Once upon a time, youngsters emerged from the Ivy halls with fresh diplomas in their hot little hands and brand-new job offers to boot. Resting on their haughty haunches within cozy corporate cocoons, they would bring in the big bucks. Steady promotions, annual bonuses, and pay increases rolled in on auto-pilot for the next 40 years. No technological training or continuing education was desired – or required. Finally, the gold watch came, followed by perpetual pension payments.
Those golden days of yesteryear are now long gone. In today’s increasingly complex marketplace, workers must stay on their toes and at the top of their games more than ever. Increasing technical skills and up-to-date knowledge of latest marketing and practice techniques are in constant demand. Mandatory continuing education is conducted at least quarterly. All this constantly occurs under the ever-present dark shadows of cutbacks, layoffs, and downsizing. Yep, it’s time to crack open the notepads and netbooks, poise your fingers around the pens and over the keyboards. Pay very close attention. This class session, you are in for an incredible lesson.
The Handwriting is on the wall
No, I am not talking about the graffiti on the restroom stalls that meets your eyes during brief breaks between book binges. I mean the cold, hard facts that are compiled and regularly reported by none other than your trusty old Uncle Sam.
A 2007 US Census Bureau report revealed that on average, those holding master’s degrees earned $13,000 more per year than those with bachelor’s degrees. Do the math: over 10-40 years, a master’s makes a lot of dollars, cents – and sense.
The numbers don’t lie; neither does Uncle Sam. All told, master’s degree holders enjoy an average of $400,000 more lifetime earnings than those without this crucial credential.
Business is booming
Although numbers never lie, these figures fail to tell the full tale. While master’s degrees are huge income boosters overall, some fields are more lucrative than others. All master’s degrees are not created equal.
Data compiled via numerous research surveys and government agencies consistently reveal that business is one of the most popular online masters degrees. As expected, there are good reasons for this. Closely scrutinize the following figures from the Bureau of Labor:
Degree Name Median Salary
Business Administration $64,925.28
Business $65,127.40
Economics $75,416.06
Civil Engineering $59,394.00
A win-win scenario
Online masters degrees in business are especially attractive to prospective pupils. You see, many working professionals desire promotions, but find themselves at the proverbial “glass ceiling”. Despite years or decades of extensive hands-on experience, many find that employers demand further formal training.
Recognizing this, many executives yearn to dust off the books, don the old thinking cap, and revisit the land of Academia. In the past, job responsibilities and other myriad obligations have posed severe obstacles. Good news: the same technological revolution that demands higher learning also paves the way to obtain it! Finally, you get to ponder a positive paradox for a change.
On the other side of the business equation, employers certainly value practical job experience. Nonetheless, they want reliable management capable of fully informed judgments and policy implementations that take all aspects of business operations into account. Formal education is the tie that binds it all together.
It all ads up
The type of advanced education offered by online masters degrees in business provides:
1. critical thinking
2. scholastic training
3. prior experience
When you get right down to it, the sum total is much more efficient commercial and industrial problem-solving.
Advanced business degrees cultivate strong, critical thinkers who are knowledgeable problem solvers in their specific business sectors. This is the caliber of management to whom responsibility may be delegated with confidence. The academic distinction of an MBA demonstrates proficiency in guiding and motivating subordinates to a company’s overall benefit.
Conclusion
For employers and students alike, online business degrees offer incalculable benefits to all concerned parties. Not only do you reap the rich remunerative rewards of grossly inflated lifetime earnings, but your employer will likely finance the fiasco with tuition reimbursement and other incentives. Factor in the huge advantage of continued earning while learning that distance education offers, and you just cannot lose-no matter how hard you try. I know that you will win, however. After all, your MBA signifies that you are a Much Better Achiever. That’s all for today. Class is dismissed for now.
