It’s the most important thing on most college students’ minds: will I be able to find a good job? A college degree has become more and more essential to successful careers every year. Students want to make sure that they are spending their time and money wisely. With the rise in popularity of online colleges, many students are still skeptical whether or not the cost-savings from an online degree won’t come back to bite them when it comes time to enter into the job market. Sure, maybe you save money on the initial degree, but that doesn’t matter if you can’t find a good job, right? 

At OnlineCollegWiz, we decided to tackle this pervasive fear: can you get an excellent job with an online degree?

The Online College Stigma

A lot of this fear regarding online college degrees and whether or not they’ll lead to a good job is founded on the stigma that online colleges are somehow less than their traditional college counterparts. Whether it’s the notion that the programs are less vigorous or that employers will view online colleges more negatively than a traditional school, many folks negatively view online colleges. 

A lot of this negativity stems from just general unfamiliarity with online colleges. Being relatively new in comparison to the centuries of brick-and-mortar college tradition, many traditionalists just inherently view online college as being an inferior product. But as time has gone on, online colleges have only grown more plentiful and more popular. 

While folks may have had their misgivings regarding online colleges, now that is no longer the case. 

Online colleges are just as rigorous

One of the main reasons people might think an online college won’t lead to an excellent job as a traditional college is that online colleges are somehow less rigorous in their academic integrity. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Online colleges are subject to the same exact accreditation process as a traditional brick-and-mortar campus. The same accreditation boards that verify the academic integrity of a brick-and-mortar institution also lend their same expertise to online colleges.

Whether it’s a group like the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges or the Higher Learning Commission, accreditation boards around the country verify the academic quality of online colleges and traditional colleges alike. 

What dictates a college or university’s quality is whether it is online or on-campus, but whether or not it has received accreditation. Earning a degree from an accredited university is the number one way to ensure that you are spending your time and money on a degree that is worthwhile. 

Employers don’t even have to know you went to an online college.

Many online colleges are just a part of a traditional college. For example, if you are enrolled in the UMassOnline, your program is most likely being administered by one of the University of Massachusetts schools. And most of the time, your degree and transcript will reflect that.

Many online colleges go to great lengths to obscure the fact that it is an online college on student transcripts. While much of the stigma around online colleges have fallen away over the years, online colleges still work to protect their students from any potential skepticism towards their online degree from a prospective employer.

What an online college degree says about you to a potential employer

A lot of times, these discussions center around the potential negative consequences of earning a degree online. Students worry about the ways that an online degree might hold them back in the eyes of a potential employer. But what if students could see the methods that have earned a degree online can communicate several vital skills to a future employer.

Students that have completed a degree online can use that experience as a positive during their job interview. To earn an online degree, chances are you possess some of the following qualities:

  • You’re comfortable with technology, maybe even technological fluent
  • You’re able to manage your own time
  • You’re self-motivated
  • You’re a self-starter

These are essential qualities that employers look for in prospective hires.

Make sure your career makes sense for an online degree

While online degrees are becoming more and more popular and more common, students must choose career paths that are compatible with online degrees. Just because a school offers a degree online doesn’t necessarily mean it makes the most sense to pursue that degree online.

For example, many schools offer degrees in psychology online. However, if you plan to work in a clinical setting, you’re going to most likely need to enroll in some sort of in-person program to reach that particular career goal. 

But some career paths lend themselves to online learning. Careers in technology, finance, and many others are great for students who want to learn online. These industries have become very used to seeing students with degrees from an online college and rarely think twice about considering them for job placement.

Can I get an excellent job with an online college degree?

Yes, absolutely yes! You can get a fantastic job with an online college degree. Much of the perceived stigma surrounding online college degrees has fallen away over the past decade as online colleges have become more and more common.

The main thing that employers fear when considering a student from an online college is whether or not the program they graduated from maintained high enough academic rigor. Fortunately, this fear can be assuaged as long as students choose only to attend online colleges or universities that have received accreditation from a nationally recognized accreditation. 

If you’re considering an online college for your next steps in education, rest assured that you’ll be able to find a good job upon graduation. Just make sure that you’re attending an accredited online school and that your particular degree lends itself to online education.

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