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Online Law Degrees: Friend or Foe?

Oct 14th, 2009

Earning a law degree seems to be one degree that would not be accessible via an online university, but online education has evolved to such a degree that it is now possible.  Online law degrees present a difficult challenge to students since the American Bar Association has not accredited any online law school.  However, California is the one state around the nation that allows online law degree graduates to sit for their bar, assuming that these students reach the same expectations. 
   
Online law degrees therefore have been one type of degree that is difficult to earn and put into use.  Many students may still receive law degrees around the country, but run into various problems when attempting to sit for the bar in any state other than California.  This rule presents at least slight leeway though, since you can still become a practicing attorney in California with an online degree and eventually transfer to another state after a few years.  While California’s Bar Committee does not accredit online law schools, they still allow distance learning schools to register with them if the school meets their requirements.  Thus far, the Committee recognizes fourteen schools: Abraham Lincoln University School of Law, American Heritage University School of Law, California School of Law, Concord School of Law, Esquire College, MD Kirk School of Law, Newport University, Northwestern California University, Oak Brook College of Law and Government Policy, Southern California University for Professional Studies, University of Honolulu, West Coast School of Law, Inc., West Haven University, and William Howard Taft University. California’s Committee still requires online law degree students to jump through several hoops before becoming a registered lawyer within the state, including many exams, moral character determinations, and a multistate professional responsibility exam. 
   
After all this work, you may still be able to practice law in a different state after five to seven years of practicing law in California.  Most states will allow California lawyers to take their bar exams after this amount of time.  If you want to choose a different route, you could always attain a Master of Law program which is accredited by the American Bar Association and is available online as well.  However, online law degrees do come with more drawbacks than many other degrees.  Law is a much more hands-on graduate degree, which many employers are aware of.  California may allow students to take their bar, but this still does not guarantee a job placement after taking the bar since many employers will look at an online law degree and know it is not accredited by the ABA.  While online law degrees still lack accreditation, it is not impossible to become a practicing attorney with one, and one day the ABA may recognize such a degree, lessening the process of using it.  

How an Online MBA can Better your Career

Oct 14th, 2009

Online MBA programs have quickly become one of the top ranking degree programs within online universities because of the strong weight such a degree carries in the business world today. With the economy on the rebound, people across the country are anxiously looking to the future to secure a higher level job, many times continuing their education by getting an online MBA degree.  The economic times also have encouraged many people to get additional degrees in order to get higher paying salaries.  While the economy is bound to fluctuate over the years, many people do not want to risk a job loss in the future and therefore are securing a more protected job.
   
Online MBA degrees have become the wave of the future as they allow people of literally any career genre to learn a different aspect of the business industry.  Additionally, the joy of an online MBA degree is that you will not need to take off the extra year of work in order to gain the degree, but can work at your own pace.  Rather than spending hundreds to thousands of dollars on a degree that will force you to take time off from work, these degrees cost much less but still serve the same purpose in rewarding you with an accredited MBA in the end.   Moreover, an MBA degree has been found to more than double your average work salary, causing it to be a wise investment over the years with the return benefits obvious after the first year. 
   
Determining what you want to do with an MBA is one dilemma which should be decided before you decide to give up your extra time in pursuing the online degree.  Many fields require such degrees, although some may not be hiring or may pay less than you thought you would be making.  Doing some background research in your field before you begin your study can help encourage you to finish the program and define your future career choice.  Receiving an online MBA is still quite a bit of work, however, and before you commit yourself to a year-long academic pursuit, make sure that you intend to use the degree and what type of career you want to use it for.  Online MBAs have become quite helpful over the past years as more and more universities have opened their doors to the opportunity for online distance studies.  There is now a wide variety of schools and degrees across the internet, thereby allowing students to pick and choose which school is best for your needs.  Deciding to make such a drastic career change is no easy choice to make, but online colleges make this decision much easier by providing an alternative method in which you will not be forced to take time off work nor commute every day. 

The Most Popular Online Graduate Degrees

Jul 10th, 2008

Online degrees have become more and more useful over the past few years which now begs the question as to which online graduate degrees are the most popular.  While some students are securing their first college degrees, there are many who are earning additional degrees for themselves, including MBAs and related Masters Degrees.  The easy accessibility of online classes has created a newfound approach to attend school and therefore has culminated in a wide range of online degrees that are offered.   Online graduate degrees allow many business professionals to carry on with their daily lives while still earning a graduate degree that is sure to improve their job title.  
   
Online graduate degree programs have become a popular method in increasing your education, with many employers requesting their employees to enroll in classes to gain additional degrees.  MBAs are especially significant in the business world, as more and more employees are finding that online classes can improve their position at work.  MBA degrees specifically have classes that are catered exclusively to executive level students who have been in the business world for years and are simply going back to school to solely gain an MBA.  This has therefore culminated in online MBAs becoming one of the fastest growing degrees within the online education community.  This has become widely recognized by the online education community as nearly every online college offers MBAs in addition to the many other degrees which are offered.
   
Related graduate degrees have also grown in prominence, depending on the field you are most interested in.  There are a wide variety of graduate programs offered amidst online schools, many of which are geared specifically to people who have been in the work field for years, and simply want to go back to school without the time to commute after work.  Masters Degrees and PhDs are popular in every industry, allowing students to take classes and hold on to their jobs.  Many business graduate degrees are equally popular because they are some of the most applicable to nearly every job.  Accounting graduate degrees are also helpful in different fields and can open doors to a more in-depth career within the business world.  Finding the graduate degree that will be most applicable to your career future is not a difficult task anymore, since more and more opportunities exist online.  Many prominent universities around the country offer distance learning classes for graduate degrees and the economy has caused many other people to look toward getting a graduate degree in order to secure their job.  Popular online graduate degrees are bound to fluctuate according to the economy and the jobs people are looking for, but for right now they seem to be particular centered around business degrees and MBAs. 

The Value of Online Certificates

Jul 2nd, 2008

Online education has reached new peaks with its development of nearly every type of degree program, including online certificates.  Schools have begun to offer more and more online certificates for those students who wish to further their career through an additional certification.  Many businesses have begun to require their employees to become further advanced in a particular field by receiving added skills.  Online certificates are the perfect solution in this dilemma, since they do not require employees to take time off of work in order to attend classes and gain a certificate.  Rather, employees can simply work at home at their leisure in completing a certification program. 
   
Online certificates have opened up new doors for students and businesses across the nation and helps save many corporations thousands of dollars.  Gaining extra certification in various fields has never been easier.  Nearly every type of certificate is now available in many different fields, ranging from certificates in workplace Spanish to certificates in desktop publishing.  Many of these certificates are designed to teach people already in the work-world facts which were not necessary in their previous degree program but which are essential in the business world.  For example, gaining the knowledge of a new language can serve to help your position in work, especially if you work with many multinational corporations.  Online certificates in languages are one of the easiest ways to learn a new language without enrolling in a grueling language course that takes time away from your job and life.
   
Many other online certificates are specifically oriented to appeal to business professionals in very narrow fields.  The many online certificates for floral design are one example of a specified business requirement; gaining this type of certificate helps you learn exactly how to arrange floral designs, thereby increasing your job skills in this field without pulling you out of work temporarily.  These online certificates are also helpful if you are considering a drastic change in careers.  Securing certification in a new field is an impressive factor to include in your resume and can serve to land you a job in an area where you previously had no experience.  Interior design is another such field which is appealing but a difficult industry to break into without years of experience.  Online certificates can aid in this process by giving you more experience than others in your position would have.  Throw in your past business experience and you have an impressive resume!
   
Online schools across the nation now offer online certificates in addition to degrees, thereby allowing many of us to gain additional certification from accredited schools without leaving home.  The ingenuity of online certificates has caused the online education community to gain prominence within the academic industry, thereby appealing to thousands who wish to advance their career. 

Getting an Executive MBA Mid-Career

Jun 13th, 2008

Executive MBAs are one of the different forms of the degree that a person can receive from various institutions, many of these being online colleges that offer the program to employees who cannot take the time off to attend a year of classes.  These programs were developed specifically to meet the demand of such high-level business associates, allowing them the opportunity to earn an MBA or a related degree within two years while working full-time.  This becomes particularly important in many firms in which higher-tiered managers and executives may not have had the time to previous attain an MBA, but were still required to earn such a degree.
   
These type of executive MBA programs are specifically catered to business professionals who have typically spent around ten years in their industry before their company required such a degree.  Therefore, they are different from other MBA students who are receiving their degree as a continuation of their previous studies before entering the workforce.  The Executive MBA Council was formed over nearly three decades ago in order to cater to this specific type of student.  While times have changed since then (many business professionals are receiving additional degrees now), the importance of an executive MBA has remained the same.  However, distance-learning options have provided a new forum for receiving such an MBA through specified programs that are offered around the country through the privacy of your own home.  Additionally, higher tiered business schools are now jumping on the online education bandwagon and allow students to receive such an MBA degree by enrolling in their online classes.  This provides business professionals with the added benefit of remaining at their job without taking forced time off. 
   
Determining whether the online school is accredited is important to discover before enrolling in the program.  No business will want to credit a degree from a school that is unaccredited, especially given the increasing amount of online schools that are available for this type of specified degrees.  There is a huge market for such degree programs since the economy has caused many business professionals to question the security of their position and seek to cement it through the added benefit of an MBA.  Therefore, the past few years have seen an influx in online degree programs, many of which cater to the many different forms of MBA programs (accelerated, two year, part-time, executive, etc.).  Attaining an MBA has become of vital importance for nearly every business professionally and the existence of the executive MBA coupled with online distance education has led to turn these dreams into a reality.  Increasing your knowledge should be a goal in everyone’s life, and it is a very promising outlook that so many people are returning to school in order to further their careers.  With technology evolving at the rate it is, online education and this type of upper level degree will only increase in prominence as more individuals receive added degrees at a later stage in life.