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Your assistance is respectfully requested for a straw poll
Rank: Forum user 
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Hello everyone,
I am giving a presentation at a conference here next month, and respectfully request your participation in my straw poll, by choosing the ONE answer from the six questions below that fits best how you got into OHS (or plan to get into it) as a line of work.
1. From the shop floor out of personal interest
2. From the shop floor out of operational necessity
3. Career opportunities in my previous occupation evaporated
4. Inspired by a serious incident - or knowledge of one
5. I’m not exactly sure, I just ended up here
6. Part of my master career plan since youth
I would like to tabulate my responses in a few days. Thanks for the trouble, I won't bother you again for something like this, honest...
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Rank: Forum user 
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Argyll
From the shop floor out of personal interest.Coming from the Scaffolding industry originally, where safety is paramount. However in my experience scaffolders seemed to get picked on by various safety people who have no idea of the complex nature of the business and their only experience of scaffolding is from a Nebosh text book.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Hi Argyll
A mixture of two - I was made redundant as a production manager and got a job as a production supervisor in a factory that said it was 100% behind health & safety, however they used a consultancy firm but never completed what was required, I offered to ensure risk assessment and JSA were complete and in return I asked for some level of competence by tacking my NEBOSH, once they asked me to become their safety person and site and my role changed from production supervisor to facilities health & safety manager due to my engineering experience
In other words 3 & 4 would be relevant for me
Once again I was redundant but had the H&S bug so I have now taken other NEBOSH exams and diploma's and I am taking the open assessment in september working towards chartered
hope this helps
Alan
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Rank: Super forum user
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Argyll
It is a very good question and well presented.
I will have 1 & 3
Always Health and Safety Orientated 25 years military then I moved into Waste Management running Transfer Stations where Health and Safety was important.
Redundancy came at a time when a friend offered me a position in Health and Safety and I am still hooked on it.
Ta Alex
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Rank: Super forum user 
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First day at work back in 1977 I was walking through the carpark and saw an ambulance and fire engine. An engineer had been working over the weekend and had fallen into a solvent degreasing tank. Made a lasting impression on me and pretty much shaped my future.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Via 5
I was a general foreman at the time looking after engineering trades with a few civils on a 'Shell' refinery construction project installing a new power station with some additional cracker refurb works:
At the opening 'on site' contract meeting it was asked by the client officer "who looks after QA/QC" and my manager gave me a kick on my boot under the table and ditto H&Safety so each kick gave me a new role and career!
NB: I was expected to get qualifiied in my own time whilst still running the job [and in them days 10 hour's per day 7 days a week was the base norm + shifts] with only the Open Uni giving people on the ground any chance of getting any advanced qualifications and no IT to help either only the Royal Mail! And I had to pay for the qualifications myself. That was the good old days!
Over the years environmental areas also came on board although at that time nobody gave env areas much thought!
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Rank: Forum user
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I would say 6. But I'm not quite there yet!
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Rank: Guest
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1 and 2 for me, although more 1. My father was environmental h&s officer for the local 'district council' for many years, and I was quite fascinated by the variety of things he had to be on top of.
I spent 12 years or so in engineering, working for a small company where h&s wasn't necessarily at the top of the agenda. Through redundancy, I had a complete career change and moved into an office environment. When the company expanded, there was no h&s other than the nominal procedures put into place by the MD when he set the company up, so I volunteered. 12 years down the line the rest, as they say, is history.
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Rank: Super forum user
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None of the options offered!
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Rank: Super forum user
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From the shop floor out of personal interest
SBH
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Rank: Forum user
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Number 6 is probably the closest for me.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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7. Career development by personal choice but not a life's ambition
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Rank: Forum user
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Hello Argyll,
Could pick parts of several, but the strongest answer for me would be number 1.
Good luck with the presentation!
Andrew.
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Rank: New forum user
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A bit of 1. and a bit of 3.
Got more involved in H&S running archaeological projects on site then after 12 years doing so, put myself through NEBOSH Cert. and changed to full employment in H&S capacity in a different sector to increase career prospects.
Selecting one of those, I'd go for 3. - scrathing about in the dirt looking for old things was only ever a job rather than a career for me.
Good luck
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Rank: Forum user
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I have to agree with 'stuff4blokes' option - no.7.
Started as an Environmental Advisor and set about adding the 'Health and Safety' string to my bow. Seemed a logical progression, and whilst it hadn't been an ambition since youth, I find it a fascinating field which has overtaken my earlier interest in environmental issues.
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Rank: Forum user
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No. 1 for me Argyll,
Good luck with the presentation.
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Rank: New forum user
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Rank: Forum user
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"5. I’m not exactly sure, I just ended up here"
Best of luck with the presentation.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Rank: Forum user
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1&2 for me - I did the general Cert at the same time as the OH diploma - I love the safety side of my role - but currently in Middle East I think I've shot back in time!
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Option 1 is the nearest fit without giving you my CV!
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Rank: Super forum user
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3 & 4 for me - started off my working life in catering and had an argument with a 30gall churn of milk (guess who won?) Anyway resulting injury resulted in catering work drying up and the need for a new career loomed. Fortuitously, the firm had a need for a bod to update food safety practices and H&S was a natural progression. Never looked back.
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Rank: Forum user 
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I would have to say a bit of 1&2 for me, always had an interest in H&S worked in the Railway industry for about 20 years so it's always been there. Did IOSH Managing Safely first then moved on to National cert and other course.
Good luck
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Rank: Forum user
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5 for me, started out as an Adminstration Supervisor, little by little H & S took over
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Rank: Super forum user
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I guess 5 fits best for me.
Spent my first 23 years of working life a a Chef in the RAF before being made redundant in 1996. I was involved in delivering food hygiene training whilst in the RAF and after a couple of false starts secured a position delivering the same for a training organisation. They in turn got me on to delivering basic health and safety courses which got me interested in pursuing it as a second career. The rest is history.
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Rank: Super forum user
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Argyll
2 is the overriding answer but some of the others come close - I worked in heavy industry (steel & coal) and moved into logistics as historic industries were systematically dismantled.
I had a very good grounding in safety and post the introduction of the Six Pack my then employers required this to be applied into the business (in particular Man Regs) and I drew the short straw.
Number 5 often springs to mind!!!
Good luck
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Rank: Forum user
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Think 2 and 4 fits my personal situation best; never looked back or had a day when I thought "why oh why did I choose this profession", keep saying that and the therapist says that I'll start to believe it.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Option 1 with a bit of 4 (the accident concerned happened after I had started out on this long and weary path;-) ) Good luck with the presentation.
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Rank: Forum user
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5 I think, started out providing admin support to the health and safety team at a local authority, but gradually just drifted into an assistant role. The company just kept sending me on more & more course and I guess it just evolved from there.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Number 5 is the best fit, but similar to Bob Youel, it seemed to follow on from QA to QC to H&S and Env. Just seemed to gain more areas, none ever seemed to go- definitely no plan. Think I started life as a mechanical engineer, but that seems so long ago now.
Chris
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Rank: Super forum user 
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1. Started out as a TU H&S Rep.
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Rank: Forum user
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1. From the shop floor out of personal interest
guess this where i started ...... cheers
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Rank: Forum user
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An odd mix of 3 & 5. I'd had an interest in the subject for some years, but didn't have an opportunity. When it came, I took it happily. I still can't wait to retire in 10 weeks though!
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Rank: Forum user
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I guess you could say 4 as my Dad was a firefighter and had an accident at work which resulted in early medical retirement. I was doing biology at Uni and there was a module on Ergonomics. The lecturer was brilliant and found the topic interesting so ended up doing a project on firefighting injuries. Went on to do a Masters in Ergonomics and got a job doing research and consultancy which I loved.
Change in immediate management however reduced significantly the types of jobs I was involved in so decided to broaden horizons to Health and Safety in general. Went back to Uni to complete a PG Certificate and then the threat of redundancy at that organisation led me to leave to take up my current role as Health and Safety Adviser.
Do miss some of the things I used to be involved with while working in the private sector but on the whole, enjoy my job and am still learning...
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Rank: Forum user
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THANK YOU to all who responded to my straw poll request!
Regards,
Argyll
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