Why You Should
Consider Doing Your MBA Online
Getting your MBA can open up a whole range of possibilities when it comes to senior management careers. Whether you are hoping to get a promotion within your current company, apply for jobs at a higher level to your current one, return to work after a break in a higher paid position, or start your own new business venture, the MBA is about the best qualification you can get, both in terms of the things you’ll learn, and how well regarded it is in the professional world.
Of course, going back to college is not an idea that appeals to a lot of people once they are in a position to be doing an MBA, and also, there can be a lot of factors that can make doing your MBA the traditional way by attending a physical college or business school either unattractive or impossible. But this is not a reason to give up on taking your MBA or put it off until a later stage in your life when going to college might be more convenient. Instead, you should consider one of the many great online MBA programs available now.
Leadership and learning are indispensable to one another (JFK).
Here are just 12 of the reasons why an online MBA can be a better choice than a conventional on-campus MBA program:
No Commuting or Relocating
One of the best reasons to think about choosing to do your MBA online with a provider such as this Ohio school, is that you can take advantage of high quality teaching without having to commute or relocate. By being able to study at home (or wherever else you like), you have a lot more options, such as:
- You can live in a cheaper area to keep costs down, even if there’s no college close by
- You can live at home with your parents to save money
- You can move during your course without it affecting whether you can continue studying with the same school
- You can choose whichever college or business school you like, regardless of location
- You can make huge savings on gas or public transport costs
- You can live in the area you want to work in when you finish studying
These are all benefits that, depending on your circumstances, may help you.
Fit it Around Family Commitments and Childcare
Usually, it is a prerequisite for studying for an MBA that you already have a bachelor’s degree, and that you also have a few years of relevant commercial experience under your belt. Because of this, if you’re thinking about doing an MBA, you are probably at least in your late twenties, if not older, and so it is very possible that you are no longer keen on living a student lifestyle, and may have a spouse and/or children who you need to factor into your plans.
By doing your MBA online, you can be at home more, and therefore will find it easier to make arrangements for childcare, as well as keeping childcare costs down. For this reason, doing an online course like an MBA can also be a very good option for people who have chosen to take time out of their careers to be stay at home parents while their kids are very young. They can use the time while they are at home to study for their qualifications, and when they want to re-enter the workforce when their children start school, they can do so with better opportunities.
Keep Working While You Study
If you want to get your MBA so you have a better shot at moving up in your existing company, then doing the course online can not only mean you can keep working without too much disruption, but can also mean that you can talk to your employer about your plans, and may be able to negotiate some extra time off for studying or exams, or even get some mentoring at work from higher level managers who will help you develop your leadership skills on top of what you’ll be learning on your course.
Even if you don’t want to stay in your current company long term, keeping working while studying for your MBA makes it a lot more affordable, and can also help you put the things you are studying into context.
A Great Option for Small Business Owners
An MBA isn’t just valuable for people who want senior corporate jobs. If you want to run your own business, the contents of an MBA will set you up to do this very effectively. However, if you are already running a business or preparing to launch one, doing an MBA online can allow you to keep working on this while also developing yourself as a manager and entrepreneur as you go. The inherent flexibility of online study will make it possible to dedicate time to your small business while also putting in the study you need.
Network More Outside of Your Cohort
One less obvious advantage to studying for your MBA online is that your networking opportunities won’t be as limited to other people in your college cohort as they would be if you were attending a course in person. You can still interact with people who are studying the same thing as you, but you’ll also feel motivated to go online and talk to other MBA students in forums and on social media, and can expand the range of other MBAs you get to know as you do this.
Networking is hugely important, but it doesn’t have to take place face to face on a college campus. Getting to know people who are learning the same things as you all over the country, or even the world, can mean you’ll have some great connections who may be more diverse than you’d have if you only stuck with the same people throughout your MBA.
Keep Student Debt Down
Student debt is a big concern in the US at the moment, with over three trillion in outstanding student loans, and that figure growing every day. Student debt can be crippling for people for many years after they graduate, and even in the kind of high paid positions MBAs look for, having that kind of debt on your back can be debilitating.
Choosing an online degree helps you keep the costs down, and this can mean you either don’t need to get into debt at all, or can keep it very minimal.
Here are some of the ways online degrees are more affordable:
- Tuition itself is generally cheaper due to fewer overheads for colleges
- No accommodation or travel expenses to study
- Keeps the cost of living down by being at home, rather than eating out every day
- Reduces the need for paid childcare
- You only need a computer, mobile device and internet connection to study
- Scholarships may still be available
- Work full or part time while you study
Start and End at a Time That Suits You
Many colleges that run online MBA programs have more than one start time per year, so if the ideal time for you to begin your degree or graduate doesn’t fit with the traditional school year, then this won’t be a problem. Check out the enrolment dates for different courses and find an MBA program that fits well with your life!
Improve Your Time Management Skills and Self-Motivation
Doing an MBA from the comfort of your own home is definitely more convenient, but it also means you have only yourself to rely on when it comes to making sure your studying gets done, and you are progressing at the right speed. This can mean you’ll have to work on your own time management and productivity to get the most out of yourself as you work through the MBA program. You’ll also need to learn to keep yourself engaged and motivated, without necessarily having to be accountable to tutors in the same way as you might if you were attending college in person (though you will still have tutors to support you).
Luckily, these skills are worth a lot to business people in their own right. By studying online, you’ll get good at working to a schedule and remaining enthusiastic about meeting long term goals. You’ll also be able to use your MBA as a strong example of a time when you had to use good time management and be a self-starter, for those competency-based interview questions that are so popular these days!
Manage Your Own Learning
There are all different ways you can engage with the materials on your course, and most people find that some ways of learning gel better with them than others. When you are in command of how you spend your study time, you can leverage the learning styles you find most helpful, and also control which topics you spend the most time on depending on your prior knowledge and experience.
Travel if You Want to!
Some people choose to take on an online degree program while they are also getting in some world travel or living in another country for a while. This can be great if you have your mind set on one day starting a business with an international scope, or having a management role in a global company, plus it can also be great life experience, and mean you can (depending where you go) live quite inexpensively while you’re doing your degree.
Even if serious travel isn’t of interest to you, being able to keep up your studies while traveling to other cities or taking vacations, without having to worry about not being able to attend lectures, makes life a lot easier.
Online Degrees are Just as Well Respected
When online degrees were a new thing, a lot of people did see them as inferior to traditional degrees, and in many ways, they were perhaps right to – the early market was fairly opportunistic and the methods of delivering education online were not yet advanced enough to offer the same experience and level of quality control as in bricks and mortar universities.
However, a good two decades have passed since those times, and now online degrees are on a par with conventional degrees, both in terms of quality, and in terms of how they are seen by people. While some people do put some credence in which business school you study with, in general, employers in multiple studies have revealed that they see online degrees as equivalent.
Boost Your Technology Skills
Technology is a bigger deal than ever in business, and this doesn’t just mean things like the basic software used to manage things like accounts, but the software that is at the cutting edge of how businesses compete. Data science, the internet of things, cloud computing and all kinds of tech focused topics are now essential in business’ strategies, and if you are someone who isn’t really at home with tech concepts, then the very act of using the internet and communication tech to study will give you a skills boost. Understanding how the course is delivered to you, and using things like apps that can boost your productivity and help you study, will all help you feel more generally at ease with using different technologies to their full potential.
As you can see, getting your MBA by following an online program is more flexible, more convenient, and generally more compatible with most people’s lifestyles once they are at a point in their careers when starting an MBA is an appropriate step. With lots of great courses available from highly respected business schools and universities, you’ll be certain to find an MBA path that suits your needs in terms of timing, and by studying for it under your own steam, you’ll be developing and refining some extra skills when it comes to managing yourself and using technology.
Why not take a look at some of the online MBA courses available starting soon, and make 2020 the year you make this important step towards a more lucrative future?
