clarify what I wrote.

It's worth noting, however, that you can take 5 specialties and the rescue course without paying the extra for the MSD card. It sounds like we do agree on something: the important experience is in the courses themselves, not in the actual MSD card. In other words, those people that took 5 specialties and rescue but opted to not pay the extra for the MSD card got the same experience and those that took the 5 specialties and rescue and then got the MSD card.

If the act of holding the MSD card in one's hand adds something to the educational experience, then I am more than willing to retract.

 

[scubadada]

Pretty good PADI bashing in any case, but kind of missing the point. MSD means not just five specialties but also Rescue and 50 logged dives. It will get you a better seat on a dive boat than an AOW card. I do wish PADI offered a NAUI-like MSD cert; it would be fun to teach and good to take.

Two divers walk into your shop, one shows a PADI MSD card, the other a NAUI MSD card. At a minimum, what do you know about them?

The PADI diver has taken OW, AOW, Rescue, EFR, 5 specialties, and has at least 50 dives. The NAUI diver has OW, AOW, and 8 additional dives from MSD, Rescue and first aid are not required, there is no minimum number of dives.

The main objection to PADI MSD appears to be applying and paying for the card after fulfilling all the requirements, a small drop in the bucket after all the previous investment.

 

[yle]

I would suggest the following:
1. Peak Performance Buoyancy (since you are already interested in this anyway)
2. Self Reliant Diver (which apart from my Rescue Class, I found to be the most rewarding experience I have had).

+1 for Self Reliant Diver. But IIRC it has a pre-req of 100 logged dives, and is a "distinctive specialty"... so it might not be as widely available as the standard specialty courses.