What is best to do? L5 or Masters?

Hi Callum, welcome to the Communities. Not sure to be honest, I think I'd start by looking at the course content and identify which more closely matches your requirements for your HR career. Do you think your job hunting will be within the UK or would you be looking to join more corporate employers which have operations across the world? That might get you off the starting blocks. :-)

As I have said many times before the level 5 is mostly a waste of time. if you can do a Masters which gives CIPD membership then do it.

Peter is right - if you have a way of doing the Masters then that is best. The only bit of caution around that is that if you are not already working in HR, having a Masters can sometimes make it challenging to get your new role - employers may see you as overqualified for an entry level role and be concerned that you will get some experience and then leave quite quickly. A good employer however would see that you having that knowledge is a good thing and be happy to support you to put that knowledge into practice.

I'm intrigued, why do you feel this about the level 5? Do you feel similarly about other levels?

Sorry if you've expressed this elsewhere, feel free to signpost me to a previous response - it's just the first time I've seen it!

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I rather disagree with Peter.

If you are already working in International HR at a mid- to senior level, by all means do the Master's. But if you aren't currently working in HR, I think the Level 5 is a far better investment of time and money. We have seen far too many people on this forum and elsewhere asking why they can't find work in HR after completing their Master's and the answer is because they are looking of an entry-level job without entry-level skills and knowledge.

Teresa may well be right when she talks about being seen as over-qualified. But I think a more charitable interpretation is that you're not at all qualified. Knowing about strategic-level practice in global HR is useless to me when what I need you to do is provide a line manager with a clear illustration of an employee's absence record and then coach them on the correct process for managing it.

Hi there - I speak to lots of people exploring CIPD qualifications who have a Masters level qualification and want to do their CIPD for various reasons. Some decide to do Level 5 because that's the level they are working at and they feel they are missing something, want to learn more about the topics, explore what other organisations are doing and/or that they find that jobs they are looking at are insisting on a CIPD qualification. It helps them to reinforce their knowledge and skills, increase their confidence and build their network so that they can later go onto bigger roles. Doing a CIPD qualification is an investment in time, money and energy yes but whatever level you choose for your circumstances it should always build on your existing knowledge and experience and help you to do your job as a people professional better. It should never be a waste of time and money as long as you choose the right study option for your needs :)

Level 3 is a good entry and level 7 is necessary. level 5 is just a thing in the middle.
I agree that level 7 has become too academic but over 40 years ago it was heading that way.

Ah, well, that might very well be a fair criticism. But a Level 3 qualification can also be a bit de-motivating for someone who already has a university degree or higher. But the content might well be more relevant to the entry-level HR aspirant.

I would always recommend graduates go straight to level 7 and good HR people.