7 Job-Ready Skills You Will Develop When Studying an Online Master’s

If you strive for more than what is asked, you will develop a champ’s approach that you can translate in uncountable situations in your life. 

Highlights

·        Organizations seeking for essential skills such as communication, teamwork and time management.

·         In USA Employers facing real skill gaps in finding the baseline skills they need.

·        Huge Demand for candidates having soft skills

Most of the individuals probably chose an online degree program for its flexibility and convenience, online learning can sound so wonderful that some students start with an unrealistic vision. In reality, there’s a significant benefit to pursuing your college degree online that may surprise you,

 

What you most likely did not understand when you enrolled, is that an online degree program assist you strengthen fundamental job skills that employers, regardless of industry, look for today’s job applicants. Now a days hiring organizations are having a hard time finding vital skills, such as communication, teamwork and time management even in qualified candidates.

Data supports demand for soft skills

 According to report of Burning Glass Technologies, a leader in job market analytics recently analyzed millions of job postings across the United States & it states that “Employers are facing genuine skill gaps in finding the basic skills they need,” 

Nancy Cheek (Career Services Advisor of Saint Leo University) states that soft skills such as communication, critical thinking, problem solving, and time management are fundamentals needed in any sector, “in order to allow the technology of the time to be utilized to its fullest.”

Here are 7 additional skills that you develop as an online student.

1-Sense of responsibility

Online education puts more responsibility on the student. Holding yourself accountable can be hard. The reason why you have the chance to build such extreme ownership while you study online is that you are your own manager, you start living like a responsible adult, by owning to all the decisions you are taking. If you want to have a leadership role in the future then this skill is very important. 

2-Goal-directed proactiveness

In online education you will need to stay organized. Sometimes you will need to spark some conversations up with fellow colleagues or university professors. Maybe you will need to set up your own experiments and research pursuits to understand certain topics more in-depth. Through this experience, you can train your research skills to new levels of mastery.

3-Strategic planning

You need to be plan ahead of time if you want to achieve something great. Strategic planning is nothing but how you shape your decisions, to reach the most effective and personally-appeasing outcome. If you want to get the best experience out of it then you will have to develop this skill during your online studies.

4-Time-management

When you pursue online studies, your university will fix specific deadlines, but for the rest, it is up to you to manage your time effectively. Take the opportunity to learn how to plan your day in a way that is the most beneficial to you. Make effective use of short blocks of time to accomplish small tasks and how to save long blocks of time for more complex tasks.

5-Hardcore research skills

In online education by learning about how to go beyond simple Google searches & how to produce high-quality research, you can learn to identify and state a problem clearly and concisely, it means that you know where to look for information, and can decide on which information is most useful. Online students develop strong research skills that enables them for the workforce.  

6-Communication skills

Communication skills are vital in online learning because students must seek help when they need it when working in an online environment. Communication can get messy, if you don’t clearly articulate what you want to say to people, your message will most likely be falsely interpreted.

While pursuing online Master’s, you will get plenty of opportunities to practice and master this specific skill. Time to become a pro-communicator! 

7-Reading Writing skills

Online courses are writing intensive, giving students the opportunity to strengthen critical writing skills in every academic term. Since online students communicate extensively via email and online discussion boards, they gain an understanding of the nuances of digital communication, one of the critical asset in a today’s workplace.

Online courses require same amount time and energy as traditional classroom courses. It also requires specific computer skills and learning techniques in order to succeed. Don’t limit your online education to just getting through the course material. Start developing these job-ready skills.

Employment opportunities in India after distance education

Highlights

·        Students getting average salary package Rs. 3 lac from IGNOU

·        Distance learning programmes eligible for government jobs

·        Students getting recognition in international markets

·        Students can apply for banking, railways, airport, PSU’s

A major concern that students have when they decided to pursue a distance education degree is the value of the degree with respect to employment opportunities.  Because About a decade ago, distance education was of nearly no value in the employment sector. However, as the time changes & rise of different platforms of online learning distance education is being broadly recognized in both public and private sectors.

 From a student's point of view, the value of a degree is something that directly proportional to its return on investment (ROI). So if a student intends to contribute time, money and energy in pursuing a course, he anticipates that it should give him good returns. For most of them, good returns mean getting a good job placement after fulfilment of the course.

Distance education- good return on investment

The average salary package offered to MBA graduates (2014-2016) of IIM Kozhikode by top companies in India and abroad varied between Rs. 11.29 lakh and Rs. 18.78 lakh per annum. 

In contrast, the Campus Placement Cell (CPC) of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), offers to its students is ranging from (Rs. 1.8 lakhs per annum) to 3.75 lakh per annum)

These Statistics  & surveys shows that distance education still has a long way to go but if we take a comparative look at the ROI, distance learning degrees don't fare that bad either.

On off the chance that we think about the affordable and cost-effective distance learning programmes offered by open universities like IGNOU, then the placements offered by them are actually handsome returns on the investment we put in.

Distance learning degrees valid for central Government jobs

According to notification issued by central government in 1995, all qualifications awarded through distance education by the universities are automatically eligible for the purpose of employment to posts and services under the central government, but it needed to be approved by the distance education Council,” IGNOU Vice Chancellor V.N. Rajasekharran Pillai said.

As per the notification, all distance learning diplomas, degrees, and certifications granted through distance mode by UGC recognized universities are eligible for the central government jobs, such as UPSC Civil Services, SBI PO, SBI Clerk, IBPS PO and IBPS Clerk.  

Distance MBA graduates can also apply for government jobs as full time MBA graduates.  They can find suitable opportunities for themselves in government sectors such as Banking, Railways, Airport, PSUs, etc. 

Eligible for overseas jobs

A distance MBA degree in International Business can get abroad jobs in export and import, shipping, consultancy, logistics and international placement. Another specialization which offers promising prospects through distance mode is IT management. An MBA degree in Media & Communications will put you ahead of the rest.

Special Placement cells for distance learning universities

The majority of the colleges offering distance education have now established special "placement cells" that actively seek to get their students placed in reputed multinationals, government jobs, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector. These placement cells ensure that every single student get help with job placements, counselling for employment and even self-employment.

It makes a huge difference from where you have finished your distance education. Pick a well-recognized institution for your distance education course.  Most of the times you will get a job depending upon your skills, knowledge and hard work. So once a candidate secures a job in any industry, the salary/ income/ monetary benefit that s/he gets depends on his/ her performance at work not on college or university.

What are the ways to get admission for fully funded PhD

Are you looking for PhD scholarships to study abroad? This article provides in-depth information on the various fully paid programmes or scholarships available for students aspiring to pursue PhD in their country of origin or abroad.

Highlights

·        Universities provide funding for predefined PhD research work.

          ·          Financial help from charities & trusts for PhD students

          ·          Over 1,100 fully funded scholarships are available in oxford university

          ·          Foreign Universities offering fully funded PhD’s

The process of doing a PhD often described as challenging, not only you have to commit the mental energy to a PhD program, but also have to dedicate about five years of your working life to pursuing a terminal degree. Economically speaking, it will, of course, be even more challenging if you do not have sufficient funding to pursue it and have to earn a living while trying to bring your contribution to innovation and discoveries. For pursuing PhD in USA the fees is varying from 8 to 18 lac rupees for the span of 4 to 6 years.

For many students, it is simply not an option to forget a full-time income for the length of time it takes to finish a PhD.

One solution for this situation is by choosing a PhD programme with a predefined topic provided by some universities with fully funded PhD scholarship or other types of funding. In 2017-18 Over 1,100 fully funded scholarships are available for new masters and doctoral students in Oxford University.

Predefined PhD programmes

Universities suggest certain themes and topics that they consider would make a good fit with the research strategy of the department, and that would bring a valuable contribution to the faculty and university.

Prospective candidates can look on university websites for these opportunities, sometimes they may be called scientific vacancies or project-funded PhD positions.

If you’re in luck, you can find a predefined PhD programme that is perfectly or very similar with the topic you were already considering for your research work.

Advantage of these type of PhDs is that most times they involve funding. However, they are usually available for full-time PhD courses, but they are salaried positions, so if you are admitted, you will receive a monthly stipend. Such opportunities are available within universities from the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Norway and more.

Sources of PhD funding

The ministry of department of education in your home or host country is a good starting point for many educational grants. There are also many charities and trusts that offer financial help to specific demographics.

It is important to keep in mind that there are various types of scholarships available. Few of them are provided directly by a research department recruiting doctoral candidates, some by universities. There are many doctoral candidates at European universities that are finance by the governments of their countries to come and do a PhD degree. Additionally, there are different foundations and organizations that provide financial support to doctoral candidates.

PhD funding from universities

Most universities provides substantial scholarships, studentships, & other PhD funding opportunities. These schemes typically cover the cost of good proportion of the annual tuition fees. If not more universities often also provide some funding for doctoral students to cover the cost of field trips & conference attendance.

Just a small sample of PhD programs that are fully funded:

          ·          All PhD students at Columbia University get full funding. Columbia has particularly strong programs in medicine and sciences, as well as public administration and policy.

          ·          Boston College’s Department of Psychology offers a four- to five-year, full-time, fully-funded, research-oriented doctoral program.

          ·          Students admitted Duke University’s PhD program in Military History receive multi-year funding packages from the graduate school, including tuition waivers, a stipend, and a teaching assistantship or grader ship.

          ·          The Joint Program in Social Work and Social Science at the University of Michigan gives all incoming doctoral students a multi-year funding package.  It covers tuition, stipends, and health care.

Universities have funding available for specific subject areas within each field. By speaking directly to the universities of your choice, you will be able to get the exact details of what they are looking for.  By finding out where a university’s focus lies, you will be able to sculpt your proposal in such a way as to make it appropriate to their needs. Speaking to a university representative will give you access to first-hand information and personal advice.