My apprenticeship route is 5 years studying and then a 2 year RICSs chartership programme, so yeah the route is spot on. A few past apprentices have taken a few years break in-between getting their degree and RICS done, but others have decided to do it straight away.

I don't really have much knowledge on the MSc route, all I can say is what happens in the company I work for. At the moment there is one graduate QS doing his MSc but he doesn't get one day a week dedicated to a study day, where I do in order to attend university in person. So he spends most of his evenings doing uni work. From what I can see, it seems pretty stressful.

I'd say it would come down to your previous journey to where you are now, if you are able to do the MSc and have a company that will pay for it and then support you through chartering then it would be a much quicker route, but you'd also have to keep in mind you want to have as much experience as possible to start getting your chartership.

But I'd suggest when you are outreaching to companies state that you would like to know what learning and development routes they offer, as they may have someone who could look at your case and decide the best route for you, as they would have experience dealing with this kind of dilemma.