After completing a four-year degree, many people find themselves at a crossroads. If they aspire to further education, do they pursue that immediately? Or do they enter the workforce, pay down some student loans, and build experience that will provide some context for their post-graduate learning? For many years, those were the only two choices. It was impractical to attempt both. But distance learning MBA options are providing that very opportunity for many people who want or need the best of both worlds. These opportunities have expanded the effective size of campuses, brought greater learning to more people, and provided economic impacts throughout the nation and even the world. The success comes from far beyond simply the opportunity to earn another degree; it’s rooted in some fundamental characteristics of modern online learning that make an MBA a legitimate option for more learners than ever before. Dovetailing With Daily Life Prior to the advent of distance learning, people who wanted to join the work force while retaining a student ID were, at best, forced to limit their chosen institutions. But technology and accelerated curricula has permitted students to utilize online programs at Gwynedd Mercy, for example, while holding down a full-time job simultaneously. Traditional working circumstances are feasible too, of course. Required online postings, paper submissions, or class chats can be completed with real flexibility. And just like the mail carrier, neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night will hinder a student’s attendance. One can still play hooky with online classes, perhaps, but you’ll need better excuses than the weather. Keeping It Real–Financially Time enrolled as a full-time student is time enrolled out of the work force. If you won’t be working this semester as you work on an MBA, you feel you must take on as much of a course load as you possibly can. That means potentially accumulating more tuition charges than you might like, which leads to student loans and other debt. When a student-learner can continue to earn a paycheck during the semester, there is less pressure to assume an overwhelming schedule. The student can take a practical number of classes, carefully budgeting time and money so as to achieve an affordable balance. The extra time that may be required to finish a program is less costly this way, and those savings amplify the impact of the completed degree. Reaping Rewards Education is very often referred to as an investment in one’s future, and that’s absolutely true. That investment creates returns in many ways. Workers who complete MBA degrees generally have greater job security, to begin with. They are understood to possess a skill set somewhere above colleagues without those degrees, and that makes them more valuable to their employers should cutbacks have to take place. And even when times aren’t so lean, better-educated workers are still seen as more valuable and are therefore paid more. Finally, greater educational attainment is generally a requirement for most promotions with employers, so a higher degree opens many doors for workers. Source: Education News