You have more options for getting an education these days than ever before.

You can always go in for the traditional college route or one of many online certifications out there. You can also go in for some informal education with massive open online courses.

Online education isn’t without risks. A catastrophe like a computer crash can set you back. Fortunately, you can take steps after a crash to save your computer.

On the fence about online education? Here are just some of the top reasons for pursuing an online diploma.

1. You Can Work Around Your Schedule

Did you know that the full-time workers average 47-hour weeks and that 40% of full-time workers clock 50-hour+ weeks? That’s a lot of time spent at work during the day. So, guess when most traditional college classes take place.

Give yourself a gold star if you guessed something like: “During the day.”

Online courses rarely include mandatory attendance times. Those that include live meetings almost always schedule them in the evenings or on weekends.

That means you can pursue an online diploma and work around your job schedule.

2. Pursue a Passion

A lot of people end up picking a degree or certification in something safe. For example, maybe you got into web development because there’s good expected job growth. That doesn’t make web development your dream.

Maybe there’s art in your soul. You can study graphic design or art history. You explore the world of Rome by studying history. Doing online school lets you pursue these kinds of passions without upending your life.

3. Change Careers

Some people spend years in those safe careers and hate every minute of it. An online degree program can let you change careers.

Do you volunteer in retirement homes or hospitals? You can make that a career with online healthcare degrees.

Passionate about helping people? You can study social work or psychology. If you want a career in it, you can find a decent online program in that area.

4. Improve Your Career

Some people like their jobs but can’t advance because they lack the education.

For example, a network security tech might find he can’t promote because it requires a computer science degree. Many management positions in the corporate world require an MBA.

Online programs let you slide around these career roadblocks without quitting your day job.

Online degrees also let you expand your professional skill set. An accountant might pick up a second degree with a focus in forensic accounting. That lets her pad her resume and offer her clients additional services.

5. Let’s You Start Slow

If you left school a long time ago or didn’t excel academically, any kind of school can seem daunting. You might think things like:

• What if I can’t keep up?
• What if I forgot how to learn?
• What if I can’t figure out the technology?

Online programs attract non-traditional students and those with tight schedules. There is less expectation that you’ll carry a full-time load. That means you can start slow and brush off those learning skills.

Plus, you can use a few tricks for learning faster.

6. No Travel

No commute time is one of the reasons why an online school is better. After all, the average American already spends around 50 minutes on their work commutes.

Few people relish the idea of adding another commute to a college for night classes.

With an online program, you can avoid the extra commute. You can also work from the comfort of your own home.

7. Work at Your Pace

If you didn’t jump right into college after high school, you join the adult world by default.

Maybe you got married and had a couple kids. There’s probably an apartment or house you must pay for and maintain. All those responsibilities pile up and sometimes the unexpected crops up.

One of the online schooling benefits is that you exert a lot of control over your pace. If you know there’s a lot coming up in the next few months, you can reduce your class schedule.

8. Fewer Challenges for Those with Health Problems

College campuses offer a lot, but they also create some pitfalls for people with health challenges.

You’re constantly surrounded by people. That exposes you to a host of common illnesses.

Healthy young people generally weather is fine. It’s much more precarious if your immune system isn’t great.

By law, campuses must remain accessible for those with disabilities. Accessible isn’t the same thing as convenient. Most colleges provide a lot of stairs and not many elevators.

9. Fewer Distractions

The classroom experience is a bonus for some students. You can hear others opinions and test your own. Even so, classrooms can also provide very distracting.

Many students find their classmates a serious distraction from learning. Taking classes online removes those distractions from the process. You can focus in on what really matters.

That reduction in distractions also lets you frame your own thoughts with greater care.

10. Hone Your Technical Skills

It’s easy for technology to pass any of us by. It evolves rapidly and those innovations often don’t intersect with our jobs in obvious ways. At least, not right at first.

Pursuing an online degree forces you to hone your technical skills. At the outset, you must figure out the system the college uses to deliver your courses.

You’ll also learn or refine skills that play a role in your professional life.

You’ll probably, for example, learn about integrating other media into documents and presentations. You’ll probably also get a fast education in messaging apps, cloud storage, and online calendars.

Parting Thoughts on Pursuing an Online Diploma

There are many good reasons to pursue an online diploma.

An online degree can let you pursue a passion. It’s one way you can advance your career. It can even let you change careers.

It also offers benefits over traditional college programs.

For example, you can avoid moving or commuting to attend. It works around your existing schedule. You exert a lot of control over how fast you education moves.

If picking up some new education sounds good to you, check out our post on surviving the college experience.