Hi Kellie.

The short answer is, as an ex-teacher I would say do the level 5 first.

The long answer involves the difference between the two levels. Firstly, academic. A level 5 is equivalent to an undergraduate and as such has a broad area of study, but is not particularly deep. A level 7 is equivalent to a masters degree and so has a much narrower area of study which is gone into in great depth - it’s much more specialised. Secondly, professional. Both will assume a certain level of experience, but with less than 3 years experience you almost certainly don’t have the experience a 7 will expect. A 5 will give you a broad understanding of all the main areas, whereas 7 will entail a certain amount of specialisation - this may mean you enter an area of study that you later on think isn’t your real interest. Also, with a 7 you are right in thinking that future employers may think you are overqualified for a general role, but you may not have the experience needed for roles that are within your specialism.

At the end of the day, it is entirely your decision. If it helps at all, I have an MBA and was offered the chance for a 7, but deliberately went for a 5 as it would give me that more general understanding. I used Avado who I was pleased with. Remember, if you do the 5 now you can always do the 7 later in your career.

Hope this is of some help?

You could do either and almost certainly cope with either. The academic nature of a L7 can be over played a little and most people with a reasonable degree can certainly cope with it.

The decision for me usually comes down to the reason you are doing it.

If it’s badge collecting / jumping hurdles then go straight into a 7. Save yourself sone time and money and given your experience you probably won’t suffer the pitfalls of many who do a 7 straight after a first degree and then struggle to find work.

However if you are interested in broadening and completing your HR education and filling in all the gaps then do the 5. You probably will find it a mixed bag but will be enough new things in there to make it worthwhile.

In reply to Teresa:

Hi Michelle. Thanks for the advice. After taking some time to consider both courses I decided to go with the level 5 with the view I can complete the level 7 at a later stage. I'm excited to get started now!

In reply to Keith:

Hi Keith. Thanks for your response. I have decided to go with the level 5, a big part of that following your advice that it would be the best option to avoid any gaps in knowledge, so thank you!