Online MBA: The Benefits and How to Choose a Program

If you’re considering boosting your business career, going back to school to get your MBA might be something that you have given some thought to. When considering getting an MBA, the first step involves identifying your career goals and how getting this advanced degree might help you get there. Whether you want to climb the career ladder in your current job or find a different opportunity elsewhere with a new employer or industry, getting an online MBA can be the first step in the process of hitting your future career goals and taking your professional life to where you want it to be. Interest in MBA graduates is currently high among employers in a range of industries and graduates are entering a field with a high level of demand. With more than eighty percent of companies planning to add MBA graduates to their workforce, there are plenty of ways that an online MBA can be instrumental in helping you achieve your career goals. 

Improve Your Resume:

Having an MBA qualification on your resume comes with a certain amount of prestige and immediately help you stand out more when applying for certain positions. MBA graduates are typically viewed as people who have a lot of knowledge about the business world and are more likely than most to bring a lot to the table. The MBA degree is designed to provide you with the discipline and capabilities that you need for successfully working in an upper management position in many lucrative and prestigious positions. Find out more about where you could take your career with an MBA degree from Kettering University. 

Overcome a Career Roadblock:

Maybe you have been working in your current career for a while and feel that you can’t get any higher up the career ladder without investing in your education. After working in a certain career for many years, it is normal to feel like you might have maxed out the knowledge and skills that you have and will need to actively invest in gaining more in order to further your professional life. If you’ve noticed these roadblocks in your career recently, getting an online MBA can be the opportunity that you need to open more doors and help you reach further heights in your line of work, or even move into something else completely. MBA programs are available with a wide range of concentrations and are designed to provide students with the essential business skills, knowledge, and tools that are needed to broaden their perspective and come up with strategic, successful approaches to any opportunities or challenges faced by their organization. 

Boost Career Opportunities:

Your decision to get an MBA might be motivated by a desire to change or advance your current career. Getting an MBA degree will help to expand the career opportunities that are open to you including working as a general manager in any industry and boosting your opportunities for starting your own business. Getting an MBA can provide you with the credentials that are needed for you to get a promotion in your current field, but if there is something else that you are more interested in, a specific and relevant MBA concentration can make it easier for you to move your career into doing something else while building on the knowledge and skills that you have already gained at work so far. 

Develop Key Leadership and Management Skills:

Getting an online MBA will provide you with an opportunity to build a wide range of management skills that you’ll need to lead a range of different organizations and teams. If you already have supervisory or management experience, this online degree will give you the chance to improve these skills even further, learn how to look at the bigger picture, and go over theoretical foundations for making the best business decisions from a position of authority. As a business professional, you will know that a good leader is somebody who can make decisions based on helping the organization achieve strategic objectives and is able to use data and evidence to back these decisions up. 

Become a Better Team Player:

While an MBA is often the degree program of choice to prepare students for leadership roles in business, any good leader knows that first and foremost they also need to be a great team player. As a leader, you are not only in charge of the team but you’re also one of the most important parts of it. If your online MBA takes your career into work in a large organization, chances are that you are going to be working in an environment where no one person can do everything on their own, and teamwork is essential for success. While getting your online MBA, you will be learning and developing new skills that you can use to not only become a better part of the teams that you work with in the future but also utilize them for helping the teams that you manage work better together and get the best results. 

Why Study an MBA Online?

When it comes to getting an MBA, an online degree is just one of the options available. Some people might prefer the idea of going to a traditional college or business school to attend classes on campus to get their MBA. However, there is no denying that online MBA study has become more and more popular in recent times, especially with the COVID19 pandemic leading to more opportunities for students to study online in order to protect their health. 

Convenience is one of the main reasons why people consider studying for their MBA degree online. When you study online, it is often easier for you to continue working full-time as normal as you are in a position where you can fit your education around your life and commitments rather than the other way around. In addition to this, many online students find that it works out cheaper. Despite the fact that tuition fees are usually the same or similar for both traditional and online programs, studying online has much fewer associated expenses and a lower opportunity cost. 

Choosing the Right Online MBA for You:

Now that you are aware of all the reasons to consider getting your MBA online, the next step involves choosing the right online MBA for you. Today, you can find a range of different online MBA programs that you can study for with a wide variety of different concentrations from marketing to the environment to ensure that the qualification you receive when you graduate is going to be the best option for your future career. When choosing the right online MBA for you, consider the following:

Is Online Study a Good Fit for You?

First of all, it’s important to make sure that online study is actually the right fit for you. Most people who study online do so because this method of learning is more convenient for their lives in one way or another. Perhaps you want to continue working full-time while getting your MBA, want to save money on the cost of commuting to classes or are simply looking for a more flexible option that is likely to be less stressful for you. However, despite the fact that online learning programs offer a lot of socialization options and the ability to get to know other students, you might not enjoy it much if you prefer a learning environment where you can be a part of a classroom and meet other people in-person. When you are studying online, you will need to have a set of soft skills to help you reach your goals including the ability to stay motivated even when you are studying alone, and the ability to manage and organize your own time when studying on a program that offers you the flexibility to do this. 

Networking Opportunities:

The networking opportunities in business school are often one of the biggest factors for MBA students when embarking on this degree choice. Not only can getting an MBA help you boost your knowledge, skills, and credentials for a lucrative business career, but the study itself can put you in contact with people who might be able to directly impact your career in a positive way in the future. Studying online might not seem like the best way to network, but the good news is that the good business schools where you can get an online MBA do not allow this to hold you back. Online networking is already becoming more and more popular thanks to LinkedIn and most colleges are utilizing these platforms to ensure that their students get the best experience socially too. 

How Much Time You Have:

It’s important that you consider the amount of time that you have when it comes to getting your MBA degree online. For example, if you want to take advantage of a promotion that is likely to be available in your workplace in the near future, you’ll want a program that you can complete as quickly as possible. On the other hand, a program that gives you more time to complete your education and graduate might be preferable if you are planning to study while balancing a lot of different commitments at the same time and prefer a lower-stress option for getting your MBA. 

Program Flexibility:

Online MBA programs can often be as flexible as you want them to be. Some programs are almost completely flexible allowing you to control and decide when you study by accessing the learning materials that are uploaded for you to go through whenever is best for you. All you will need to do is keep up with the learning materials and make sure that you complete coursework and exams on time. On the other hand, for people who prefer to have some structure and a set schedule to stick to, some online programs will offer set class and lecture times that you’ll need to attend. The type of program that you choose will depend on your needs when it comes to your schedule. If you’re working full-time while studying and class times are likely to clash with your working hours, for example, a fully flexible program might be the ideal choice for you. 

Accreditation:

When choosing the right online MBA program for you, whether or not the school and the program is accredited will be one of the most important factors to consider. Accreditation is provided by independent accrediting bodies such as the International Accreditation Council for Business Education or the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs. They provide a set of rigorous and strict academic standards to adhere to and analyze the faculty, services, resources, educational materials, and students to ensure that these are met. When you attend an online business school that has been accredited by one of these independent bodies, you can typically expect to be provided with the best quality education. 

Experience:

Finally, be aware that due to the COVID19 pandemic, more and more colleges, universities, and business schools are now offering programs that can be studied online. However, it’s worth finding out if the school and program that you are considering has been run online for longer than this. Many universities are offering online programs to students for the first time as a result of the COVID19 pandemic and are not yet as experienced as the ones that are online learning veterans. As a result, your learning experience online might be subject to a lot of trial and error. Most reputable online colleges that have been offering distance learning for some time are well-versed in delivering an exceptional learning experience to students and understand what works well and what doesn’t to help you get the most from studying online for your MBA degree. 

If you are thinking of advancing or changing your career in business, getting an MBA degree can be an ideal option for improving your credentials, getting more career opportunities, and starting a new career in an industry that you are more interested in.