Blog / Leadership & Transformation

Is Distance Learning MBA Right for You?

Have you been considering pursuing an MBA for a while now? If the answer is “Yes”, keep reading as we delve into the details of why to consider a distance learning MBA. And if the answer is “Not really”, maybe it’s time to give it a thought? Studying for a qualification like an MBA is a big commitment, so choosing a study method that best suits your needs and inspires you to put in the effort is the basis of everything. It won’t always be easy balancing a busy work schedule and a course load, but at the end of the day, we all know that it has been worth it. Online master’s programs, like those offered by Zigurat Innovation & Technology Business School, are so much more than just a modern application of the old school correspondence course model. In this post, we’re going to use the terms of online MBA and distance learning MBA interchangeably to convey the difference that the arrival of new digital tools has made for distance learners. As you’re deciding between a traditional and an online distance learning MBA, let us help you with your pros and cons list.One of the biggest challenges for working professionals is to find time in their busy schedules. In that sense, a distance learning MBA might be an experience that fits the demands of your life. An online learning platform permits the course participants to be up to date with the contents in their own terms. Whether you prefer to divide the workload over the week or dedicate more time over the weekend is up to you. Maybe one of the reasons you’ve been postponing the studies is the fear of putting your career on hold. A Distance Learning MBA, on the other hand, would allow you to work on your professional goals on two fronts. Moreover, you would be able to put what you’ve learned into immediate practice. Another advantage is that of having active professionals like yourself as fellow students: according to this study, working professionals make up nearly 80 percent of the candidates who applied for online MBA programs in 2017.Back in the day, sending your coursework by mail and having no interaction with the peers didn’t really add up to a dynamic and holistic learning experience. However, in the digital era, the tables have turned. Apart from being flexible, online learning environment puts you in contact with people from all over the world. New tools are emerging, and most conversations within a global organization are carried out over platforms like Skype or Slack. That new infrastructure has accelerated notably the viability of online education in case of which the learners use roughly the same tools to communicate with each other. That’s why, in some ways, a distance learning MBA is a program that most resembles how global business is conducted today.Since the format of distance learning will permit you to study any online MBA from anywhere, you can choose a program with updated content that best fits your professional career plan. Making sure that the qualification you earn is equally relevant today and tomorrow will allow you to remain competitive over the years to come. Distance learning MBA doesn’t mean lengthy PDF files, watching videos while cooking and taking endless multiple-choice tests. Online learning programs rely on group work, forums, webinars, and many other activities that, in addition to new know-how, reinforce the communication and leadership skills of the participant. The interaction the learners have with the instructors and lecturers is, on occasion, closer and more immediate than if they were to pursue an MBA at a traditional brick-and-mortar school. By offering the flexibility of an online format, the faculty board of a distance learning MBA can incorporate more experts who are professionally active and have faced the same challenges as the participants at some point in their career. Learning from top professionals who have succeeded in tapping into the digital realm emphasizes a practical approach over beautiful but vague concepts.When choosing a program, whether a traditional or a distance learning MBA, the learner must keep an eye out for the factors that make a particular master stand out among the others. How could it help you to build your career? Is it the name of an institution you are after? What are the contents that must be covered? What does a certain program offer that others don’t? For example, one of the differential values of the Global MBA in Digital Business is that the members of the faculty board also act as consultants for the projects the students are working on. That way, the learners can address them directly about a particular challenge or strategy they have considered implementing. Obtaining the degree is a big step towards your professional goals, but feeling at home with all the new digital tools and knowing how to use them to solve your current problems is the differential value that turns you into the leader of the future.
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Zigurat Global Institute of Technology