The scenario is a common one: you left school, started your career well and relatively quickly moved up the career ladder. But you've been in your current position for a couple of years now and you know that, whether you move on or stay where you are, there's only one thing that will get you to the next stage of your career: a degree.
And that's fine; you've resolved yourself to that. It would be great to go back to school and take on a whole new set of skills and knowledge, in fact. Except for just one small detail... You can't afford to just stop working to go back to college and do a full-time degree. So what's the answer, then? Two short words: online degrees.
Affordable Online Degrees
One of the most attractive aspects of taking an online degree for most people is price. Because of the slight reduction in resources (most notably lecturers' salaries) that course providers benefit from, online degrees can be significantly cheaper than their offline equivalents.
It's not just the cost of the course that you can save on, either. There are obviously countless other savings that can be made when you're studying from home - whether it's the cost of transport to and from classes or the money you'll have saved on all those countless cups of homemade coffee!
Learning: Not Just for Practical Reasons
But education isn't simply about getting ahead in the working world: it's obviously a benefit - and a pleasure - in and of itself. Maybe you've always fancied formalising your passion for history or really getting to grips with another language - but never been able to afford the luxury of taking time out of work to simply learn for its own sake.
Again, online degrees reflect that reality: for every online accounting degree, communications degrees online or other similarly task-focused course, there's a selection of online bachelor degrees in arts and humanities subjects to choose from.
Flexibility - Across the Board
Really, though, there are three main reasons why online degrees are becoming an increasingly attractive education solution: flexibility, flexibility and flexibility.
Because it's obviously not just your commitment to your job that you have to factor in. Online degrees, however, can make juggling all your other commitments - from your partner or your family life to your friends and leisure activities - a lot easier.
So ultimately, whether it's going back to college to enable you to take the next step in your career or just learning for learning's sake, if you can't take too much time out of your busy work or family life, then online degrees might well be the answer.