Saturday, March 26, 2011

Should you get your MBA online?

Author: Jamie Davis

When you first finished earning your bachelor's degree, you may have laughed at the idea of going through more schooling for an MBA. However, if you have since found yourself unable to find a satisfying job or stuck in the rut of your current position, you should reevaluate whether or not going back to school is actually such a bad idea. After all, an MBA can open up many more professional doors for you and lead you to a career you never thought you could obtain. Now, with the advent of Internet technology, you can even earn your MBA entirely online without having to give up your full-time day job in the process.

An online MBA program lets you work in education around your own schedule. You can take your classes anywhere you have a stable Internet connection and a fairly modern computer. All of your lectures, in-class participation, and reading assignments are delivered online. Even when you complete homework, it will be turned in online. Each class is headed by a real professor, whom you can contact if you ever need help. All of this convenience makes earning an MBA is more realistic than ever as well, thanks to quality online MBA programs available from well-respected schools. These programs typically take about two years of graduate work to complete. Students can focus their studies and specialize in a variety of fields, such as finance, international business, or marketing. They will take courses that further explore what makes a business run, such as delving into financial reporting, business technology, and management.

Before signing up for an online MBA program, students should research the school they are interested in attending. Not all programs are created equal, so you should ensure that the program you want to sign up for is offered by an accredited school. You can check a school's online accreditation status with a resource like the U.S. Department of Education's database. In addition, do some more digging and find out the degree program requirements for each school and the graduation and success rate of the students from that school. You may also find out if the school offers any valuable student services. For example, Northeastern University offers a Student Support Network and Arizona State University offers an entire Graduate Career Management Center, which helps current students and alumni find fulfilling careers.

MBA degree recipients typically fare better professionally. They are paid more and have more chances to advance up the ranks within a company than those with only an undergraduate degree. An MBA can also be the extra thing you need on your resume to distinguish you from a sea of other job applicants while you are job hunting. Even employers who accept undergraduate degrees for a certain position will be more likely to reward an open job spot to someone with a higher degree. In fact, those with MBAs typically suffer from less unemployment than those with lower-level degrees. For example, in 2009, the unemployment rate for master's degree holders such as those who have earned MBAs was a scant 3.9%, which was markedly lower than that of bachelor's degree holders, which was 5.2%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

All in all, earning an MBA degree online is an obtainable goal that you should consider if you're looking to further your career or jumpstart a new one in the field of business.

About the author:

This guest contribution was submitted by Jamie Davis, who specializes in writing about masters degree. Questions and comments can be sent to: davis.jamie17@gmail.com.

2 comments:

  1. i've started taking courses with the ACPE. unfortunately there isn't a "Top Online Business Schools" list like there are for traditional MBAs [ like Business Week ] but im hoping the ACPE will be great.

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  2. Hey very nice blog!! Man .. Beautiful .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your blog and take the feeds also…
    Joseph Joseph

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