Posted By James Byatt Morning Adrian, No doubt you'll get a smattering of differing opinions on this subject. There's a number of routes available, personally I took the NEBOSH Diploma Part 1 and the NVQ Level 4 and am now looking to launch into the MSc, so feel I've had the best of both/all worlds. Have a browse through the study support forum. You'll find a number of threads discussing the pro's and cons of various study routes. It normally comes down to: 1. Money 2. Time available 3. Preferred study medium i.e. distance learning, F/T, P/T exams or continued assessment. (and not necessarily in that order. Best advice is to research all your options before jumping in... Good luck and welcome, James

Posted By Norman Elkington Adrian Just tom reinforce Nigel's point on age. I have just completed a MSc in Occ H&S Management at 54. Still an Engineer at heart but its never too late (Is it???). You are correct also in that the detail of H&S, especially risk management and attitudinal aspects of H&S management and their links into general management methodologies are fascinating. Almost as interesting as plant engineering...light the blue touch paper and stands back.(:-) Norman

Posted By adi Thanks for the help all... some good advice. Basically, i'm running out of time as obviously i need to enrol on the nebosh dip course as soon as possible in time for the september term. Just another quickie.. what other options are available to me if i want to go into risk assessment? I know the nebosh dips are the 'norm' but what about other courses? Will they suit me better? Someone has already mentioned the open university course which i'll look into.. cheers adi

Posted By adi well, i wont be switching careers just yet.. the plan is to take the course over the next two years and go into it as and when i can. If this takes two to three years then thats fair enough... i'm willing to wait. As for work experience, like i say i've already been introduced to licensing, legislation, and risk assessment through a previous job.. so hopefully that should giv e me a starting point.

Posted By neil poyznts-powell Before attempting NEBOSH Diploma level you will probably need to be looking at NEBOSH Certficate or equivelent, to give a firm grounding. I personaly have completed Certificate and Construction Certificate and am now following the Postrgrduate Certificate/Diploma/Msc route. However, i would suggest it is best to gather as much information as possible and plan a route of education that suits your needs, ultimate goal,learning pattern and budget.

Posted By Peter MacDonald Adi After 9 years as a construction project manager I undertook Post Grad Dip in Safety and Risk Management at Strathclyde uni. It's accredited by IOSH and was very good. You can do this course by distance learning only and it opened up lots of doors for me when I completed it. I was 31 when I passed and now have 2 years to register for the MSc. As far as I have heard their is a lot of learning parrot fashion on the NEBOSH courses rather than an encouragement of understanding of concepts of safety. In other words you may not remember the year that PUWER or LOLER where implemented or revised, but you will have the tools to understand and research the guts of these regulations. Horses for courses I suppose. Peter

Posted By Kevin Thompson I am based in Derby too. I did the Diploma at North Notts College, which offers the best value for money Diploma course. However it's an hours drive from Derby. You should also look at the diploma courses offered by Trent University and Loughborough University. Kevin