Get The Advantage: Overcoming The Negative Aspects Of An Online Education
Any individual that has researched online education or training will no doubt
be well aware of the possible disadvantages that choosing an online degree
or training course holds over choosing to learn in an academic or technical
institution. The majority of resources available will highlight the problems
so everyone considering an online course will be aware of them before they
enrol. However, the one thing that these resources fail to mention is the
fact that the negative aspects of an online course can easily be avoided
if you know how!
Some of the negative elements associated with taking an online degree need
to be dealt with before enrolling on the course, some during online education
and the remaining problems may only present themselves afterwards so you
must be prepared. If you deal with them as they come then you will have no
problems at all!
The first potential problem is the credibility of taking an online course.
This actually refers to degrees from online schools rather than more technical
or practical training courses that are often set up to train individual workers
by the company that employs them. In order to avoid any problems associated
with online degrees, the relevant checks should be carried out before enrolling
in a program. The credibility of the online university should always be examined
because there are too many schools that bear accredited status but have been
given that status by a sister company. These universities and school are
not valid and potential employers would discard any qualification given out
by them.
However, there are online schools that are validly accredited, such as the
University of Phoenix. Any good school will be happy to reveal the source
of its accreditation, and this should actually be displayed on the homepage
or the "about us" page. Having knowledge of the source would be an excellent
idea for future job interviews and resume because this will give any
qualification an impressive legitimacy.
A problem that you may be faced with during the course of your degree is
the level of discipline that is required in order to complete all of the
assignments and tasks that are a part of the course. You can prepare for
this in advance by setting up a timetable that fits in well with your day-to-day
routine. A schedule can be altered to fit circumstances at any given time
but planning what you are doing well in advance would give you an edge over
the lure of procrastination that you will most definitely face at some stage!
If you need a helping hand to ensure that you get all work associated with
an online degree completed, then find a place to go when you find that you
cannot work in the home. Some individuals may head to a local library, others
a coffee shop, but every individual online student should choose the place
that most inspires them to work. Of course, it is completely up to you to
find that place. You could try several places before settling on the one
that suits you best.
The final problem that you are guaranteed to face at some time or other is
employer attitudes to online degrees. Although attitudes are changing, more
conservative and traditional employers will unfortunately question you as
to why you took an online degree instead of attending a campus-based course.
Every online student should have a rehearsed answer that sounds natural and
credible. Explaining personal circumstances is not enough. You should also
justify the school of your choosing. This is where having knowledge of where
the school was accredited and who by comes in useful. Your argument for
completing an online course should also be backed up by a brief description
of the classes taken and the skills and traits that you have picked up as
a result, because these skills can be of use to potential employers.
Of course, there are other problems that will be associated with your online
education, but this represents the three most pressing problems that you
will have to deal with. Be prepared for them, as well as any others that
come your way and you will almost certainly be able to turn any negatives
into positives, and that is a trick necessary when completing an online
education!
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