Professionals Would Prefer Online Masters Programs Over Masters Degrees, Here's Why

With the introduction of the digital age, people have begun relying on the internet to fulfill more and more of their needs. This has led to industries hustling and bustling towards digital transformation.

The education industry, too, has begun to appear on the medium in the form of online training. Initially, online education was considered inferior to traditional degrees. Employers rarely accepted online degrees as equal to a degree from a reputed brick and mortar school. However, online courses seem to be taking the front seat in the race for the most preferred, blurring the fine line between traditional and online.

With employers demanding more refined and up-to-date skills from employees, the demand for online programs has increased in popularity. In fact, within the United States itself, 6.7 million students enrolled in at least one online course in the fall of 2011 – an increase of more than 500,000 students when compared to 2010. Online learning has become the new form of education, and here are 4 important reasons why.

1. It is cost efficient

According to a study by FinAid.org, the average cost of a Masters degree is somewhere between $30,000 and $120,000. The cost varies depending on the field of study of the degree and the university where the degree is taken.

This humongous cost makes it extremely hard for students to meet financial requirements, leading them to take on loans and debt. Recent reports show that loan debt in the US alone is mind-boggling. Here are the numbers:

• $1.26 trillion in total US student loan debt
• 43.3 million Americans with student loan debt
• Student loan delinquency rate of 11.6%
• Average monthly student loan payment (for borrowers aged 20 to 30 years): $351
• Median monthly student loan payment (for borrowers aged 20 to 30 years): $203

With online training, you won’t have to sell any of your organs to get an education. The price of online education is three times cheaper when compared to the cost of a traditional brick and mortar school, making it affordable and cost efficient. Plus, you won’t have to fly halfway across the world to get your education.

Comparing costs with on-campus programs varies drastically as well.

The 2-year MS in Project Management program at George Washington University costs US$57,600. At the University of Sydney, the 1.5-year Master of Project Management program costs $34,000, roughly US$26,000 for a year alone. These are both on-campus programs.

Guess how much Simplilearn’s Project Management Expert Masters Program costs – you won’t believe it.

2. The Job Market Benefit – Becoming job-ready

You spend 2 years working your butt off understanding a subject, attending seminars, working through internships, and slogging for exams for what exactly? The hope that you may have the chance to sit for an interview? Well, here’s some news: traditional education does not guarantee a job!

According to an article by Forbes, in 2008 over 35% of college graduates were underemployed. In addition, 22% of PhDs or similar professional degree holding professionals and 59% of people with Masters degrees did not have jobs.

In June 2013, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that a whopping 44% of graduates were underemployed.

This data shows that a Masters degree cannot guarantee you a job. Yes, it is valuable. Yes, 1 out of 3 employers prefer a Masters degree. However, where it lacks is the fact that it does not provide a defined layout of training. These professionals are exposed to various areas of many domains, confusing them and giving them half-baked knowledge and skills.

Online training courses, however, provide a student with job-oriented training. What this means is that if you take a program like the Simplilearn’s Data scientist Masters Program, you get trained solely in the Data scientist & big data domain. You will not defer into other areas, like Digital Marketing, and will learn through a learning path that is the brainchild of the Data scientist industry’s best experts. You will become a thorough master of this domain, which will increase your chances of getting a job by 3 times.

3. The eligibility criteria

Yes, we have all heard of the struggles of getting into a brick and mortar school – some of us have even gone through those struggles. Entry requirements can be a massive headache.

From work experience to academic marks to English requirements, the eligibility criteria of a traditional school can be enough to completely drain an individual and destroy their self-esteem. And even if you try, hoping that the university gives you a little leeway because you’ve written a good statement of purpose or you’ve excelled in one area that will hopefully make up for the rest, you will be burned down. Universities are very strict on who they take in. If they do not feel that you are up to their standard or that you cannot meet their requirements, then you are immediately turned down.

This does not hold true for online training or certification. Yes, there may be eligibility requirements, but they are a minimum few compared to that of a traditional brick and mortar school. Most certifications only require some sort of previous work experience.

4. Convenience

Traditional brick and mortar schools demand that you learn on-campus. You need to go to a classroom at a fixed time, sit there, listen to a lecture, get your attendance, and then leave. There are no two ways about it. Without your attendance, you won’t pass. And if you don’t pass, you don’t get your certificate. Without your certificate, you are useless to the job market – unless of course you want to become a delivery boy at Dominos. If you have other commitments, like a family or job, you need to put them aside to concentrate on your education.

Above all else, the factor that truly sets online certifications apart from the rest is flexibility. Online courses provide this one beautiful option where professionals can study at any time that they want. With the coming of the internet, it has become easy to connect. This means opportunities for students around the world to connect with each other and their instructors over the net.

A few online training institutes allow you create your own study timetable. All you need is an internet connection and a mobile device and you are ready to improve your skills at any time.

A Masters degree can take about 2 years (more or less, depending on your specific field) to complete. But a Simplilearn’s Digital marketing specialist Masters Program takes only 6 months to complete.

With the advent of the digital age, it isn’t going to be long before traditional mediums of educations vanish from the face of the earth. These are just a few of the reasons for you to consider online training today.

The post Professionals Would Prefer Online Masters Programs Over Masters Degrees, Here’s Why appeared first on Lifehack.