Career Advice

Boost Your Career: 6 Reasons to Choose Online Courses

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Let’s face it, securing a good job is hard. The number of available jobs out there is lesser than the number of unemployed individuals roaming the streets. For this reason, anyone who is eager to clinch a lucrative job position will need that edge over his large and determined competitors. And what better way to do that than to boost your career by enhancing your skillset?

While faced with the thought of increasing your skill set, the chances are that you’ll have two options in mind: leveraging the normal offline classes or sticking with the trendy online classes.

If you are torn between these two decisions, we have provided you with 6 reasons to embrace the former. However, before we delve into that, let’s take a brief look at what online courses are all about.

What is an online course?

An online course, from an online learning platform such as Coursera, is the modern version of teaching. It involves creating and sharing learning content over the internet. The arrangement of the learning contents is made to ensure easy understanding and progress from one module to another.

Online courses consist of a curriculum or study plan arranged in units. These courses can include videos, images, texts, and hyperlinks designed to hone an individual’s knowledge on a certain topic or field. Since these courses are conducted over the Internet, one can easily share them with friends and loved ones.

Ever since the introduction of online courses, individuals have leveraged this modern learning method to increase their skill sets and boost their careers. If you want to boost your career but are torn between registering for courses offline and leveraging offline learning, here are some things about an online course that you need to consider first.

1. Comfortable environment

Imagine yourself in a hall filled with over 100 students striving to understand the inaudible lecture while also trying to see the distant board. With such thought still fresh in your mind, imagine yourself seated on your comfy bedroom chair in your pajamas learning a certain online course over the internet.

Comparing these two situations, which do you think is more comfortable? I bet you’ll go with the latter. And that is exactly what online courses offer you: comfort, easy assimilation, and the ability to learn at your own pace.

The restrictions that come with the usual offline classroom setting sometimes make assimilation hard. The crowded hall, noises from colleagues, inaudible lecturer, distant learning board, etc., are all absent in an online class setting, thus, making it possible for you to learn at a fast pace while boosting your career in the process.

2. Career advancement

If you are looking to advance your career and you don’t want to break the bank or incur debt in the process, it makes sense to consider online courses. Aside from being cheap, online courses are very accessible to everyone, particularly those eager to make a career switch, get a degree to boost their career, or raise their salary.

Students can take courses while juggling a few jobs and even while raising their families. Furthermore, an individual looking to boost his knowledge as a loan officer, for instance, can register for a course on loan officer training and still have time to do other important things. The flexibility online courses offer makes it a lucrative option for individuals who don’t have time to waste.

Faced with the thought of increasing your skill set, you have two options: leveraging the normal offline classes or trying with the trendy online classes. If you are torn between these two decisions, we have provided you with 6 reasons to embrace the former.Click To Tweet

3. Lower total cost

Based on findings by the College Board, the average tuition fee at state colleges is an average of US$10,230 for state residents and $26, 290 for other individuals. The cost is often higher at non-profit colleges which boast of a tuition fee of  $ 435,830.

Considering the statistics by the College Board, it is safe to say that you might end up deep in debt if you decide to boost your career by studying courses using the usual method.  However, if you consider online courses, you won’t have to break the bank to learn. Neither will you need to borrow to pay the registration fee for most online courses.

Mind you, the average cost of an online course is less than $200 compared to a typical tuition fee. In fact, some online courses are free! In addition to the cheap registration cost, instructors often give out PDFs and other learning materials, eliminating the need to buy expensive textbooks.

4. Record significant progress in your profession

One of the greatest perks of taking online courses while working is that you don’t have to sacrifice your job for your classes, nor do you have to sacrifice your classes for your job. You can continue working your normal shift while furthering your education at the same time. Many benevolent companies offer workers education bonuses, and some will even go the extra mile to pay tuition fees.

5. Convenience and flexibility

Most individuals looking to boost their careers are juggling a work/life balance with their academic responsibilities.  If you fall within this group, you certainly wouldn’t want to stress yourself much, given your dual responsibilities.

So rather than leverage the usual classroom setting where you go to classes a few times a week, causing a decline in workplace productivity in the process, it is best you embrace online courses.

With online courses, you have the opportunity to balance your work/life responsibilities while having enough time to rest. Most online learners appreciate that they can sign in after putting the kids to bed, on free weekends, or on the bus back home. For lots of people looking to boost their careers by increasing their skill set, flexibility is key.

6. Access to many programs and courses

Embracing online learning allows you to select from various programs and courses as you deem fit. Today, almost all colleges offer different types of online courses for varying degrees ranging from career certificate programs or doctoral programs.

Conclusion

Online learning is the staple of the technological era we find ourselves in. As an individual looking to boost your career, you might be lagging by failing to leverage this platform in your pursuit of career advancement.

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