How Taking an Online Course Can Help You Get a Job

By Christine Ascher on August 15, 2017

Taking an online course has a lot of advantages; though of course many of these benefits relate to convenience, such as the ability to go to class in your pajamas, there are several practical advantages as well. Keeping up with an online class and course load will help you develop a lot of skills that you don’t use when taking an in-person class.

In addition to receiving course credit, these skills will help you later on when you’re applying for jobs after graduation. If you’re considering taking an online class but haven’t quite made up your mind, consider some of the advantages that it will bring you in terms of appealing to employers.

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Time Management

When you’re taking an online course, you’re going to have to hold yourself accountable for completing assignments and classwork. Instead of having to go to class at a certain time, or having a professor tell you how to divide up assignments and manage deadlines, you’ll be doing this on your own.

You also won’t have any classmates to work with who can help you determine how to pace yourself. As a result, your time management skills will improve considerably. When it comes time to apply for jobs, you can stress the fact that you were able to refine these skills through studying online. This will definitely appeal to employers, who will want to see that you are able to complete tasks in a timely manner on your own, without constant supervision.

Considering many college students struggle with procrastination and time management, you’ll have a definite edge over other recent grads who don’t have proof of their ability to effectively meet deadlines.

Responsibility

When you’re taking an online class, you’ll be fully in charge of your own learning. Your professor is not going to be looking out for you nearly as much as you could expect in a traditional class setting; you also won’t have as many opportunities to ask questions during or after class.

You’ll be responsible for ensuring that you understand important concepts and for identifying what you don’t know — and for working on those areas. Once you graduate and are looking for a job, this sense of responsibility will help you out quite a bit in your search. It will also show employers that you’re capable of taking on a lot of responsibility in the workplace.

Discipline

Staying focused on your coursework when you’re staring at a computer in the comfort of your own home tends to be a lot more difficult than it is when you’re sitting in a classroom watching a professor. For this reason, in order to succeed in an online course, you’ll need to be very disciplined.

You’ll probably have to set your own schedule for when you’re going to complete course requirements, and you’ll have to force yourself to comply with them if you are to finish the entire course and do well. Potential employers will like to see that you’ve exercised this level of discipline, as it shows that you’ll be a hard worker and will be able to set your goals to get your work done.

Self-Motivation

When you’re taking an online class, you’re going to be held responsible for your learning to a far greater degree than is typical for an in-person class. In order to do well, you’ll have to be self-motivated. You won’t have a professor who can encourage you, and you probably won’t be able to study and work with other students in the class, who could help you stay focused.

You’ll have to be really self-motivated to push through and succeed in an online course. If you can do this, it will be a big benefit for you when you’re applying for jobs. You’ll have evidence for employers of your ability to motivate yourself and of your drive; in addition to making a good impression on potential employers right away, these are qualities that will show them you can do well on tasks without requiring external encouragement. In other words, you’ll prove to employers that they won’t need to micromanage you in order for you to complete sufficient work; you’ll be able to get there on your own, which will, in turn, make their job a lot easier.

While you may initially think that taking an online course is just like a regular class, but a little bit more convenient, it actually can have a big payoff later on. Online courses will require a lot more responsibility than traditional classes and will help you develop and practice new and important skills that you can then brag about when you’re applying for jobs. In addition to having practiced these skills, you’ll also have a concrete example of when you used them. Even if it’s only one class, having this experience will definitely pay off.

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