Earning a master’s degree online can seem daunting. Prospective students often wonder, “Is the experience online the same as on campus?” and, “Will the format fit my lifestyle?” Roughly 8.5 million students in the United States are now enrolled in at least one online course, though, and that number is growing due to the flexibility and benefits of virtual learning.
Below, explore what online courses entail, eight key benefits, and get the advice you need to determine if online learning is right for you.
What Is Online Learning Like?
An online course requires just as much work as an in-person format. However, online courses afford you more flexibility, since it doesn’t matter where or when you fulfill the requirements as long as you meet your deadlines and communicate with your instructor and peers.
Each week, your instructor typically expects you to take the following actions on your own:
- Review the learning objectives
- Complete the assigned readings
- Submit assignments
- Go through the lecture materials
- Participate in the discussion boards
You are probably experienced at independently completing the first three actions from previous in-person courses. Learning from an online lecture might take some getting used to, but as long as you hit your deadlines, the time and location you submit your assignments is entirely up to you.
Learn More: How to Be a Successful Online Learner
Is Online Learning Better?
Online learning has become increasingly popular in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. However, there have been some critiques regarding its effectiveness. It’s important to acknowledge that remote learning isn’t for everyone—several characteristics will determine students’ successful use of online learning platforms.
While online learning appeals to a variety of students with diverse learning styles, the ideal online student:
- Feels comfortable in an online environment
- Adapts learning styles to fit the virtual education format
- Possesses the self-discipline to effectively organize their schedule
- Is willing to participate in online discussions
Adjusting to an online learning model can be challenging at first, but there are numerous benefits once you adapt. No matter the reason you choose to pursue online education, earning an online degree can help prepare you for career advancement and demonstrate key skills to potential employers. Here’s an overview of eight top benefits of online learning.
Northeastern’s Online Learning Experience
Learn what it’s like to take a class online, tips for excelling in an online learning environment, and more.
Eight Benefits of Online Learning
1. Added Flexibility and Self-Paced Learning
Not many people have the ability to take time off from work to commit to a full-time graduate program, and others have jobs that require frequent travel. For those who still need to juggle working and going back to school, the flexibility of an asynchronous online program provides the opportunity to learn while still working and growing professionally.
By earning your master’s degree online, you can learn on your own schedule. Rather than leave the office early or skip family dinner to commute to campus, you’re able to log on at a time that doesn’t interfere with other commitments. That flexibility allows you to more easily balance work, life, and graduate school.
Additionally, students don’t always feel comfortable asking professors to repeat a point they made in their last lecture or dive into deeper detail on a specific topic. When learning online, you can revisit past material or pause the lecture to perform additional research or organize your notes. This added flexibility allows you to move through the course work at your own speed and get the most out of the program.
2. Preparation for an Online Workforce
Today’s workforce is largely remote, with 40.9 percent of employees either working virtually or on a hybrid basis. It’s also estimated that 16 percent of companies are fully remote, and approximately 32.6 million Americans will work remotely by 2025. For this reason, it’s important for professionals to prepare for the possibility of remote work and obtain the necessary skills to succeed in a virtual position.
Learning online is an excellent way for you to prepare for this shift toward the online workplace, since you’ll have practice managing your time without direct supervision and completing work in a timely manner.
3. Better Time Management
Because there are no set classroom times within an asynchronous online degree program, and students have the flexibility to create their own schedules, it’s up to the student to proactively reach out to faculty, complete assignments on time, and plan ahead.
Online classes keep you on a regular schedule of making and meeting deadlines, allowing you to practice managing your time and staying productive week-to-week. Employers often appreciate the time management skills needed to complete an online degree program and view these skills as a valuable asset in potential employees.
Melanie Kasparian, associate director of assessment at Northeastern College of Professional Studies, shares tips on how to be a successful online learner. She recommends that students work consistently throughout the week, with a sample schedule that may look like this:
- Monday: Begin required readings, lectures, and multimedia.
- Tuesday: Continue reviewing materials.
- Wednesday: Post to the discussion forum and begin assignments.
- Thursday: Continue posting and working on assignments.
- Friday: Read and respond to posts and work on assignments.
- Saturday: Read and respond to posts and finish assignments.
- Sunday: Check your work and submit assignments.
“Working on the train, during a lunch break, or in the morning—there’s really no right time to study, as long as it fits your life,” Kasparian says.
4. Demonstrated Self-Motivation
By successfully earning your master’s degree online, you prove that you are self-motivated, able to manage time well, can tackle multiple tasks, set priorities, and are able to adapt to changing work conditions.
Instructors expect students to be independent, to learn on their own, and to engage with the course material. Similarly, in the workforce, employers want you to be self-motivated, go after things that interest you, and seek new opportunities and ways of doing things. The more you put your heart into it—whether it’s learning online or challenging yourself at work—the more likely it is that you’ll succeed.
5. Improved Virtual Communication and Collaboration
Learning to work with others in a virtual environment can make you a more effective leader. You’ll develop critical leadership skills by utilizing specialized knowledge, creating efficient processes, and making decisions about best communication practices, such as what should be discussed on a call or in writing.
In an online program, you’ll also have the opportunity to:
- Participate in discussion boards with your classmates
- Communicate with professors via email
- Collaborate through various software programs
As the program progresses, you’ll get better at pitching your ideas and making strong, succinct, professional arguments through text.
Participating in discussion boards is a lot like participating on a virtual team. Communicating your ideas clearly, getting responses, and projecting a professional image are necessary skills in a virtual workplace. Instructors, just like managers, expect you to write respectful, thoughtful, and polite communications, respond to different perspectives, and build a rapport with your peers. Luckily, in an online program, you’ll refine this skill quickly.
6. A Broader, Global Perspective
Students in online programs come from across the U.S. and all over the world. This means that online students not only have the opportunity to network with people from around the globe, but can also broaden their perspectives and become more culturally aware.
Businesses are looking for employees who can innovate, and innovation often comes from stepping outside of your comfort zone and learning from people with different perspectives. If you’re interested in entrepreneurship, for example, hearing how other countries adopt certain technologies or approach specific industries can inspire new ideas or improve an existing concept you’ve been developing.
Being exposed to new ideas from professionals in other countries may spark creativity of your own—creativity that can turn out to be valuable for your organization.
7. Refined Critical-thinking Skills
Online learning facilitates critical thinking by challenging you to think differently. Most employers are searching for professionals with the ability to think critically in their individual roles, and mastering this skill can set you apart.
Critical thinking plays a role in any type of education; however, online learning forces you to develop your critical thinking skills in ways that you might not have practiced in an in-person classroom. This sort of self-paced and self-motivated learning demonstrates to future employers that you have the ability to think critically and overcome any obstacles that might stand in your way.
8. New Technical Skills
An online degree also equips you with strong technical skills—a definite plus for any job seeker. As part of your coursework, you will likely need to utilize digital learning materials, get familiar with new tools and software, and troubleshoot common issues. After a program’s worth of technical hurdles, big and small, you should become relatively well versed in common collaboration tools, content management systems, and basic troubleshooting.
With more companies using virtual teams, it’s important to learn how to collaborate remotely. Your classmates will likely live in different time zones, which you need to learn how to adapt to and schedule around.
Embracing technology is also crucial. When you’re working on a group project, sharing files or status updates can become difficult via email, so you might need to utilize project management and communication tools such as:
- Zoom or Skype: These video conferencing software programs let you speak face-to-face with your peers.
- Dropbox: Share documents with your group and keep work in one place using the file hosting service.
- Slack: The messaging platform is helpful if you need to instant message in real-time or break off into smaller groups to work on a specific part of the project.
- Trello: The project management tool enables you and your team to create, assign, track, and prioritize to-dos.
- Basecamp: Another, slightly more robust, project management tool you can use to share messages and upload files.
Most companies today are using some combination of the software above or other similar tools. Experience with project management and familiarity with software like Basecamp can bolster your resumé. With an online degree experience, your future employer will know you’re comfortable learning new technologies, building a rapport virtually, tackling tasks proactively and independently, and navigating a computer and virtual workspace.
Is an Online Degree Right for You?
If you’re considering whether an online graduate degree is the right choice for you, be sure to consider the benefits online learning has to offer. For students who are faced with the challenge of balancing work, family, and education, an online master’s degree can be an ideal solution. Further, pursuing an online degree can prepare you for career advancement and showcase key skills to potential employers.
By earning a master’s degree—no matter the format—you set yourself up to earn significantly more in your lifetime than bachelor’s degree holders. You’ll also gain access to more job options, given that the number of jobs that require a master’s degree is expected to increase by 17 percent between 2016 and 2026. Learning online builds on those benefits and helps prepare you for today’s globalized workforce.
Are you interested in earning your master’s degree online? Watch the webinar below to learn more about Northeastern’s online graduate experience.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in April of 2016. It has since been updated for relevance and accuracy.
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