Bittersweet

The Surviving Half Dozen and the MEWP

I've a bittersweet feeling today, arising from the completion of the study elements of my NEBOSH Diploma. Six weeks of classroom teaching and a three hour exam gone, two more three hour exams to follow, plus the ominous 10,000 word dissertation. A full dozen of us started, but we were half that number by the end. Two changed course groups because of illness, one changed to an M.Sc in the same subject, and the rest of the group fell by the wayside.

It's been an intense course, with substantial homework on the study weeks making a balance between home and study hard to achieve. There's also a huge element of learning the specific way that the answers are wanted to be structured in, a technique which differs between the first Unit Exam (Law, in case you were wondering) and the second two Units (practical applications). In short, it's not an easy ride and I'm not surprised at the the numbers who drop out. You've got to want to be there and get the result to enjoy it.

I've made friends, and good professional contacts, for the future, and it felt strange to realise that this is probably the last time we'll all be together except of the exams themselves. It's been great challenging myself academically for the first time in ages, but incredibly tiring as well. I need to keep the focus and motivation together now for the next six weeks, which should see me through the exams themselves.