The Editor says: Every summer, many divers who have just earned their Open Water scuba diving certification start getting nudged — by friends or dive shops — into pursuing an Advanced scuba diving certification. But once you've paid, do you really know what skills you're about to learn? And when it comes to all those specialty courses out there, how do you choose the ones that match the kind of diving you actually want to do? This article is reproduced in full from the professional insights of 半島海人!
For all of you who have just passed your Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) certification — no matter which certification agency's system you're in — you've probably run into the same confusing questions.
Let 半島海人 walk you through clear, visual explanations of what advanced diver education actually means, and help you figure out which courses are right for you.
SSI (certification agency) certification system
Before we dive in, it's important to understand the purpose of advanced education: it's about improving your diving skills. By gaining more dive-related techniques and knowledge, you unlock the ability to explore more challenging dive sites. So beyond taking courses, Fun Dives are also a crucial part of developing your abilities as a diver!
Let's get started!
Earning the Advanced scuba diving certification
What Is AA and What Is AOW?
Let's introduce a few course names you'll hear often: the PADI (certification agency) AOW course and specialty courses, and the SSI (certification agency) AA course, specialty courses, and the AOW Achievement Award system. To put it simply, the PADI (certification agency) AOW course is equivalent in certification level to the SSI (certification agency) AA course — both courses cover virtually the same content and both award a certification after completing five "Try Dive Specialty" dives.
Within the SSI (certification agency) system, there is no course called an "AOW course" per se, because in SSI (certification agency), this certification is an Achievement Award system. Simply put, once you meet the requirements, the system automatically issues the certification to you! (How generous — a free certification!)
All you need to do is meet the following two conditions to qualify for the SSI (certification agency) AOW Achievement Award:
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Four independent specialty certifications
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24 logged open-water dives
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What the AA Course Actually Covers
The five "Try Dive Specialty" dives required by either the SSI (certification agency) AA course or the PADI (certification agency) AOW course simply mean selecting five different specialty themes and trying each one. These typically include:
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Try Deep Diving (mandatory)
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Try Navigation (mandatory)
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Try Perfect Buoyancy (optional)
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Try boat dive (optional)
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Try night diving (optional)
Since these five dives are all introductory experiences, you won't come away with an in-depth understanding of any particular specialty after completing the course. If you discover that one or more of these themes sparks a deeper interest, you can then enroll in standalone "Specialty Courses" to learn more about those areas.
Of course, you can also skip this step entirely and start your advanced education directly through the specialty course pathway.
Posing with the steel reef
The SSI AOW Achievement Award
At the heart of SSI (certification agency)'s educational philosophy is the belief that diving ability requires both "learning" and "practice" to develop in tandem. You've already picked up many diving skills during your Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) course — things like achieving neutral buoyancy and hovering, kicking your fins efficiently, and ascending and descending slowly.
However, if you jump straight into advanced education without scheduling some Fun Dives first to practice those skills, the typical result is disappointing: the techniques you were supposed to have mastered aren't solid, and the new techniques you're meant to learn don't stick either.
That's precisely why the SSI (certification agency) AOW Achievement Award requires "24 logged open-water dives" as one of its conditions — you simply cannot earn this genuinely advanced open-water certification level through coursework alone!
Instructor EAXON's AOW Achievement Award even lists all the specialty certifications he holds!
How to Plan or Choose Your Courses
Most divers pursue advanced education because they want to unlock more challenging dive sites — such as a site deeper than 18m.
Some people want to get a certification quickly to keep their dive plans on track, so they spend 2–3 days earning an AA or PADI (certification agency) AOW certification. But as mentioned above, this approach leaves you with limited understanding of any individual specialty and relatively few new skills learned.
In these cases, we actually recommend that divers first plan suitable specialty courses around the type of diving they want to do next, and sprinkle in a few Fun Dives along the way to build stronger diving knowledge and skills!
Examples
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Example 1: I just got my Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) certification and feel my buoyancy control isn't great. How should I plan my next courses or dives?
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Recommendation 1: Consider using a weekend (two days) for a "Perfect Buoyancy" specialty course, then add three Fun Dives to practice the skills you've learned. Afterward, combined with your Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) logged dives, you'll have accumulated a total of 9 logged dives.
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Example 2: I've had my Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) for a while and have logged 9 dives in total. I only have two days available for training right now, but next month I want to go diving in Green Island with an instructor. Many of the great dive sites there are deeper than 18m, and boat dive experience would be helpful. I also want to log dives intensively. What should I do?
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Recommendation 2: Joining an AA course is certainly one option, but based on your needs, taking the "Deep Diving Specialty," "Boat Diving Specialty," and "Enriched Air Nitrox Specialty" separately would actually meet all the requirements for your next dive trip — and you'd learn far more knowledge and skills in the process!
On top of that, the "Enriched Air Nitrox Specialty" is practically a must-have for any enthusiastic diver. After that, you'll just need to complete one more specialty course and log more dives to automatically receive your SSI (certification agency) AOW Achievement Award card from the system!
Only through accumulated real-world experience will you gain genuinely capable diving skills
Since taking specialty courses is necessary anyway (such as the Enriched Air Nitrox Specialty or the Night Diving Specialty), jumping straight into specialty courses from the start is the most efficient approach. Through accumulated real-world experience, you'll gain genuinely capable diving skills — and the SSI (certification agency) system's Achievement Award certifications make this an excellent advanced pathway!
The benefits of the specialty course pathway don't stop there. The SSI (certification agency) system's Achievement Award levels include many tiers, among them the highest recreational diving certification of all: the MASTER SCUBA DIVER rating!
To earn this top-tier recognition, you'll need to meet the following conditions:
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Stress and Rescue Specialty certification
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Four independent specialty certifications
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50 logged open-water dives
Here's a little secret: even professional-level instructors don't necessarily hold this highest recreational diving certification!
If you've read this far and are interested in the specialty course advanced pathway but aren't sure how to plan your courses, keep reading.
I'd love to bring a camera during night diving to shoot coral spawning or adorable nudibranchs.
In that case, you'll need at minimum the skills of "Night Diving," "Perfect Buoyancy," and "Underwater Photography." These are all advanced diving techniques that can only be developed through specialty courses followed by continuous real-world practice.
Useful and Fun AOW Specialty Courses
SSI (certification agency) offers a wide range of highly practical specialty courses. Here are some popular options from 半島海人:
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Deep Diving Specialty
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Boat Diving Specialty
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Night Diving Specialty
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Enriched Air Nitrox Specialty
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Perfect Buoyancy Specialty
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Stress and Rescue Specialty
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Underwater Navigation Specialty
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Underwater Photography & Videography Specialty
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Drysuit Specialty
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Sidemount Specialty
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Diver Propulsion Vehicle (DPV) Specialty
All of the above specialty courses are available through the 半島海人 instructor team. Course details will be updated to the official website gradually. In the meantime, if you'd like to learn more about any individual specialty course, feel free to get in touch with us to discuss your future dive plans and course schedule!
3 Common Questions About the AOW Certification (SSI System)
Q: Why should I get an AOW certification?
A: Compared to Open Water, the AOW certification allows you to dive deeper (though still within the recreational diving limit of 30m). Additionally, if you choose the "Night Diving" specialty, you'll be certified to dive both day and night. The best thing about earning an AOW certification is that you can choose to focus on and develop whichever specialty interests you most — there are over ten specialties to choose from.
Q: What are the requirements for an AOW certification?
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SSI (certification agency) system: You simply need to meet four independent specialty certifications and 24 logged open-water dives to receive your SSI (certification agency) AOW!
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PADI (certification agency) system: You just need to have passed your Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) certification — no other special requirements.
Instructor tip: Before enrolling in an AOW course, we recommend building your foundational skills and accumulating some real in-water experience first. This will make the AOW course much smoother and more rewarding. After all, real experience matters even more than the certification itself!
Q: What specialties are included in the AOW certification?
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Deep Diving (mandatory): One of the mandatory components of the advanced course — taking you into open water between 18–30m, since Open Water only covers depths within 18m. Once you complete deep diving, you'll unlock far more spectacular dive sites!
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Underwater Navigation (mandatory): Using natural cues such as large rocks, distinctive coral formations, and terrain features, combined with compass reading, to navigate — becoming a diver who can accurately judge direction and plan dive routes.
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Night diving, wreck diving, boat diving, cave diving, fish identification, underwater photography, and more than ten additional elective specialties — everyone can choose based on their own interests.
Editor: Jenny Tsai
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