Is An Online Education Harder?

You might be thinking of pursuing further studies, but you aren’t sure how to go about it. Will you get an online master of science accounting degree? Should you go for a literature doctorate in a brick-and-mortar school? Should you even take up graduate studies at all? In this post, we’ll discuss a few different factors that go into studying online, and why you may find it either easier or harder than you expected.

What Makes Online Education Easier?

The biggest reason why online education is thought to be much less difficult is due to the convenience that it affords students. Because you can attend the classes from any venue that has internet access, you won’t have to spend a ton of money on gas or commuting expenses, according to Our Everyday Life. That also saves you so many hours that you would have spent stuck in the middle of some terrible traffic. If you happen to be holding a full-time job that is located quite far away from the college, then earning a degree on the internet may be the answer for you.

Plus, the quality of the lessons is often just as high as those offered in traditional universities. There are many online institutions out there that have been founded by big names in the education industry, which means you are getting only the best quality for your hard-earned tuition fee.

What Makes Online Education Harder?

Though you may have a lot more flexibility to work with, online education also comes with its own set of challenges. For starters, you will have to be great at self-motivation, because the only thing standing between you and your online degree is your personal drive to finish it. You also need to be very good at disciplining yourself, since there will be nobody else around to do that for you, according to U.S. News. Possibly the biggest hurdle, though, is if you are not very savvy with technology, according to Psych Central. If you are so computer-illiterate that you need to have somebody else type your essays up for you, then you may want to reconsider an online degree. You’ll also have to be more pro-active in reaching out to your professors and other classmates online.

If you tend to have trouble expressing yourself through words, then you may also have problems pursuing higher education online. Because of the nature of the internet, most of your discussion will take place through text. This could be in the form of forum posts, e-mail threads, or even chat rooms. You may be able to find a class that utilizes video conferencing technologies. However, because most classes are flexible, you’ll probably still have to deal with reading and writing for a majority of the course.

Have you decided whether or not online education is for you? If you can’t seem to make up your mind, why not check out a few online educational institutions? You might be able to see whether they’re offering what you are looking for.