Our lives are getting busier, and the demands on our professional time are increasing exponentially. The cost of living is going up, and that means we have to work harder and longer to make ends meet. For many people, the economy has created an insidious little trap. We need the opportunity to advance in order to make enough to stay afloat, but we lack the time and energy to dedicate to getting the skills necessary to do so. In the business world, that usually means getting a degree, specifically an MBA. With the increasing difficulty of college for the working adult, many are choosing to escape the trap through online schooling.
Getting a degree online has become increasingly popular, especially during the pandemic and post-pandemic world. COVID-19 fundamentally changed the way we approach life. Many of us work from home, socialize from home, and earn our education from home – and prefer it that way! Getting an online degree allows for a greater degree of freedom, both in schedule and in pace in a way traditional university learning can’t. We’ve partnered with Xavier University to go over some of the benefits of getting an MBA – or any other degree – from the comfort of your home and computer.
Learn at Your Pace
The major advantage of online schooling is that you don’t have to disrupt your entire life to do it. Most universities that offer digital education have much more flexible requirements for everything they do. Classes generally don’t require you to be at a lecture at a specific time. If there is a lecture involved at all, the overwhelming probability is that they’ll be recorded and available to watch at your leisure. Assignments are usually done via message boards and other similar tools. You’ll probably be given reading assignments to do as well. Do you see a common theme among all of these elements? None of them require you to be present at specific times!
Let’s face it, most of the people taking courses over the internet are going to have full lives to lead outside of the classroom. The most common time sinks are, naturally, having a job and having kids. While most universities offered a shift to online classes as a norm, as you can see here that trend is starting to reverse, leaving people with jobs and kids behind. Traditional schooling just plain doesn’t work for people who aren’t already going, and the disruption that attending regular university classes can be impossible to handle. Taking courses designed around your already busy life is a great way to get ahead on your time.
Learn on Your Budget
There’s no two ways around it: schooling is expensive, and some would argue unnecessarily so. This is especially true of traditional universities, which charge exorbitant fees for their education. As you can see at https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/heres-how-much-college-costs-have-skyrocketed-in-recent-years/2818439/, the cost of attending university has ballooned out of control in the past few years. For millions of learners, the cost has become impossible to meet without taking on hundreds of thousands of dollars in predatory loans that they’ll never be able to pay back. This is especially terrifying for those who are in the position where they’re already working or raising a family. You have to restructure your life completely AND you have to go into debt for the rest of your life to do it? No, thank you!
This is another area where online schooling shines. Typically, degrees offered through these programs tend to be a lot more affordable than traditional degrees. In many cases, loans aren’t even necessary thanks to an ongoing payment structure wherein you pay for each class as necessary. By taking two or three classes at a time (instead of the usual five or six), you can usually keep costs down and affordable through out of pocket payments. While school will always be expensive, it doesn’t have to break the bank and you don’t have to go into long term debt just to try to get ahead.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, there are no real downsides to pursuing education through online degree programs. They’re more flexible, respect your time, and generally cost less than the average university program. Even if you’re a more traditional student, you might want to consider online education as an alternative. More and more people are turning to online education as a way to get ahead – including this author, who finished a master’s degree last year without ever stepping foot in a physical classroom! If you’re looking to advance your career with an MBA, the smartest option in terms of your time, your money, and your freedom is going to be getting a degree over the internet. The future of education is online, and your future is waiting.