Online Education Balances Work and Masters Degree Pursuits

Distance education (Photo credit: mccoy) With three children in college the subject of graduation and the completion of the process is often a topic of conversation. It's quite possible and we are crossing our fingers because by next summer we could be attending 3 graduations. Our three in college are working hard on completing their education and soon we will be seeing a nursing, psychology and criminology degree. We are looking forward to their graduation and the landing of their first jobs. Of course this is our plan but our future graduates tell us in today's workplace a Masters degree is helpful in a very competitive job marketplace. We made a deal with our children that we would help and support them while they pursued their Bachelor degrees but any further education would come out of their own pocket.

I agree it would be a good idea to get a masters degree in their field of study. But holding a job and going to a university would be difficult to do because of time constraints. I recommended that attending an online university would be a good way to accomplish the continuing education they want. 

There is also the possibility that they take a slightly different path when earning their masters degrees, choosing to focus on something that is a little more specialized. The Master of Public Administration and Policy program, for example, accepts students with all different types of undergraduate degrees and prepares students for careers with government agencies or within private sector organizations that provide services for the public. By taking a specialized masters degree program online, I am confident that my children can fully take advantage of their education and find excellent jobs in the future.

What makes an online education more interesting than attending a conventional college is you are not restricted to a certain geographical location. You can really attend a school that is anywhere in the country. Your options are broadened because now you can attend online a university on the other side of the country or the world. All that while going to work everyday.

When you are attending an online college the classroom dynamic changes from one teacher to a possible 100 students to a one on one learning experience. It will be like your the only student in the classroom. This more personal interaction, enriches your education. With course material accessible 24 hours a day 7 days a week students have the ability to read and re read lectures, discussions, explanations and comments. Often spoken material in the classroom passes students by due to a number of distractions, missed classes, tiredness or boredom.

Participating online is much more encouraging than in a classroom. All students play on a level playing field undisturbed by physical impediments. Using online chat rooms as part of a courses requirements allow students to no longer feel any uneasiness because of the pressure of a class room situation. You have more time to form your comments and questions in a more methodical way. Professors are more approachable through online chats, email and in new discussions, without waiting for office hours that may not be convenient. This option for communication provides enhanced contact between instructors and students.

Online classrooms also help group learning by providing chat rooms for meetings and group work. This solves the problems of mismatched schedules, finding a meeting location and distributing work for review between meetings.

Students often say that online education lets them attend class when fully awake and attend in increments of convenient time blocks, rather than rigid 2 or 4 hour stretches once or twice a week.

Because there are no geographic barriers to online education, students can find a broad array of course material that may not be available to them where they live or work. This is true for professional training such as medical billing training or purchasing training and for students in remote rural areas that cannot support college or vocational training centers.

It will be great to see our college graduates out in the world pursuing there masters programs in nursing, information assurance training, and psychology all while they work at their job.

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