A common pathway to upskill, change industries or scale the career ladder is to complete a diploma as part of further study. Packed with real-world skills and taught by professionals who guide and support you, a diploma is a natural choice for many seeking a career change. If you think you have the determination and ambition to take on a management role, then a perfect place to hone those skills and develop your confidence is with online study.
Nowadays, completing an online professional qualification doesn’t require you to attend in-person classes or stick to a strict time frame. While this makes learning accessible and inclusive, undertaking a diploma still requires dedication, commitment, and personal responsibility to finish successfully.
The workload of each diploma varies. However, regardless of the specific requirements of your course, it requires more work per week than you will be accustomed to focusing on learning. The flexible online nature of diplomas delivered by the College for Adult Learning gives you the freedom to choose when you study. This makes it ideal for those juggling full-time work or family around the course.
Completing a diploma isn’t always easy, but it’s an opportunity to work on your discipline and time management skills. You’ll learn how to tackle the challenge head-on and come out the other side mentally resilient and more technically skilled in the workforce.
Assess your ability to take on the challenge of a diploma qualification.
Our unique quiz will calculate if you are in the best position right now to take on a diploma.
GO TO QUIZ
Most people are surprised to find that they are quite suited to studying online. Still, it helps to have a solid foundation of basics.
Ideally, you’ll possess:
Skills such as organisation, time management and perseverance will fall into place along the way as you commit to your studies, providing you with essential skills to use in your future career.
One of the biggest benefits of completing an online diploma is that your learning is more self-paced than it would be at a traditional training provider. You have the autonomy to select the time and pace of learning that fits your lifestyle the best.
Self-paced learning is excellent if you are working part-time and want to complete your course quickly to open doors to new career opportunities. You can complete the course faster by studying full-time or gaining recognition of prior learning (RPL). RPL lets you gain credit for units if you already have the relevant skills or experience.
Are you working full time, looking after your family, but also want to upskill to be considered for leadership opportunities in your industry? You can take the course slower, completing it on a part-time basis instead. You’ll still be eligible for RPL for any prior experience you may have.
While self-paced learning is positive, it can still present challenges as it requires a higher level of self-discipline and motivation. Look for a diploma provider who can support you throughout and student forums where you can go for peer encouragement.
Many people mistakenly put off completing further study due to the time investment and perceived difficulty of finishing the course. While it’s true that a diploma qualification requires dedication and hard work, putting in the hours now will help you reap the benefits in the future.
For example, a few months of studying on the weekends can eventually lead to a higher-paying role for the rest of your career. (Not to mention your increased superannuation balance, too.) Completing a diploma will allow you to earn around $450,000 more (on average) than non-diploma holders over the lifetime of your career, making a diploma an excellent return on investment.
If you’re thinking of completing a formal qualification, remember that while it won’t always be easy, it will always be worth it. Gaining new skills and experience will set you up for success in your career and provide you with outstanding personal skills that will help you throughout your life.
