Earn Your Degree Online

Posts Tagged ‘Worth’

I am thinking of enrolling at the University of Phoenix Online, to get a bachelors in Psychology will employers look down on an online degree?

I will soon be completing my 4 year undergraduate degree from Pakistan. Its name is “Bachelor of electronics engineering”. I will migrate to USA with my family. I want to ask if this degree is enough to get a “good” job there in USA or I have to get some additional degree?

Obtaining a bachelor degree qualification can certainly be a positive step towards an enjoyable and successful career but it has significant educational costs that need to be considered. How does the investment in your education actually pay off in the long run financially? This article looks at how the numbers stack up.

Ok, to begin with we must look at what an online bachelor degree actually costs. The direct cost of education can range anywhere from $2000 to $30,000 a year at some high profile private schools. But for the purpose of this article we are going to use an average figure of $6,500 per year. We then need to add another $800 per year for textbooks, stationary and supplies which brings us to $7300 per year. Based on this, the total cost of a 4 year course the is $29,200. For the ease of understanding lets round that up to $30,000 just to keep it simple.

The direct cost of the education is not the main expense however. The highest online bachelor degree cost (which is not always considered) is the additional cost (or income loss) of the student not working full time while carrying out their bachelor degree program. By choosing to go to college or university to obtain a degree the student’s ability to get a start in his or her chosen career is delayed by a minimum of four years. With this in mind the additional cost of lost income could easily add up to over $100,000 while you are studying for your bachelors degree. For the sake of this article lets use $80,000 or $20,000 per year.

This gives us a total online bachelor degree cost of $110,000. Quite significant money indeed. But does it pay off?

The US Bureau of Labour Statistics recently published data showing that during the first quarter of 2008 full time professionals with bachelors degrees earned a median weekly salary of $1,108 while workers who only had high school diplomas earned a median weekly salary of $615. However I believe this does not give a true indication of the earnings increase the degree actually contributed to as in general the type of people who earn degrees would probably earn an above average wage with or without the degree. So for this discussion I will increase the non degree income by 50% to account for this which equates to a weekly income of $922.

On this basis the degree holders earn on average an additional $186 per week or an annual increase of $9672. So without taking into account other factors such as taxation and inflation it would take 11 years and 4 months for the initial online bachelor degree cost to be covered by the increased earning potential it provides. Over the average working lifespan of 40 years the degree would have earned an additional $386,880. This is more than three times the additional cost!

So you can see from this, that it is clear that obtaining a degree certainly does pay off financially. However it is also important to remember that education has many other benefits that will enrich your life.

A successful graduate from an MSN-MBA program will enjoy many benefits of that education and these five advantages emphasize just that.

A master’s degree in nursing equips the graduate with the tools to understand the complexities involved in health care as well as the business end of the organization.

A master degree equips the holder with the education and credentials to qualify for a larger number of career opportunities in the health care industry.

There is a continuing demand for skilled and competent graduates who have in-depth knowledge about the roles of the national government and other private organizations have in health care, i.e. JCAHO, Medicare, insurance and regulating agencies.

A RN with a master in nursing will enjoy substantial increase in earnings, because of their enhanced skills and knowledge.

A leadership role is often the position that someone takes on when graduating with an online master’s degree in nursing, providing a vision and direction for the organization. A graduate with better education has the enhanced ability to anticipate and adapt to any obstacles that may be in their way during their professional career.

What makes earning an online masters degree in nursing a pursuit worth the financial investment for a student?

Schedule is Adaptable

Many students manage full time jobs with family responsibilities. Added to these responsibilities is the reality that most live far from school campuses. Therefore, the convenience of studying without having to attend classes in a traditional setting is a big plus.

More Time To Apply Towards Learning

The time it would have taken for the student to travel to and from the campus can now be added to the hours of learning.

Set Own Pace In Learning

Students earning a college or master’s degree on-line are especially motivated. Moreover, because they do not have to adjust their learning pace to that of the entire class — they are free to pursue their preferred subjects and decide how much to spend on these.

Quality interaction with classmates & teachers

24/7. Herein lies the strength of the web to connect fellow students, because with today’s busy life styles the possibility of meeting each other physically becomes a feat in logistics, and difficult to accomplish.
Programs like E-mail, chat messengers, and discussion boards, allow the student to stay in touch with their instructor, without having to wait for long hours or reset schedules to have this meeting.

Familiarity with Communications Technologies

A student’s ability to confidently handle an electronic environment is an added skill in the workplace.

Indeed, what’s an online masters nursing degree worth? In terms of earning ability over the course of one’s professional life, over $2.5 million (2002 – Commerce Department’s Census Bureau). Even better is the improved ability to contribute in a meaningful way to the health care industry and personal growth

Or would it be worthwhile doing a Masters in Finance instead. Or perhaps a Masters in Law.
My ultimate goal is to open my own Accounting practice, but looking for another degree that will be complimentary.

Obtaining a degree online is a great way to help you achieve a promotion at your current job. There are many professional and personal courses you can take that will let you get your Associates, Bachelors or even your Masters degree. Getting an advanced degree can greatly improve your career opportunities, as well as help secure that promotion that you are working toward.

Those people who hold a master degree typically get a higher salary. They get more challenging and more interesting work. Their growth potential is truly greater and borders on unlimited. An Online Masters degree can help those who are currently employed to get promoted. It can obviously assist the unemployed find a decent job. Anyone looking for a challenging job may find one with the help of an online Masters degree. It is good to note that online colleges provide a great deal flexibility and convenience. Many such colleges have already started online programs. They also offer online degree courses on a part time basis.

For people who do not live near a college or university, getting an online degree is a very good alternative. There are many benefits to getting a degree online such as flexible schedules, spending more time with your family and being able to work while going to school without changing your work schedule drastically.

Since students are able to enroll in evening and weekend courses, they are still able to maintain their set schedules and responsibilities. This allows those who have full-time jobs or families more convenient access to coursework. Online course availability allows them to work around the schedules they create which require their online presence.

Many excellent, accredited universities can be found online, offering many types of programs and areas for further study. Colleges and universities may supplement their traditional campus programs with online courses, or they may exist as online-only schools. Today, most traditional institutions of higher learning also offer some online learning options to remain competitive. Either way, you can obtain advanced degrees in business, nursing, health care management, information technology, education, liberal arts, or many other fields.

If you want to go for a college degree, do not let the formidable costs of financing it be a worry. What you invest in education today will reap rich rewards in the future. Just look around and you will see that there are very few successful professionals who do not have advanced degrees. Graduate tuition is, no doubt, more difficult to finance than undergraduate tuition but there are a lot of student loans, grants, and scholarships that you may be eligible for. First decide what you want to do and then among colleges offering your chosen course, find out what is required to qualify for those grants. For example, some might need you to be a full-time student. Some companies even sponsor, partly or even wholly, the higher education tuition of their employee if they feel it would benefit the organization in the future, in terms of financial benefits or even goodwill.

Many people believe that Masters Degrees obtained from online universities are not as good as those obtained vie traditional classroom coursework, but that may be a faulty assumption. The best online programs offer similar opportunities for working within groups, development of interpersonal communication skills, and individual study. Self-motivation and self-discipline become more important, perhaps, when completing an online degree, but the necessary fine tuning of time management skills can become a great advantage. A high degree of comfort with the newest internet technologies can also be a great advantage to online learners. Obtaining a masters degree from an online university can be a valuable and convenient way to broaden your career opportunities.