Four Benefits Of Online Courses That College Courses Don’t Offer
With the trendiness of online courses these days, a lot of people are probably wondering why? What makes an online course great and why would someone not just go to a junior college or university instead?
The reason is that online courses offer benefits that regular college courses don’t.
The four biggest benefits of online courses are:
- They are convenient and flexible
- You can receive individual attention
- Larger opportunity for networking
- Learn real-world and actionable skills
One bonus benefit that is not listed above would be that online education is continuing to improve and offer better learning platforms. They are also offering a broader spectrum of learning opportunities compared to traditional schools. This is being done through the use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Straits Research weighed in on this topic stating that “AI and ML can quickly analyze large amounts of data and identify patterns and trends to optimize and improve learning experiences.” (Straits Research)
Before this turns into a post about how Skynet is going to take over and trap humanity in the matrix, let’s go a little deeper into the four biggest benefits of online courses.
Convenient and Flexible
Most people these days would say that time is not in high supply. Between work, taking kids to soccer practice, cooking dinner, and binge-watching Game of Thrones for the fifth time, finding time to learn a new skill is not easy.
If you couple that with the time requirements of the average college class, 3 hours per week for a 14-week course and 6 hours per week for a 7-week course (American International College), it becomes nearly impossible.
This is one of the areas in that online courses and programs shine the most.
Most online learning programs offer extreme flexibility and even allow you the freedom to learn at your own pace. This means that you can work on the course when it best fits into your schedule. That could be early in the morning before the chaos of life starts, on your lunch break from work, or even late in the evening after you put your kids to bed.
There is also a huge convenience factor. Not only do you save time not driving somewhere to learn, but you can also learn from anywhere (as long as you have internet access). This is because most courses are easily accessible from a mobile device.
This freedom will allow you to fit learning into your busy schedule and combat the excuse that you just don’t have the time.
Network
Everyone has heard the adage, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” Today that rings true more than ever. To succeed in life today you need to know people who can help open doors for you. This is why a strong network is so important.
When you make the decision to purchase and learn from an online course, you are also expanding your network. As we mentioned above, a lot of programs offer private chat groups or Facebook groups and communities where you can connect with like-minded people and share ideas.
We learned first-hand that online courses instantly level up your network. You get access to people who are like-minded and on a similar path as you. You never know what connections you can make and what doors will be opened for you because of those connections.
Again, others will challenge this by saying that you can network at college just the same. That is true, you can expand your network but it will not be as valuable to you (that is unless you are at an Ivy League school like Princeton or Harvard).
Think about it this way.
Most people attend college because someone said it’s what they need to do to be successful. “Go to school and get a degree so you can get a good job.” If you walk around a college campus and find someone who knows what they want to do in life and is working toward their goals, then go buy a lottery ticket. That person is the exception and not the rule.
Juxtapose that to an online course or program where people have sought out the course and have chosen to invest their time and money of their own volition. This now becomes a higher-value network as these people are choosing to invest in themselves. They understand that they are their biggest asset and want to continue improving that asset.
In the end, this will lead to you networking with a more like-minded group of people who are moving forward in a similar path that you are. They may be at a different level and can help pull you up alongside them or open doors for you that would have otherwise stayed shut.
Learn Real-World Skills
Since the pandemic, this has become a big deal. Employers are looking for people with actual skills, not just pieces of paper they can hang on a wall. Online programs fast-track you into the workplace. This is because there is no system of hoops in place that you are required to jump through for years before you are deemed worthy of the workforce.
For instance, if you decide you want to be a professional photographer, there are online courses for that.
An example of this is the course that Luke Ayers offers. You will go through a step-by-step process that teaches you the skills needed to not only shoot breathtaking photos but also start your own photography business. This can be done for a fraction of the cost and time that you would spend in a regular 4-year college.
This rings true with so many different industries and occupations. You can bypass the system and learn only the skills necessary to start succeeding in this world and move closer to your goals.
This is not the case in every occupation or industry as there are some career paths that are regulated and require certain certifications and qualifications. This is for a good reason. You don’t want someone performing open heart surgery on you who learned it online. However, for a majority of skills and occupations, online courses can provide a more linear path to where you want to be.
So…
The online course offers a lot more than just the skills and knowledge you learn. It gives you freedom and flexibility in your schedule, They offer individual attention so you can get your specific questions answered. You can level up your network, and learn skills valuable and actionable in the marketplace.
As long as you are willing to put in the time and effort needed to learn from the program, online courses make a great alternative to traditional learning.
This article may have felt almost like a hit piece against the traditional learning system and in some ways it is. What can we say, The Life Edge is a search engine for online courses and we understand the power of knowledge you can gain from each course.
To find the online course or program that best fits your style of learning, be sure to check out thelifedge.com
Cheers