Online Associate Degree - Three Popular Careers You Can Obtain After Graduation

Perhaps you've seen advertisements for an online associate degree program and are thinking about looking in to what your options are. The first question that most people ask about getting a two-year degree through an Internet program is, whether or not they will be qualified to obtain the job they desire. Despite the fact that technology is expanding educational options, many people still think that there is a stigma attached to getting a degree through a virtual college. In a few industries, this may be true. However, there are three career fields in which it is commonly accepted that there are good online associate degree programs. Students entering these fields tend to find that they can easily compete in the job market using the degree that they obtained from an online college.

Although there are many different careers that you can get after obtaining an online associate degree, the three most common fields entered after graduation are business fields, paralegal positions and certain aspects of the health care industry. These are general areas of study which each offer their own unique programs. For example, business students may use their degree to get jobs in accounting, office administration, or marketing. Likewise, healthcare students may focus their studies on a particular area of the industry such as work as a dental assistant or massage therapist, securing a job in their specialty area upon graduation. Paralegal studies is a more specific degree with a more focused job goal; however, many students in this area use it as a stepping stone to other career goals such as becoming an attorney or working from home doing legal research.

The reason that these industries are the ones most commonly entered upon graduation from an online program is that they have come to widely accept that an online associate degree is just as valuable and demonstrative of professional ability as is a standard campus-based associate degree. Other fields are starting to come around (particularly computer-based fields and creative/artistic industries). However, these three remain at the top of the list. As a result, there are numerous different online schools that you can attend in order to obtain one of these related degrees. This only serves to boost the value of the online associate degree because increased programs mean better competition, which means an improved educational environment.

Students who have a strong interest in getting an online associate degree should carefully consider what courses they are going to want to take and which specific degree they are going to get. A student interested in business may think that a general business degree is the way to go. Another may think that a more focused degree in marketing or in business administration will better assist them in getting a job. This all depends on the marketing in the area that the student is going to be seeking a job after graduation. Doing research into the job market ahead of time, with a specific focus on which job managers will hire someone with this kind of degree, is a wise time investment in the future of where that education can lead.

The online associate degree gives many students the flexibility that they need to get themselves on the way to a fulfilling and well-paying career. Many students simply can't attend a conventional college for one reason or another and so choose to make use of the increasing acceptance of the online college to obtain the education that they need to get a better job. For now, the best jobs to be looking at remain business, paralegal and health industry jobs. But as time goes on, more and more opportunities will open up for these students.

Andy West is a writer for Virginia College. Virginia College Online offers many Online Associate Degree programs. Visit Virginia College Online to select the online program that is right for you.

How to Master Your Career With an Online Master Degree

As the job market becomes more and more competitive, employers are selecting the best candidates to fill their job's vacancies. You can secured a job with your undergraduate degree after you graduated from college is because you are the best candidate at that time for the position. You must continue to stay competitive in order for you to move upward to higher positions along your career path. Working experience and strong knowledge on your work related field are the key factors for your career achievement. Your working experience can be built along your career path, but how to master your career so that you will continue to be the best candidate for any job promotion opportunity that appear along your career path?

You may want to continue pursue for your career related knowledge so that you are well prepared if you are given any opportunity to advance your career to next level. But, you may not want to quit your current job or take a long unpaid leave just to go back to college to earn a graduate degree. Then, online master degree program can be the best option for you to earn your master degree without the need to sacrifice your current job.

There are many prestigious online universities offering various career related online master degree programs that fit for working individual who plan for career advancement.

Before you start search for your prefer online master degree program, you must first consider what type of master degree program that fit well into your career path. And, what are the compulsory courses that must be included into your master degree program so that you can gain the necessary knowledge that can help in your career. Internet is the best place to search and get the necessary information on any online master degree programs offered by various online universities.

If you search for master degree program online, you should get thousands of results, you must carefully short listed online master degree programs that contains your required courses. Then, you can get further information on your selected master degree program from those online universities. Requesting online universities to send you their degree program information are always free of charge, you must utilize this benefit to get as much information as possible and carefully review each master degree program to further narrow down your selected list.

Then, you must get all you questions answered before you decide which master degree program to sign up. The best way to clarify all your doubts is directly contact the online universities admission office. Most of online universities have their contact information stated on their websites. And, some of them have their admission officer online to answer any enquiry through online chat session. You should make sure you get all your questions answered before you make up final decision on which master degree program best suit your career goal.

After you have enrolled into an online master degree program, your next task is to complete your master degree based on your pre-plan schedule. Your busy working schedule may cause you to out of focus on your online study. Hence, properly time management is important to ensure you stay focus on your online master study while continue with your busy working life.

Summary

You must always stay competitive in this challenging job market with strong education background on your working field. Earning an online master degree in your career field will help you to master career and advance your career to next high level while build up the required working experience along your career path.

Julie Harvard is the author of http://www.studykiosk.com, an online degree directory that lets you browse over 1000 online degree programs offer by accredited online universities.

An Accredited Online Degree Program Could Be Perfect For You

With the growth of the internet and greatly increased access to high speed connections, the accredited online college degree program has flourished. Distance education used to be the province of mail order courses which were often either unaccredited or "self-accredited", but now the online accredited degree program is common. Just stay alert because not every program actually offers an online accredited degree and there is no point in wasting your time and money on an unaccredited degree.

Many traditional colleges and universities have yet to adapt to the current social realities. With the rising costs of education and the ever-growing number of students who are older and working in a profession or building a career, physically attending a college and classes can be difficult to impossible. For a college, it simply is not practical to offer enough physical classes and class times to suit every schedule. Even for those institutions that do offer evening and weekend classes, loading a full schedule of courses on top of a job, and having to get to and from classes and find time to do the homework can be a huge burden on a working student.

Now, however, providing multimedia courses on demand over the internet offers huge advantages to those who want to pursue a career degree online. Being able to 'attend' your classes at a time convenient to you, without a commute and the stress of trying to get there, find parking and rush to class can make the whole process so much more pleasant and easier to stick with. Email and instant messaging along with online teleconferencing or seminars can offer you contact with other students and faculty that can serve as further motivation - and make it far easier and quicker to get any of your questions answered.

Since classes and online seminars are recorded, you can watch more than once if the subject is difficult and requires extra effort. If you have ever suffered through a lecture trying to take notes while the presenter blasted through the material at light speed, you will really appreciate the opportunity to proceed at your own pace, stop and restart a presentation and come away with a really good grip on the material.

Using the internet to provide accredited online degree programs and certified training of various kinds, presents the working student with a magnificent opportunity to expand their skills, knowledge and employability while still making a living - and without an overload of stress. But you absolutely must make sure that whatever type of program you enroll in, it is accredited by an appropriate and recognized accrediting authority. Since the appropriate agency can vary, depending on the specific area of study, you need to do your own checking. College degree programs are usually accredited by one of the regional accrediting authorities in the United States. The specific authority usually depends on the physical location of the online college or university. Other types of accredited or credentialed online programs may be under the authority of a state agency or a state or national professional organization.

And, as an extra incentive, if your study is directly related to your job, you may find that your employer will pay part or even all of your expenses for an accredited online degree program.

Begin your future today by visiting http://Tools-for-Learning.com for more information and articles on studying for a career degree online in a credentialed or accredited program.

Online Degrees - Choosing The Best Online Degree Program For You

Until just recently, students enrolled in online accredited degrees programs were ineligible for federal student aid unless at least half of their program was campus-based; based on a law, which was established in 1992 and known as the 50-percent rule. Many people are earning a bachelor, masters or doctorate degree online in their field of choice whether it's an online nursing degree, online education degree, online psychology degree, or even an online criminal justice degree without conforming to a traditional time-consuming schedule. One recent survey found 55 percent of employers preferred traditional degrees over online degrees.

Many long-established colleges and universities are now offering online courses and online degree programs. The term online degrees refers to college degrees (sometimes including high school diplomas and non-degree certificate programs) that can be earned primarily or entirely through the use of a computer that's connected to the Internet, rather than attending college in a traditional campus setting. According to one report, about two-thirds of the largest institutions have fully accredited online degree programs.

Some experts argue that degrees in certain fields are more accepted online than in others, while some programs are less suited for the online-only schools. Working on your online degree at home enables you to learn in your own way and will allow you to decide how quickly you want to earn your degree. Today there are even consortium's formed of universities; in Canada there is the Canadian Virtual University, which offers no courses or degrees, but simply acts as a portal for courses from 14 universities across Canada.

Some of the degrees available include: business degrees online, online nursing degrees, online education degrees and psychology degrees, criminal justice degrees, accounting degrees, mba degrees and teaching degrees. The offering of successful job placement by the institution, after graduating or completing your online course, may be the deciding factor in your program search. Try to find online forums or chat rooms with students who are actually attending the school you have in mind.

To determine whether you'd make a good online student ask yourself if you're someone who gets things done ahead of time or puts things off until the very last minute. Ask the institutions that you're considering for references. Its been reported that many employers feel that an employee receiving an online education degree compared favorably, in terms of knowledge learned, to someone with a resident degree.

Types of online degrees include: associate degree, bachelor degree, master degree and doctorate degree online. Your reading skills should be above average to make a good online student.

And, very important, make sure that any online credits you earn are transferable; ask the institution you plan to transfer to directly because most schools vary from course to course and with the individual school policy, perhaps even get it in writing. Getting your online degree today may require some computer knowledge, a computer of course, and lots of self-discipline, but it's definitely easier than it used to be. And choosing the best program is a lot easier because so many well-established institutions now offer them.

For more info on choosing the best online degree program, accredited bachelor degree online and finding the best online degree scholarships, grants, education loans or financing go to http://www.OnlineDegreesTips.com for tips and info on all types of online degrees.

Give Your Career A Boost With An Accredited Online Masters Degree

Have you considered to take an accredited online masters degree? Unfortunately, we currently see a whole lot of mis-information with regard to master degrees online. More and more people are seeking online to get their life experience degree, but there are also people who have started their education traditionally; at a college or university and want to complete their degree online. What they to make sure though, is that the institution who offers the degree online

• is accredited by the government
• also offers the necessary supporting material in addition to the degree

Studying online is an simpler but not necessarily easier way to manage work with education more and more people are turning to accredited online masters degrees to help them acquire higher qualifications.

If you want to apply as well as get approved for an accredited online master degree you must already have fulfilled your bachelor degree or similar in the field that you are applying for. Many institutions let life experiences count, but this doesn't apply for a masters degree. If you find colleges or universities that take such experience into consideration, remove them from your 'trusted' list as they may not be accredited. Higher education is generally expensive even with online degrees and you would not want to take a risk on a university or college that was not reliable. Stick to institutions that offer accredited online master degrees.

Benefits From Online Master Degree Programs

With an online degree you have flexible study hours with no time or money spent on commuting and with the ability to juggle the hours around in order to make time for work. In many areas of work a masters degree functions as the "official stamp" required to advance further in an organization; your work experience may be great but without the masters degree it can be much more difficult to go for that bigger promotion.

Some years ago, it used to be that higher education online were not regarded as highly as a regular degree but in recent years accredited universities and colleges have gone to great lengths to improve their "online brand". As a result accredited degrees online , especially accredited online master degrees have gained much popularity with working young adults who want to increase their income but do not have the option of quitting work and taking up studying again.

Taking advantage of accredited online master degree programs means that you will have to manage your time more effectively than ever. You would have to make sure that you can manage both your professional and academic lives and in addition maintaining some stability in your personal life. If you have family responsibilities taking up an online learning program is a great choice but you should also be careful of how you allocate your time and where your priorities lie.

Although you have decided taking your degree online, have no illusions that this is an easy task. As a matter of fact. taking an accredited online masters degree is pretty hard work. Nevertheless, you can see plenty of wanna-be-serious institutions advertising that it is so much easier than off-line. Be aware that you are probably not being told the truth. Last but not lease, if you make decide to acquire your masters degree on the internet, it is a must to choose an accredited college or University. Be also aware that many online education institutions claim that they have accreditation when they in fact do not have. There are some agent companies out there that grant educational institutions accreditation; however, this is not the accreditation you should look for; only accreditation granted from the government guarantee you an institution of high quality.

Distance Learning Classes - Technology Tips For Distance Learning Success

The growing popularity of online degree programs and distance learning has ignited the need to make online learning mediums user friendly, but it is vital that students have a working knowledge of programs such as Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), Internet Explorer, Microsoft Access, and Windows Media Player or RealPlayer. If you are hesitant about using any of these programs, it is recommended to take a tutorial first before registering for online classes. You should also be comfortable using the Copy & Paste features as many distance learning instructors will not accept attachments for fear of viruses and worms. Additionally, you need to be comfortable with reading online textbooks as there is a good chance your course information will be distributed via eBook format.

Online classes offer all the normal activities of a traditional learning environment, but use course presentation software materials (such as BlackBoard, FirstClass, or WebCT) instead. This software incorporates email, discussion groups, instructor-created handouts, and various multimedia channels. Occasionally, podcasts and tele-learning technologies may be included. Assignments are turned in via email or message board postings, and class boards/websites have mandatory logon requirements (ex: five posts a week). One strategy for posting success is to post early and often. Don't wait until the end of the week to comment on the course material, as it's likely that other students will have already posted the same observations you've made. Also, avoid emoticons in your responses. Treat your emails and posts the same as you would a term paper; you wouldn't put a "smiley" in an exam essay, and it's not appropriate in online learning assignments, either.

It is vital to give your school a valid email address. First, you are registered for distance learning classes via your email, as well as given access to your university's Students Only area of the website. Secondly, your school advisor and class instructor will contract you through this email. Valuable class/exam/registration information will be lost if you don't have a functioning email to receive such messages. Finally, if you don't provide a valid email, there is a good chance your school will drop your enrollment after multiple attempts to contact you have failed.

When working on assignments required for online degrees, compose your work in a word processing program (like Microsoft Word) which makes it easier to find spelling and grammatical mistakes than an email. It is much easier to make and track changes in a word processing program than in an html coded email program. When copy & pasting your distance learning assignments from the word processing program to email messages and posting boards, double check your work to make sure that special characters (such as apostrophes and parentheses) come across as you intended them, rather than a garbled string of random symbols.

Keep copies of all sent emails (i.e., bcc yourself on all outgoing messages). By keeping these sent emails in a separate file, you can always back yourself up with email dates should your instructor fail to receive on of your assignments on time. To keep everything organized, create sub-folders in your Inbox for messages regarding ongoing projects, sent assignments, messages from your instructor, etc. Start organizing your files and messages from Day One because it's much easier to stay organized than get organized halfway through the semester.

Most importantly, always have a contingency plan, just in case your computer or internet connection goes down. See if a friend will let you use their system should the need arise. Perhaps the local library has a computer bank for public use. Many companies even offer an internet caf for their employees to utilize during breaks. For your own benefit and peace of mind, become familiar with both PCs and MACs, and different ISPs.

The skills you utilize and hone for your online learning experience are not only beneficial to you while earning your degree. Any distance learning program you're familiar with should be listed on your resume as a Transferable Skill. When employers see that you have practical, working knowledge of several well-utilized programs, you're sure to get more interview calls. This is just another benefit to earning your degree online.

Author Mark Lu writes on distance learning programs for Online Degree Zone. Find a distance learning program and search hundreds of online degrees on OnlineDegreeZone.com.

How Can an Online Degree Help In Your Career

Today, most people own at least a college diploma degree when they enter the job market. And, many working individuals have an intention to earn a second degree in their job related field or want to further getting a higher degree such as bachelor, master or PHD for their job promotion or career advancement. You may be one of them, but your busy working life may stop you from putting your intention into an action by going back to school to pursue your desired degree. The available of online degree programs may provide you with a perfect solution that enable you to stay busy with your work while completing the degree of your dream.

Your first job may not last forever and you definitely do not want to stay at the same position along your career path, surely you are hoping for job promotion or getting career advancement when there is an opportunity. Hence, along your career path, while you build your working experience, a stronger education degree with an appropriate degree will define pave you career path toward a brighter future. With the available of online degree program, getting a degree or more degrees are ever easier than before. You can plan to earn a degree or more degrees that can help in your career with online degree programs.

The best 3 features of online degree program are flexible schedule, self-pace and allow you to attend classes online from anywhere. These 3 best features will benefit you as a working individual to earn your degree online without anymore excuses. And, you do not need to waste much time in searching for you degree because you can get most of information from internet. There should be many online schools offer the same degree program which you are planning to enroll, but be aware that the courses might be different. Hence, you should request for detail information about your prefer online degree program from your select online schools and careful review each course to ensure the courses are inline with your career goal.

The degree you earn may not get you an immediate job promotion or a jump in your monthly salary. But a stronger educational background will prepare you for more challenging tasks and be more competitive against your colleagues when there is a vacancy for job promotion. If you current career is not what you dream for, then you may want to move to your preferred career field some way along your career path. You may need to have the related degree in order for you to make the success move. You could take the advantages of online degree to pursue your degree online while secure you income with your current work.

Summary

Online degree program provides a solution for working individuals who are planning to earn a degree for their career advancement to continue stay focus in their current job while managing their time and plan their own online study schedule that fit into their busy working life.

Amelia Turner, an educational article writer for http://www.your-online-degree.info You can find more details information and free resources about online degree programs, online universities, financial aids and other online education programs that can help you to make decision to earn your degree online.