Hope the following is of some use
At the uni I worked at in Australia ...
We would take people straight into post-grad study if you had 10 years ‘relevant’ work experience. A Dip or Adv Dip from a Tech College would take some years off that requirement.
A full-time Masters by coursework started with a Grad Cert, then Grad Dip then the Masters subjects (usually 4 subjects at each stage). MBA might have been 8 subjects at Masters level
RPL was a much more unusual process than for a Tech College - just about always offered alternative subjects rather than RPL
Aside from subject matter knowledge, the main things you should come away with are ‘generic’ skills applicable to ‘any’ domain:
- how to undertake research,
- how to present arguments (oral & written),
- critical thinking,
- analysis & synthesis of information,
- time management.
Writing: 5,000 or so well researched and written words per subject would be a fairly normal workload.
Reading: 200-500 pages per subject
Not everyone’s cup of tea but research can be addictive .....