Education as a whole has experienced a few massive changes in the past two years. Global lockdowns has meant that the traditional learning model was forced to stop, and with that closure, a whole new world of education had to take its place.
Online education is not new. In fact, remote learning is over a hundred years old. In the first distance-learning degree, coursework was sent back and forth through the post. This, of course, had several drawbacks. The first was the lack of interaction, and not just between student and teacher. Being around your peers and learning from each other offers so many benefits. Even with the rise of online degrees in general, there was a lot to be desired.
The good news is that there have been massive new investments in online education since the pandemic began. Online education stopped being a side project for universities and colleges and quickly became the go-to option for everyone.
This investment means that professionals looking to advance their skillset and take a new direction with their career have many exciting new paths forward. Learning while working is a challenge, absolutely, but it also offers a unique opportunity that most didn’t have access to just a few years ago. This opportunity? The ability to immediately put what you learn to use at work.
With undergraduate degrees, it is highly recommended that you take on personal projects and internships as often as you can before you graduate. You don’t have that kind of time with your masters, but being able to put what you learn to work offers many of the same benefits.
If you don’t work in a role or with an employer that will allow you to redirect your career into marketing, then choose a personal project to do that for you. You can kickstart your own marketing business with this method and really get the most out of your investment.
Mastering the juggle is still a hurdle, however, but many experts have tackled the challenge and use these top tips to get the job done:
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The Importance of Choosing the Right Program
Not every online degree is designed to be tackled while you work. Not every online degree is designed well. Choosing the right digital marketing online masters program, for example, is the first and arguably the most important step. You can always tweak and adjust your approach towards juggling a career and your master’s later, but dropping out of a program has much larger ramifications.
The type of program you choose will also matter. If you want to transition your career into marketing, for example, you really need to pay attention to the digital aspect of marketing today. Knowing how to create a digital campaign and use brand storytelling is one thing, but you will also need a technical approach to really succeed in the roles available today.
If you are ever unsure of what skills your program needs to offer, look at job listings and those in roles you want for yourself. See what skills they have and what is included as part of their job description. You’ll find many that work in the overall marketing department will need to also have advanced analytic skills.
In marketing, this means being trained in analytics methods and also graduating with certifications in all the top tools used by marketers today like Google Analytics, Hootsuite, SAS Studio, Enterprise Miner, and so on.
There are so many tools that marketers need that go beyond marketing as a subject, so ensure the course you choose offers everything you need to kickstart your career.
This applies to every degree and every career path. If you are ever in doubt, simply get in touch with the admissions advisor to see how well the degree in question aligns with your career goals. They may help you feel completely confident in your choice, or they may direct you to a better-suited degree.
The Power (and Importance) of Breaks
When it comes to totaling an online master’s, regardless of whether you continue to work or take it on full-time, knowing how to manage your time is going to be the secret to your success.
Breaks, in particular, are something to consider when it comes to creating your schedule. Breaks don’t just allow you to take a moment away from what you are doing. They are also how you stay energized and motivated. You do not want to fatigue your brain by sitting and forcing yourself to go over concepts over and over. The brain does not learn like this.
Taking breaks gives the mind the opportunity to rest and, most importantly, actually absorb what you are learning so that you can use it in a critical setting.
Breaking up your study periods is a great way to do this. Do an hour here, an hour there, and always remember to use dead times during your day to reinforce the information you want to memorize.
Put What you Learn to Use
If you are studying and working, then you have a great opportunity to get some real experience while reinforcing the concepts you are learning. Many online educators take a learn-today, use-tomorrow approach, and even if you cannot use what you learn directly in your current role, you can always take on a personal project that will.
If you want to branch your career into marketing, for example, use yourself as a brand. Being a professional brand is how you can really sell yourself to future employers and open up many exciting doors that just wouldn’t open without a platform.
By combining your existing experience with what you are learning, you are building a unique platform for yourself. You don’t want to blend in; you want to stand out, so use your background, your interests, your experience, and what you are learning to affirm what you are learning and really push the envelope for your career goals all at once.
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