The biggest advantage of distance learning is that you can study when it suits you. The course can be fitted in around your commitments to work and family and as long as you get through the material no body minds how you do it.

Most distance learning programmes offer content comparable with taught courses. Qualifications gained by this learning method are as good and as widely recognised as those awarded to students who have studied on campus.

So far so good. But there are a few key things you need to think about if you're to get the best from long distance learning. If you're not seriously motivated don't even begin. You're going to have to self-start throughout the course and even those who are highly motivated to begin with report a fall-off in enthusiasm as the course progresses.

If you're disorganised, a bad time manager or poor at meeting deadlines, either get help to solve these shortcomings or choose a different way to learn. The key to successful distance learning is being organised, disciplined and good at managing your time.

Make sure the course providers offer good back-up support. At the very least they should assign you a personal tutor as an immediate contact point and ideally there should be annual seminars/workshops you can attend to bolster your confidence.

If possible, find a study buddy. Just having another person as a sounding post for ideas or a shoulder to cry on will help you keep going. Distance learning is tough, so make sure to enlist the support of family and friends in advance. You may need help with the domestic chores and your friends will have to accept that the party animal is on time-out.

Elaine Nolan, a customer services representative with Galway Irish Crystal, recently complete the graduateship in marketing with the Marketing Institute by distance learning. "You have to be prepared to study in the evenings and at the weekends and you have to be disciplined about it," she says.

"I found having someone to study with really helped. The institute offered support and they responded any time I asked something. But having a regular study partner was very important. Distance learning suited me. I liked not being tied to specific hours or to a specific evening. The flexibility is good. But it's a lot of hard work."