Posted By Mike Miller Hi I have funded myself through NEBOSH certificate and now a Diploma. Like you I work full time as well as trying to still have some family life. My positive feed back to you is that it is all very hard work. You will have to be diciplined and organised in order to complete it. You also have to have an understanding family. When the washer needs fixed or little Tommy wants wo go to the footy match you will need to be firm and ask for cooperation. You will need about 100 hours of self study per module. Two modules equates to about 14 hours a week total. Now the up side !! Having achieved the diploma and/or certificate you will have a wonderfull skill at your finger tips and possibly a very rewarding job. There will be times when you will wonder what the heck you are putting yourself through it for. Just stick in and be tough Good luck. Mike

Posted By Wes Smith thanks for your responses guys i am glad its not just me who is/has been in the process of thinking "is the end result really worth the cost?" Am i right to think that WHEN (positive!) i achieve a diploma that many new windows of employment opportunity open ? and how long realistically would it take to achieve this goal. ps just about to finish th IOSH managing safely course. found it quite interesting and has spurred me on for more! many thanks

Posted By Jason Gould Wes Unfortuantly this may sound like I am knocking you back down to earth. But hey I hope you find something useful in what I ramble, which by the way is only my own experiences since embarking on the H&S ladder. Left school early no exams blah blah. Worked for short period in shuttering joinery but left to join army. Left army and have worked in following environments. Toilet roll factory, Plastics masterbatch mixing, extrusion, plastic recycling,Granulating, industrial cleaning, shot blasting, roofing, building labouring, FLT driver, Foundry worker, basic lathe operation, power presses, Pin drills, Metal polishing, Bulk liquid transfer abroad, building ripouts labourer and customer service advisor. More supprising is the more recent jobs with titles such as research Chemist dealing with CHIP msds, bouncer, and project worker for alchoholics and drug dependents. So as you will guess I have had a few jobs covering 16-17 years. I have always been proud in my work but sooner or later either got bored of the job or was sick of dangerous conditions that some companies openly exploit. Then got talking to a customs bloke who stated that the best move for me to make, was a move into the Health and Safety field as this would always throw a challenge in now and again and I would never get bored. I liked what he said and looked into this, it looked great. I could have a decent career in two years if I did some safety courses the world was my oyster. So I started my general certificate and the tutor stated that I could walk into a £17000 per annum job at the end. Passed and even went for a couple of interviews with local authorities.(no joy) Decided to do the dip 1, nervous as hell as this was considered to be very tough. I passed and was over the moon. Applied for a few more jobs but still no joy. Did a 7307 micro teaching course but no avail on the job front. About to knock it all on the head and take up plumming, but then approached this site and listened to the opinions of some of the more experienced folk. Revised my CV dropped my pay expectations and sought a more junior position with a view to gaining a working experience. Have now been by given work in relation to H&S and an added benefit of working with quality issues. The pays not the greatest but the potential learning experience is fantastic. A real eye opener. My tip for you is to stick at it and put the effort in. I dont know your background but heres what I have learned so far. 1. I need to get a grip with document controls, (its not just a case of doing a risk assessment here and there and do the occasional reports and training). 2. Pragmatic is a key word. (you cant just quote law etc). 3. People skills are paramount. (you will have difficult situations and difficult people) 4. Know your limitations. (Nebosh dip 1, 2, is great but this dosn't make you an expert who cannot be challenged. 5. Patience (like it or not changes dont happen overnight) So Wes it "can" happen but I would consider someone finding a safety job staright after their qualification extremely lucky. It takes a lot of hard work and commitment but if you persivere you will get a break sooner or later. Oh yes before I go I forgot to mention HONESTY. I think I only got the job because I held my hands up and said Im no expert but will put the effort in. Go for it Good Luck Jason

Posted By Robert Paterson Hi Wes My advice would be not to jump into NEBOSH because it is the recognised course of study. I funded myself through NEBOSH certificate and did Diploma in Health and Safety Management at University in Glasgow. This proved to be the most cost effective and rather a lot less than NEBOSH DIPLOMA. My aim was to acheive corporate membership level of IOSH and I was able to acheive this for just over £3,500 (NEBOSH certificate and diploma together). I acheived this some three years ago and obviuosly prices have gone up. The course of study took nearly 3 years on a one day a week part time study at academic centres and as much time at home as I could afford. So shop around and get the best option that suits your lifestyle and pocket. Iam now employed as Health and Safety Manager at a whisky bottling plant in Glasgow. Good Luck and remember I was 45 years old when I first started out on this education road to competentcy. There are many opportunities in this feild and with good rewards. Kind Regards Robert Paterson (If you are interested I can give you details of the courses that I went on)

Posted By Wes Smith thanks for all your responses. i thought i would just tell you a bit about myself to make it easier for you to picture. i am 25 years old and work as a toolmaker for a large firm within the aircraft industry. Well paid job, with personal development plans for employees ( hopefully to fund some of my courses !) I understand what you are saying jason, may be best/easier to start right at the bottom. I am prepared to take a cut in salary as i am hopeful the end result is worth it. As long and hard a struggle it may be i will remain confident that somewhere out there a job will have my name on it !! cheers , wes ps i would appreciate more info on your career path thanks robert.

Posted By Stuart Nagle Wes. I am doing a PgC leading to PgD and thence to MSc at Portsmouth University - self funded. However, my employer, when he discovered I was doing the course offered, without me asking, to pay half (I had already paid in full £1990) and if successfull to pay in full. I guess I have been lucky here, but had saved up to be able to pay in full, for myself anyway, and did not expect my employer to pay for me. The University also offers students the opportunity to pay by installments, if needed, which is a useful alternative. Generally, I took the course as offering a higher level of qualification to NEBOSH, at costs which were actuallt less in comparrison to some of the courses seen advertised in SHP. Yes, its longer, but I know at the end of it I get something, which to me is worth more. Hard work it is, disipline you need, but I am muddling through maintaining the day job and family committments too. (see chat thread - is a degree necessary) Stuart

Posted By Jason Gould LoL Paul read the comments from top to bottom and you might catch the part where Wes was asking about doors opening. Life story (which maybe was a little bit of a yawn) was to give Wes an insight to the fact that the qualifications may not immediatly open doors but will do so in time. This is unless like yourself you have landed with a good company and have everything paid for. Not knocking it just envious. Like I said, I thought that I could get from £10000 per annum to £17000 by doing the certificate. So this was expressed by the tutor and other people on the course. Oops there I go again rambling on. Wes where are you based? Paul :)

Posted By Linda Crossland-Clarke Well, this may be the posting you want to start your weekend! Hull based, I can tell you about Martyn Jones of the Humber Chemical Focus Group. He accesses LSC match funding for many of my NVQ candidates. Give me a shout for further information and I will introduce you. sheknows@healthandsafety.me.uk All the best. Linda.

Posted By Wes Smith linda. have e-mailed you wes