In your position I would consider looking at some of the long-term offers to deposit into. It means a bit of risk of course, but one could say having someone else look after it for you, is avoiding the risk you were actually worried about. Just stick to the low interest stuff.
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=88.0But if you want to invest in bitcoin, it really pays to learn about it. So I wouldn't put any money into bitcoins, until you know what you are doing and definitely start with smaller numbers to learn.