10 Reasons to Become a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver

You’re already an Open Water Diver, and you wonder why someone would want the next certification. Let’s take a look at 10 reasons to continue your diving education by becoming a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver.

1. The PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course is designed for the newly certified diver. Many times we hear someone say  “I’ll get certified, and get a ton of dives in, then I’ll take the Advanced class”. Why not take advantage of your Instructor’s experience and learn the basics of different types of diving or new techniques to help make your dives easier? The Advanced class has a total of five dives, with two being required: Underwater Navigation dive and a Deep Dive. The other three dives are “elective dives” meaning you can choose the specialty in which you are interested.
2. While just taking the Advanced class won’t make you an expert in every type of diving, it will give you a sampling of different PADI Specialty courses. In fact, the dives you do for your Advanced class will count as the first dive in the related Specialty course. This can give you a preview of what the Specialty course is all about.
3. You will have the opportunity to try new equipment. For example, during the Night Elective dive, you may be introduced to different styles of lights: canister, hand-held, LED, or halogen. During the Wreck Elective dive, you will gain some experience in navigating around a wreck. During the Digital Photography Elective dive, you may get to try different cameras underwater, if available.
4. No traditional classroom time! All the Knowledge Development for the PADI Advanced Open Water course is done right at the dive site. When you enroll in the course, you will receive the PADI Adventures in Diving Manual which has chapters on all the dives that could be done for the class. After reading the sections on the dives you will do, the Knowledge Reviews at the back of each chapter should be completed, and they will be discussed before making the dive.
5. The Open Water Diver certification has a recommended maximum depth of 60 feet. Successfully completing the PADI Advanced Open Water class will take your recommended depth to 100 feet. Many dive operations require Advanced certification for certain dives either due to depth or other conditions.
6. You will have the opportunity to meet other divers, and perhaps gain a new dive buddy. Many of our students go on to take a series of additional classes after they’ve met during their Advanced class.
7. There are different scheduling options for the course. Typically it is done over the course of two days, but if your schedule only permits one day of training, great! The other dives can be scheduled later based on your schedule and availability.
8. You will receive recognition for your achievement. Would you rather introduce yourself as an Open Water Diver, or does the term “Advanced” have a better ring to it?
9. The class is a prerequisite for upper level training, like Rescue Diver and some PADI Specialties.
10. You will be diving! And after all, isn’t that why you got certified in the first place?

If you’d like more information on the Advanced Open Water class, give any of our three stores a call, or drop us a line at our Class Info Request page.

About Colin Zylka