Greg Think this question has been done to death now. A quick search of the forum will probably throw up about 30 people asking the same questions with answers ranging from the ""dont bother, its already an profession with more qualified people than jobs to go round" to the quite supportive. Im in the "dont bother" camp but best of luck to you whatever you decide.

I'm with paulw71. I had the generous proposal today from a recruitment agency to work in London for £300/day.... I'll let you decide if thats a good contract rate, for a supposedly professional area of employment.

Firstly, ignore the ones who tell you not to do it. If you feel that it is what you want to do then go for it and make it work for you. There are many who evolve their careers and move into new fields, and the workplace is all the better for it. Can I suggest you look seriously at the Nebosh/ NCRQ qualifications, they are both designed to give you a real in-depth knowledge albeit in very different ways. Do some serious research on the courses and make sure you are choosing the right one for the right reasons. (I appreciate my comments may be controversial to some - but I don't think cost or difficulty should be a deciding factor). Look for opportunities to volunteer or gain work experience. (School Governors, local charities etc). Polish your CV and get involved with IOSH where you can meet people in the industry. Like all industries it takes time and work to get into, and you will be playing catch-up with others with more experience, but you will have transferable skills also. You will, however, need a bit of drive and determination. Good luck!

Ian, To start off, that was not the question asked. The question asked was regarding training. I have come into this industry after working across others. It has taken me time to find my niche and I don't see this industry as being in any better of worse state than any of the others I have worked around. There are good and bad employers. There are different challenges, but no industry is without them.

"Yes H&S is a great career and i'm loving it i'm making loads of money" Is this what you want to hear?? As with any job you want to take, you need to do a bit of researching and seeing which part of Health and Safety you want to be involved in, there are so many different sectors that you could spend your whole career in environmental Health, or you may want to go into Construction H&S or just occupational H&S Only you can decide what you want to do otherwise its like me asking a load of builders, "i want to go into Construction, Whats it like" I would say, do some research, Read up online and decide what sector you want to go, Then look at the different courses and add ons for that particular pathway. Only when you have it clear in your head what you would like to do can you decide what training is best for you and your Career I'm working Construction and Yes whilst you can get around £300 a day you will be expected to have a considerable amount of experience and Knowledge, and perhaps a Trade yourself. The Nebosh Course offers a Construction add on which is invaluable to this sector but a waste if you want to go into environmental H&S and work for local authorities. So to Recap, 1. Decide if you want to Go into H&S 2. Look at all the different sectors and decide if any are suitable for you 3. Research and find everything you can about that Particular Sector 4. Plan and look at the different courses that would benefit your chosen sector 5. Gain work experience in that sector be it voluntary or paid, you can do the exams but its experience that gets you the Job. Whilst your saying you want to spend an x amount of money on your training, that alone will not help if you've got absolutely no experience. For some people this is a a nightmare scenario, unless you can get experience. Good luck

Benniem Thanks for commenting. Thats what I was thinking, after doing a bit of research I am favouring the NCRQ (my experience is limited). I am working in the oil and gas industry, as a Rope Access Insulation Engineer at the moment. I am interested in trying to get into that sector.

Gerry Sharpe Thanks for the advice. I have decided the sector I wish to work in, butbas you say it would be better if I could get the experience togo along with any qualifications. Do you think it would be a good idea to get experience in different sectors?

Have a day off from being the VI. None of us can advise about what else to invest training money into, unless someone had specific sector knowledge of other areas. However, in my view - (and others) that investing in h&s training probably isn't worth it - given the state of the economy and the abundance of h&s people in the job pool all driving down salaries etc.

Finally (apart from the stupid comment which I have chosen to omit) you are offering some reasonable advice to a new user. I have seen your advice on other threads and you are obviously very knowledgeable in what you do, and offer good sound advice, which you also tend to qualify. Also, I was just responding to your post asking me to explain my statement.