How do PADI and SSI qualifications match up?
In a similar manner to this question: When describing my PADI qualifications with a CMAS diver, is there a well know equivalence table? How do the PADI qualifications match up to the SSI ones? Is there an equivalence table for these two as well?
My friend is PADI Advanced Open Water (AOW), however there seems to be a SSI qualification between PADI AOW and SSI AOW. Ideally this will be for when we get to the point of booking diving holidays we want to make sure everyone can do everything planned.
The SSI qualifications (excluding free-diving and snorkelling) are:
- Scuba Diver
- Open Water Scuba Diver
- Specialist Diver
- Advanced Open Water Diver
- Master Diver
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So researching on the net a little bit shows some slightly different certifications than I had thought, however the specialist diver is something you get every 2 specialisations with SSI and the course material tells you you get it before Advanced Open Water, so there may not be a PADI equivalent.
I cannot either find an equivalent PADI certification to the SSI Scuba Diver. Probably as this is a 12m limit only with a dive professional. They're not on the IDC list, but are in the SSI course materials so I've added them to the lists.
In order the SSI - PADI certifications are as follows according to idc-guide.com:
SSI
- SSI Scuba Diver - 12m with a dive professional
- SSI Open Water - 18m limit
- SSI Specalist Diver (2 specialities and 12 dives)
- SSI Advanced Open Water - 30m limit 40m with Enriched Air Nitrox specialisation (4 specialities and 24 dives)
- SSI Stress & Rescue Techniques
- SSI Master Diver (4 specialty courses, Diver Stress & Rescue, 50 dives)
- SSI Divemaster
- SSI Open Water / Dive Con Instructor
PADI Equivalent
- PADI Scuba Diver - 12m with a dive professional
- PADI Open Water Diver - 18m limit
- PADI Speciality Diver - many many many specialities
- PADI Advanced Open Water - 30m limit (40m with experience)
- PADI Rescue Diver
- PADI Master Scuba Diver (5 Speciality courses, Rescue Diver, 50 dives)
- PADI Divemaster
- PADI Open Water Scuba Diver
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Im certified SSI and my gf is certified PADI, from what i understood in term of qualifications the SSI AOWD differs from PADI AOWD in the experience needed to access them. While PADI lets you go on to AOWD from OWD without other experience SSI requires that you gained a few specialties and a certain number of dives first (if memory serves me well its 4 and 24). I know people that at a certain qualification level and up would prefer SSI just citing more experience (which is not necessarily true). This could make the organization of courses/qualifications so different to not allow a straight conversion table.
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/10966. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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