Kate I'm sure others will also share knowledge and experience but here's my thoughts given I'm not long out of education... With regards the diploma and MSc - if you've a BSc already, then my personal view would be to do the MSc straight off. Others will disagree. If you can't go straight onto the MSc then of course you'll likely do the Dip. Just have to ensure the uni's in question accept the Dip which most now do for entry onto MSc. I did an MSc full time, which was two days a week. Part time was one day and there was also distance learning. First question would be to see if you could manage being 'on campus' as having spoken to students who studied via distance - without sounding like a numpty, it was a bit too literal and even that one day a week was hugely beneficial to the part timers. If you can't do full/part time and distance is the way to go then I'm sure you'll still be fine, from discussions, and here's the positivity...those that have done the Dip route and entered the MSc via distance learning found it easier to complete/learn than those who had gone onto the MSc DL route from a degree. I suspect because the Dip route requires more autonomy to complete than some degrees. There'll be others on.here that will have studied via distance themselves and offer some valuable insight! I hope you get some insight into the MSc route and do feel free to PM me in future should you have any queries re MSc Study. Jamie

Hi Kate, I have recently completed an MSc in Safety & Risk Management with Strathclyde Uni via distance learning. It was not as daunting as I expected but a lot of hard work though. Well worth going this route if you can discipline yourself to putting the time in to complete the units. PM me if you would like further details. Good luck anyway.

Hi all, thanks for the useful insight. It's good to hear some positives! How long did it take to complete via DL, and how many hours per week did you put aside to complete? I am concerned that I will still be working full time and trying to complete a masters may just send me over the edge..! Still unsure as to whether to stick with the nebosh diploma for now but convincing myself that an MSc would be best for career development and feel like i need to put my BSc to some use! Unfortunately there are no courses close by that I can attend on a part time basis, and as I will be self funding i don't really have a choice other than to do DL as I will be completing it in my own time.