So you’re hoping for a great job and you need a degree to get it, but you don’t feel like you have the time or inclination to attend an academic institution? You’re certainly not alone, so why not look to get a degree online?
There are hundreds (if not thousands) of great degrees that can be undertaken from the comfort of your own home – and some of them are proven to land students a job upon completion of them.
The benefits of doing a degree online include; it’s cheaper, you get to spend more time with your family and friends, you can keep your current job, you can study when and where it suits you (anywhere in the world, essentially!) and there’s a wider pool of schools and programs to pick from.
Online degrees are just as valued and respected as degrees taken within educational institutions – and your average weekly earning potential will rise to almost $1200, as opposed to just over $700 if you only have a high school diploma.
With that in mind, let’s look at the ten best online degrees to take if you’re wanting to advance your career (based on factors such as employment demand, salary, job satisfaction and profession growth)…
10. Logistics and Supply Chain Management
Globalised supply chains are becoming increasingly more complex and, as a result, there’s a continuous and constantly increasing need for graduates in that field of study.
There’s a huge variety of online degrees available that are related to the field and, by doing a logistics degree, you’ll learn about things like procurement, supply chain operations, finance, sustainability, world economy, management, transportation and emerging technologies.
In the United States, a logistics manager earns $81,000 a year on average.
9. Sustainability
The subject of sustainability is all about meeting the needs of the present generation, but without compromising the needs of future generations.
It refers to a wide variety of economic, environmental and social factors and, if you genuinely care about our planet and are keen to preserve it for future generations, then sustainability could be a good degree choice for you.
A sustainability-based qualification will open a huge variety of doors to you in terms of your potential career, as it will teach you about energy, land, transport, health, pollution, climate change, water quality, environmental law and global ecosystems.
8. Marketing
Marketing skills are in huge demand these days, given what a fast-paced and highly competitive digital-focused world we live in – and a marketing degree will give you the valuable skills required to pursue a career in the field.
Such a degree would teach you about topics like consumer behavior, research, finance, business administration, digital marketing, communications, management and economics – things all business utilise to sell, market and promote products and services.
In the United States, marketing managers can earn around $98,000, which can rise to $138,000 with more experience.
7. Accounting
Every business needs accountants so, if you have a particularly mathematical mind and a penchant for crunching numbers, an accounting degree could definitely be the way forward for you.
Accounting degrees will teach you about statistics, economics, business administration, microeconomics and macroeconomics.
In the United States, the average salary for a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) is $64,000, which can rise to $104,000 with more experience – and you could go on to become a business development manager, a data analyst or an actuary (the latter of which can ultimately earn a huge salary of more than $250,000).
6. Nursing
For those of you who have an interest in medicine and get a kick out of helping and caring for others, a nursing degree would be a great choice.
Some of the topics you’ll be taught include anatomy, physiology, microbiology, caring for patients with complex needs and patients who are acutely ill, infection control and pharmacology. Getting into a nursing career can be incredibly rewarding – and you can choose to specialise in a variety of different areas, including adult nursing, children’s nursing, midwifery or mental health nursing.
The United States pay the highest nursing salaries in the world, followed by Australia in second place and the United Kingdom in third.
5. Engineering
One of the most lucrative degree routes comes in the form of engineering, so if you’re wanting real financial security, you should definitely look to take an online engineering course.
Engineering is at the top of the list of the highest paid college majors – and there’s a huge variety of routes you can take. You can study aeronautical engineering, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering or chemical engineering, for example.
Early career salaries for engineering majors can be least $60,000 – with many earning over over $100,000 at the mid-point of their careers.
4. Psychology
One of the most fascinating subjects to study at degree level is psychology – especially if you’re particularly interested in the human mind.
You’ll learn about the human brain, memory, development anatomy, motivation, emotion, social psychology, forensic psychology and cognitive psychology – and you’ll be exposed to a world of understanding about the human mind and behavior. There are several potential fields to focus on, such as educational psychology, cognitive psychology and occupational psychology.
Psychology graduates are in extremely high demand right now and, having gained transferable skills like research, statistics, analysis of data and communication, you could earn a starting wage of $72,000 in the United States, rising to a potential $122,000, depending on what you specialise in – but you will require a Master’s.
3. Education
If you want a challenging yet incredibly rewarding career in teaching – whereby you help to shape the next generation of young adults – an education degree is the perfect option for you.
If you already have a degree, an M.Ed is the best next step to climb the teaching career ladder, as it will teach you things like leadership skills, curriculum design, learning theory, child/adolescent development and instructional techniques – and there’s currently a huge demand for transferable teaching skills like leadership and management, which can be put to use in a number of professions.
Right now, University of the People – the first accredited tuition-free online university – provides a tuition-free Master’s of Education, which is a graduate-level program designed to train students for dynamic careers in education, childcare and community leadership. Students can go on to specialize in elementary/middle school Education or secondary education.
2. Business Administration
If you’re looking for an extremely well-rounded business education that covers a variety of areas – like finance, accounting, business law, organizational behavior, management and leadership – you should look no further than doing a degree in business administration.
Gaining such a diverse set of highly in-demand transferable skills would mean you’d be in great demand upon completion of your degree – you could become a business development manager, a business adviser, a financial consultant, an investment banker, a data analyst, a business analyst, a project manager, an HR manager, an actuary or more.
For an example of what you could achieve in terms of salary after qualifying with such a degree, a financial manager is the 17th highest-paying job in the United States, with an average salary of $121,750 and a projected growth of 18.7%.
1. Computer Science
In this increasingly digital world, the demand for computer professionals is increasing proportionately – and those who want to take a computer science degree have a wide range of options to move into within the high-tech industry. Those of you with a technical and analytical mind will love this degree, as it will open up a world of extremely lucrative opportunities for you.
You’ll learn about design, development, testing, documentation, database management, programming languages and both front and back-end development, which will give you a well-rounded education and a solid foundation to take on computing as a profession. Once you complete such a degree, you could become a back-end developer, front-end developer, web designer, cyber-security analyst, UX/UI designer, algorithm engineer/developer or programmer and more.
Salary-wise, cyber-security engineers in the United States can earn over $95,000 and those who climb to a software development director level can expect a salary of around $154,000.