Understand the AOW Advanced Scuba Diving Certification in 3 Minutes

The Editor says: Every summer, many divers who have just earned their Open Water scuba diving certification start getting encouraged by peers or dive shops to go for their Advanced scuba diving certification. But after paying the fee, do you really know what skills you're about to learn? And when it comes to the wide array of specialty courses available for the type of diving you love, how do you choose the right ones? This article is reproduced in full from the professional insights of 半島海人!

For all of you who have just earned your Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) certification — no matter which certification system you use — you've probably run into the same confusing questions!

Let半島海人 walk you through a clear, well-illustrated guide to understanding advanced diver education, and help you figure out which courses are the right fit for you.

Before we dive into the main content, it's important to understand the purpose of advanced education: it's about improving your diving ability. By gaining more diving-related skills and knowledge, you'll unlock the ability to explore more advanced dive sites. So beyond taking courses, Fun Dives are also a crucial part of developing your diving skills!

Let's get started!

What Is AA and What Is AOW?

Let's introduce a few course names you've probably heard often — like the PADI (certification agency) AOW course and specialty courses, as well as the SSI (certification agency) AA course, specialty courses, and the AOW merit certification system. To put it simply, the PADI (certification agency) AOW course is equivalent in certification level to the SSI (certification agency) AA course. The content of these two courses is almost identical — both require completing five "specialty dive experiences," after which you receive your certification card.

In the SSI (certification agency) system, however, there is no such thing as an "AOW course," because this certification is part of SSI (certification agency)'s merit-based certification system. Simply put, once you meet the requirements, the system will automatically award you this certification! (How generous — a free certification card!)

You only need to meet the following two conditions to qualify for the SSI (certification agency) AOW merit certification:

• Four individual specialty certifications

• 24 logged dives

What Does the AA Course Actually Cover?

The five "specialty dive experiences" required for the SSI (certification agency) AA course or the PADI (certification agency) AOW course means simply that you choose five different themed dives from a broad range of specialty topics and try each one once. These typically include:

• Deep diving experience (required)

• Navigation experience (required)

• Peak performance buoyancy experience (optional)

• Boat dive experience (optional)

• Night diving experience (optional)

Since these five dives are all introductory specialty experiences, after completing the course you won't have a very in-depth understanding of any individual topic. If you discover that one of these themes particularly interests you and you want to learn more, you can follow up with a dedicated specialty course to study that area independently.

Of course, you can also skip this step entirely and begin your advanced education directly through the specialty course pathway.

SSI AOW Merit Certification

In SSI (certification agency)'s educational philosophy, diving ability requires both "learning" and "practice" to develop in parallel. This is much like how you've already learned many diving skills during your Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) course — things like how to achieve neutral buoyancy and hover in the water, how to kick your fins efficiently, and how to ascend and descend slowly.

However, if you don't arrange some Fun Dives after your course to practice these skills before jumping into advanced education, the typical result is that you haven't mastered the skills you're supposed to know, and you can't properly learn the new skills either — a frustrating situation all around.

That's why the SSI (certification agency) AOW merit certification requirement includes "24 logged dives." You simply cannot earn this truly well-named Advanced Open Water Diver (PADI cert) certification just by taking a class!

How to Plan or Choose Your Courses

Most divers choose advanced education because they want to unlock more challenging dive sites — for example, a dive site deeper than 18 m.

Some people want to get certified quickly to keep their diving plans moving, so they spend 2–3 days earning an AA or PADI (certification agency) AOW certification. As mentioned earlier, though, this approach means that after you get your card, you'll actually have very limited understanding of individual specialties and won't have learned many new skills.

In this case, we actually recommend that divers choose specialty courses tailored to their upcoming dive plans, with a few Fun Dives mixed in to build better diving knowledge and technique!

Examples

• Example 1: I just earned my Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) certification, and I feel my buoyancy control needs work. How should I plan my next courses or dives?

• Recommendation 1: Consider scheduling a "Perfect Buoyancy" specialty course over a weekend (two days), plus three Fun Dives to practice the skills you've learned. By the end, including your dives from the Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) course, you'll have accumulated a total of 9 logged dives.

• Example 2: I earned my Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) a while ago and have accumulated 9 logged dives. This time I only have two days to train, but next month I want to go diving with an instructor at Green Island, where many of the best dive sites are deeper than 18 m, boat dive experience would be helpful, and I want to pack in as many dives as possible. What should I do?

• Recommendation 2: Taking the AA course is certainly one option, but based on your specific needs, you could take a "Deep Diving Specialty," a "Boat Diving Specialty," and an "Enriched Air Nitrox (EANx) Specialty" to fully meet the requirements of your next dive trip — while also learning far more knowledge and skills!

And since the "Enriched Air Nitrox (EANx) Specialty" is practically a must-have for any diver who loves the sport, all you'd need to do afterward is add a fourth specialty and log more dives, and the SSI (certification agency) AOW merit certification card will be automatically issued to you by the system!

Since you'll need to take specialty courses anyway (such as the nitrox specialty or the night diving specialty), going straight to specialty courses from the start is the most efficient approach. Through accumulated hands-on experience, you'll build genuinely solid diving skills — and the SSI (certification agency) system even has its merit-based certification levels as a reward. It's a fantastic advanced pathway!

The benefits of the specialty course pathway don't stop there. The SSI (certification agency) merit certification system includes many levels, among them the highest recreational diver rating: the Master Scuba Diver (PADI rating) certification card!

To earn this pinnacle of recognition, you'll need:

• Stress and Rescue specialty certification

• Four individual specialty certifications

• 50 logged dives

Here's a little secret: even professional dive instructors don't necessarily hold this highest-level recreational diver certification!

If you've read this far and you're interested in the specialty course pathway but aren't sure how to plan your courses, keep reading below.

In the future, I'd love to bring my camera on night dives to photograph coral spawning or adorable nudibranch.

Then you'll at least need to have "night diving," "perfect buoyancy," and "underwater photography" abilities. These are all advanced diving skills that can only be developed through specialty courses followed by continuous hands-on practice.

Practical and Fun AOW Specialty Courses

SSI (certification agency) offers many highly practical specialty courses. 半島海人 has compiled a list of popular courses for your reference:

• Deep Diving Specialty

• Boat Diving Specialty

• Night Diving Specialty

• Enriched Air Nitrox (EANx) Specialty

• Perfect Buoyancy Specialty

• Stress and Rescue Specialty

• Underwater Navigation Specialty

• Underwater Photography and Videography Specialty

• Drysuit Specialty

• Sidemount Specialty

• Diver Propulsion Vehicle (DPV) Specialty

All of the above specialty courses are available through the 半島海人 instructor team. Course content will be gradually updated on the official website. In the meantime, if you'd like to know more about any individual specialty course, feel free to reach out to us to discuss your future diving plans and course arrangements!

3 Frequently Asked Questions About the AOW Certification (SSI System)

Q: Why should I get the AOW certification?

A: Compared to the Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) certification, the Advanced Open Water Diver (PADI cert) certification allows you to dive deeper (though still within the recreational limit of 30 m). Additionally, if you choose the "night diving" module, you'll be able to dive both day and night going forward. The best part about earning the AOW certification is that you can focus on whichever specialty interests you most — there are over ten options to choose from.

Q: What are the requirements to earn the AOW certification?

• SSI (certification agency) system: As long as you meet the two conditions of four individual specialty certifications and 24 logged dives, you'll receive your SSI (certification agency) AOW certification!

• PADI (certification agency) system: You only need to have passed your basic Open Water Diver (PADI/SSI cert) certification — no other special conditions required.

Instructor tip: It's recommended that before signing up for an AOW course, you first sharpen your fundamental skills and accumulate more actual time in the water, so you'll get much more out of the AOW course. After all, rich experience matters even more than the certification card itself!

Q: What specialty modules are included in the AOW certification?

• Deep Diving (required): One of the mandatory modules in the advanced course, this takes you into open water at depths of 18–30 m, since entry-level diving is limited to within 18 m. Completing deep diving unlocks access to many more beautiful dive sites!

• Underwater Navigation (required): Learn to navigate using natural cues provided by the environment — large rocks, distinctive coral formations, topography — as well as compass reading, so you can accurately judge direction and plan your dive route.

• Night diving, wreck diving, boat diving, cave diving, fish identification, underwater photography, and more — there are over ten elective specialty modules, so everyone can choose based on their own interests.

Content Editor: Jenny Tsai

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