Online degrees may be your ticket out of a recession, or at least that’s the way some are currently putting it.  They are saying that if you want to find an accredited online degree or otherwise, you can of course get student loans to get you through the recession, and hopefully by the time you get out, there will be a better market waiting for you.  But outside of that, there are a few fields that seem to be recession resistant, and they require a degree.  So you can definitely benefit from that.  For example, healthcare.  Even if we stop visiting our family doctors on a regular basis, we do still need medical attention from time to time.  It’s cheaper in the end if we just keep going regularly.  But either way, healthcare will never experience a complete breakdown.  In addition, there will always be need for those in criminal justice and moreover education, especially being that the state actually funds education for every child and we all pay taxes on it.  All of these are somewhat recession proof.  It’s just a matter of finding the one that works for you.  There are quite a few small colleges and online degrees alike that focus only on these areas and you can get anything from an associate’s to a PhD depending on your own needs.

My friend worked at the University of Phoenix before online degrees were really big.  He was a school and job counselor of sorts, and since then he has actually stayed with them through quite a few different changes.  He has helped them in some ways to achieve greater benefits, and he has helped quite a few students.  But something he told me the other day.  He’s noticed a higher failure rate than with the students who actually come onto a regular campus.  He has worked with other universities as well.  It’s not just the students being in different generations or anything like that, they are actually failing, because it’s hard.  The reality is that some people don’t have the discipline for an online degree.  They go in thinking it will be easy.  But realistically speaking, you have to have a sort of commitment that some people just don’t have.  People who don’t have to go to class are more likely to get distracted, not do their homework, etc.  This is why though I’ve known some to succeed, when most people use packets to get through high school or otherwise faster, it generally doesn’t work out like you planned.

There are so many different schools offering programs in criminal justice, dental assisting, or other common degrees for online success, that it’s hard to know which one to choose.  The first thing to do is obviously to check and make sure that it is accredited.  Second, you should ask your relatives.  You would be surprised how many of your relatives have gone to online college or otherwise have experience in that area.  They can give you a push in the right direction.  Then you have to decide how to go about the financials.  Most provide financial aid.  But the question is how much do you want to have to pay back at the end, and moreover, how helpful are their job assistance programs in real life?  They can say of course and will say that theirs are the best.  But you should check out real past experiences to see if that’s true and holds up to fact.  Next, you want to look into what kind of degree you would earn and what kind of money and income it would provide you.  If you are spending $40,000 per year on a degree that will help you to make $30,000 a year, it’s obviously not worth it.  If you would hate the job you would be doing, it is not worth it.  These are all things to consider.

I’ve seen some teachers who get their higher education such as Masters, PhD’s, etc while they are still teaching in grade schools.  If they get their PhD’s, they’re generally moving up to administrative positions or onto colleges they hope.  But then they have to publish among other things.  But online degrees can often be valuable to them for the time factor alone and for the fact that they can reach a program in another state that they qualify for, but don’t live near.  I’ve seen teachers across the United States do it, and they usually publicize it to their students that they are, I’m not entirely sure why to be honest.  They often do all their classes online, and the online degrees and regular schools are working harder than ever to give them every single class they need online.  They of course still have to take their tests in a registered center as well as writing their thesis at the end.  But it has all become very convenient, especially as compared to the old days of only physical education locations.  But either way, it has certainly helped millions to not only get their Bachelors, but to go onto even higher education levels for their greater future success.

One of my favorite types of online universities, for entertainment sake, not for real purposes, is the mail order degrees.  You can literally get a PhD in “life experience” or become a certified minister by mailing in $50.  Now with the minister or other religious related ones, you actually are certified and legally okay to go.  That’s the funny part about it.  But of course your PhD in life experience doesn’t mean anything, and you just wasted $50. 

Part of why I bring this up is because of a recent rash of discoveries.  While you would think the government would put people through more strenuous evaluation than private companies, apparently they don’t.  I mean when my brother in law applied for a job with them, they screened supposedly the whole family to see if we were terrorists or something.  But apparently they don’t really screen that hard, because a guy who had one of those fake degrees that he paid $50 for was hired into a position that required a degree, and then he rose to one of the top positions in his area.  In fact, it was nationally recognized.  That’s how he got caught.  Someone did actual research on him when his name came out to be celebrated and found out the degree was bunk.  Now that is fun.  And they’ve estimated that thousands of government employees have gotten away with the same thing.  The only difference is they haven’t achieved that high a status in their job.

The biggest thing to worry about when going out for an accredited online degree is the discipline.  While it is convenient to be certain, not all of us are actually cut out for it.  It takes discipline and dedication as there is no one watching over you.  This is not to say that anyone watches over you in a conventional school.  But you have to go to a physical class.  Online degrees are convenient to participate in on your own schedule and from the comfort of your own home.  But at the same point in time, you do not necessarily get everything you want as you would have to effectively take the time to make sure that you get on your computer instead of coming home from work and just going to bed because you don’t want to deal with it. 

You have to do your homework on a regular schedule.  There are no due dates as you would find with regular school.  It’s just all due at the end of the semester.  Many find this hard to keep up with and they put it all off till the last minute. So if you are one of these people, this is something to consider before you spend your money and commit to this kind of program.