There has never been as good a time to earn a graduate degree online as now. Top-ranked schools are offering high-quality programs, technological advancements make the learning experience incredibly robust and students can work towards a degree while maintaining their jobs and family lives. For those worried about the reputation of online degrees, that too has improved remarkably. Two-thirds of academic professionals rate online programs as good or better than their in-person counterparts, according to U.S. News and World Report. One education consultant says 65 percent of managers view online degrees on the same level as those from brick-and-mortar institutions. With online programs finally receiving serious resources and respect, the time is right to start learning online. Online higher education has grown tremendously in recent years and the offerings have become increasingly sophisticated, which means students have more options to choose from, and better ones at that. Students can earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees online in fields like business, nursing, engineering, teaching and many more. In recognition of the growing demand for online education and the need to separate the high-quality programs from the rest, U.S. News and World Report will release a new set of rankings specifically for online offerings in January 2012. The most attractive component of online higher education for many students is the ability to attend top schools, like the University of North Carolina, Georgetown University or the University of Southern California, without having to relocate. Online students can keep their jobs, continue to pay their bills and support their families while advancing their careers simultaneously. Even in fields like nursing and teaching where clinical and classroom time is necessary, the right school makes it possible; Georgetown nursing graduate students complement online learning with clinical experiences in their own neighborhoods, and USC teaching students upload videos of their teaching to receive feedback from professors and mentors, to stay on track towards earning their teacher certification despite being hundreds of miles away. Technology enables students to learn from a distance, and recent advances are major drivers behind the increase in quality of online education. Students can attend live video classes with other students and professor, interacting as they would in a physical classroom through their computer’s webcams. Social networking tools are built into many online degree programs so students can ask each other for help, form study groups or simply socialize and make friends. While many fear they will be disconnected from professors, online students can reach instructors through e-mail or set up one-on-one video calls to receive feedback and help with coursework. Some programs even offer mobile applications, so students can keep up with their courses while away from their computers. With such robust technology, the online learning experience goes beyond mimicking the on-campus one, and aims to make learning better and more effective. Online programs have other distinct features that make them attractive, like opportunities for travel and developing immediately relevant skills for the workplace. MBA@UNC offered at the Kenan-Flagler School of Business, one of the best online MBA programs, require their students to attend at least two immersion weekends at different locations around the world, like San Francisco, Singapore and London. These serve as an extension of the classroom learning, allowing MBA students to develop leadership skills, connect with business leaders from around the globe and better understand the international business environment. Graduates of the top online degree programs that have an on-campus counterpart are indistinguishable from other alumni in the school’s perspective. They have access to the same resources after graduation, are members of the alumni network and, most importantly, receive a degree of equal quality. The unique learning environment, however, often makes them even stronger employees. “The students really have to hone their writing skills and their ability to articulate in an online format,” online education consultant Danielle Babb told Fox Business. “When they’re done with their programs, a lot of their employers are finding that it’s a huge benefit to the company because they are able to articulate more clearly in writing, they’re earning promotions, and they’re being looked at as the go to expert in their field.” This article was written by Social Media Outreach Coordinator, Harrison Kratz on behalf of CAREEREALISM-Approved Partner, 2tor – an education-technology company that partners with institutions of higher education such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to deliver their accredited MBA program online.Learn concept image from Shutterstock
The new year is here! For many of us, January is the perfect time to reflect on our lives and set new goals, hoping to become better versions of ourselves. Most people make personal resolutions, like getting in shape, quitting smoking or drinking, or learning a new language. But what about career resolutions?
A career resolution is exactly what it sounds like: a resolution for your career intended to help you grow into a better professional. At Work It DAILY, we believe that you need to work on your career every day (yes, you do, in fact, need to "work it daily"). So, everyone should make a career resolution or two along with those other ambitious personal resolutions. They can be little things like learning a new skill or growing your professional network, or bigger goals like landing a promotion or getting a new job.
But how do you know what kind of career resolutions to make?
You can begin by asking yourself, "Am I where I want to be in my career?" If your answer is "no," you need to take a closer look at your career goals.
Here are five more career questions you should be asking yourself this new year to figure out how to grow your career and become the professional you know you can be.
1. Am I Proud Of My Job Title?
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You could be a janitor or a neurosurgeon, it doesn't matter. If you aren't proud of what you do for a living, there's something missing: passion and purpose.
Career burnout is real, but sometimes it's deeper than that. Our passion at 25 won't necessarily be our passion at 40. And that's okay.
When we are passionate about what we do, we are proud because we are doing what we think is important, what we love doing. We feel a sense of purpose. We are adding value to and making a difference in this crazy world—in a small, but significant way.
Every job is important. No matter what your job title is, if you aren't proud of it, and don't feel like you can leverage your strengths as a professional in the position, you should absolutely change that. Identify that one problem you want to find a solution to and go after it. What are you waiting for?
Remember, the only bad job is the one you aren't passionate about, the one that isn't allowing you to leverage your professional strengths and reach your potential.
If you don't know what your professional strengths are or what kind of work you'd find purposeful and fulfilling, we recommend taking our free career quizzes.
- Career Decoder Quiz - discover your workplace personas
- ISAT Quiz - discover your communication style
Take the quizzes now to learn your unique combination of professional strengths and how they can help you get better career results so you can be proud of what you do.
2. Do I Feel Secure In My Career?
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This is a bit different from job security. Actually, job security doesn't exist. Every job is temporary. Think you can stay in the same job for decades and then retire? Think again. While that may have been commonplace for past generations, today's workforce and job market are completely different than what they were a decade or two ago.
So what does it mean to feel secure in our careers? When we believe as professionals that we can add value wherever we are.
You are a business-of-one. A company won't want to invest in you if they don't know the kinds of services you provide, the kind of value you could add to the organization, and the problems you could solve for them. Here are some examples of questions that will help you determine if you're secure in your career:
- Are you adding value at your current job?
- Are you honing your skills, expanding your network, and building your personal brand?
- Do you feel confident that if you lost your job, you'd be able to find a comparable one in the same field?
- Do you feel confident you'd be able to demonstrate to potential employers how you add value?
Since every job is temporary, it's extremely important to constantly work on our careers and ask ourselves these questions frequently so we always feel secure in our businesses-of-one.
3. Will I Be Able To Achieve Wealth?
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When most people think of "wealth," they think of dollar signs and anything that you can attach a monetary value to. Our jobs help us build wealth. We're not going to tell you that money isn't important. Of course it is! It allows you to live the life you want to live. In many ways, money equals freedom.
But the truth is, there are other forms of wealth that are more important that you can't attach any monetary value to.
Real wealth comes in the form of family, friends, hobbies, experiences, knowledge, and community. If you don't have these things, money will never fill that void.
So, is your career allowing you to build this type of wealth? The intangible kind? Or are your relationships suffering because of your job? Is your work-life balance nonexistent? Do you have any time to pursue hobbies, learn, or volunteer?
Your career should never inhibit you from achieving real wealth. The best job isn't the one that pays the most. It's the one that pays the bills and gives you enough time to live, too.
4. Do I Have Any Regrets?
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Just asking ourselves this question can be difficult because maybe we don't want to know the answer. Acknowledging that you regret something in your life is the first step to making a change. Guess what? There's still time to chase your dreams!
If you do have regrets, that doesn't mean you haven't been a successful professional. That also doesn't mean you haven't had a good career. You could be the most successful person, but if you never got up the courage to start that business, make that career change, or go back to school, you'll most likely think, "What if?" for the rest of your life.
You'll never know if you don't try. Don't be afraid of failure. Life is just one big experiment, and it's your job to learn from those experiments. That's how you discover what works and what doesn't. That's how you discover what's possible.
And even if you do "fail," that's an incredibly more valuable experience than waiting out the clock on a mediocre career. So, don't give up on your dreams just yet.
5. Can I Reach My Full Potential In This Role? In This Career?
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When we feel like we have more to contribute to society, that's a sign we haven't yet reached our full potential. Do you feel like you're wasting your potential at your current job? Do you think you'd reach your full potential in another career?
Really think about what you want your professional legacy to be. It's a lot harder to get up in the morning when you don't find fulfillment in your work. When it comes time for you to retire, are you going to look back on your career and feel like you could have accomplished much, much more with those 50 years?
Everyone has unique gifts, skills, and expertise. When we focus on developing ourselves as individuals, as businesses-of-one, it's a lot easier to share those things with the world. Give yourself a chance to reach your full potential. If you haven't taken our free quizzes yet, your results will help you do just that. You may be surprised by what you can accomplish.
Before you get back into the same routine at work this year, we hope you take a few minutes to ask yourself these career questions. Listen carefully to how you answer them. You may need to make a career resolution or two.
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