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Popular Online Degree Options for You

See how earning these popular online degrees could help youmove your career forward.

By Chris KyleThinking about earning your degree online? You have company.

It Only Takes a Minute!

Online enrollment grew 21 percent in 2009, the most recent year for which numbers areavailable, according to the Sloan Consortium, a non-profit leadership and educationalorganization.

To put that growth into context, nearly 6 million students took at least one online course in 2009,according to the Sloan Consortium, and those numbers are only expected to rise in the comingyears.

"One trend we are seeing increase dramatically is the number of students who start a program oncampus, try an online course and never turn back and complete their program entirely online,"says Scott Durand, director of graduate enrollment services at Southern New HampshireUniversity (SNHU).

Durand says that the transition from classroom learning to online education can be seamless because the learning objectives are identical."There is no distinction on the diploma," he says."The degree is the same."

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Selecting the right online degree is a personal choice, according to Jen Varney, an academicadvisor at SNHU. "It really depends on what the student has already done and what they want todo," she says.

To help you decide which online degree may be right for you, we've spotlighted four popular

online degrees. Keep reading to see why they might be worth pursuing.#1 Online Program

Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology (IT)

"IT courses lend themselves very well to online learning," says Joan Mitchell, director of publicrelations at Western Governors University (WGU), an entirely online non-profit institution with5,000 IT students.

The freedom to study when and where you want can be big advantages to just about any onlinedegree program you may choose. This is particularly true of IT degrees since you'll likely be

using modern technology to study the latest tech breakthroughs and industry trends.

Potential IT Career Paths & Average Earnings:* Network and Computer Systems Administrator: $72,200Database Administrator: $75,730Computer Systems Analyst: $81,250

#2 Online ProgramBachelor's Degree in Business Administration

The most popular bachelor's degree in the country is business administration, according to a

2011 survey by Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce. Studying business administration online could allow you to work towards this popular degree withoutsacrificing your day job.

"Many of our students want to take their business career to the next level," says David Eby,director of undergraduate enrollment services at SNHU. "In a lot of cases they have reached aglass ceiling but they can't just stop working and providing for their family. Earning their degreeonline provides flexibility."

Potential Careers & Average Earnings:*Training and Development Specialist: $57,280

Marketing Specialist: $66,850Accountant: $68,960

#3 Online ProgramBachelor's Degree in Psychology

Studying how humans make up their minds and behave can potentially benefit you in anynumber of careers, which is why earning a bachelor's in psychology could be so useful. By

http://match.education.yahoo.net/school-match/?commandName=inquiry&programCategoryId=7000&programSubcategoryId=7004&svid=wMMlZKBNud8xBoR7%2BvCKcQ%3D%3D&svkid=1HMNV&partner=1946&usid=d92b8a60-b79e-11e0-8ae0-0022195be248http://match.education.yahoo.net/school-match/?commandName=inquiry&programCategoryId=3000&programSubcategoryId=3002&svid=wMMlZKBNud8xBoR7%2BvCKcQ%3D%3D&svkid=1HMNV&partner=1946&usid=d92b8a60-b79e-11e0-8ae0-0022195be248http://match.education.yahoo.net/school-match/?commandName=inquiry&programCategoryId=5000&programSubcategoryId=5008&svid=wMMlZKBNud8xBoR7%2BvCKcQ%3D%3D&svkid=1HMNV&partner=1946&usid=d92b8a60-b79e-11e0-8ae0-0022195be248http://match.education.yahoo.net/school-match/?commandName=inquiry&programCategoryId=7000&programSubcategoryId=7004&svid=wMMlZKBNud8xBoR7%2BvCKcQ%3D%3D&svkid=1HMNV&partner=1946&usid=d92b8a60-b79e-11e0-8ae0-0022195be248http://match.education.yahoo.net/school-match/?commandName=inquiry&programCategoryId=3000&programSubcategoryId=3002&svid=wMMlZKBNud8xBoR7%2BvCKcQ%3D%3D&svkid=1HMNV&partner=1946&usid=d92b8a60-b79e-11e0-8ae0-0022195be248http://match.education.yahoo.net/school-match/?commandName=inquiry&programCategoryId=5000&programSubcategoryId=5008&svid=wMMlZKBNud8xBoR7%2BvCKcQ%3D%3D&svkid=1HMNV&partner=1946&usid=d92b8a60-b79e-11e0-8ae0-0022195be248

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earning your psychology degree online, you might have the opportunity to study with professorsand students who live all over the world. "We are not geographically constrained with our onlinefaculty," says Eby regarding the practicing psychologists who teach at SNHU.

Psychologist and school counselor are two potential career paths for those who study

psychology, but career opportunities in the business and legal worlds are also possible, whether it's in marketing or criminal justice.

Potential Career Paths & Average Earnings:*Family Therapist: $47,530School Psychologist: $72,540Industrial-Organizational Psychologist: $114,040

#4 Online ProgramMaster's Degree in Business Administration (MBA)

One advantage of earning an MBA online is that your coursework is available 24 hours a day,seven days a week. Another advantage is that you could potentially apply what you learn onlinein your day job.

And while earning an online MBA could certainly help you in your current career, it could alsohelp the way you market yourself to potential employers as well. "The vast majority of our MBAstudents choose a specialization," Durand says. "It makes them more marketable."

Specializations in online MBA programs are common at many schools and might often include:accounting, finance, health care management, marketing, and project management.

Potential Career Paths & Average Earnings:*General Manager: $113,100Sales Manager: $114,110Financial Manager: $116,970

http://match.education.yahoo.net/school-match/?commandName=inquiry&programCategoryId=3000&programSubcategoryId=3009&svid=wMMlZKBNud8xBoR7%2BvCKcQ%3D%3D&svkid=1HMNV&partner=1946&usid=d92b8a60-b79e-11e0-8ae0-0022195be248http://match.education.yahoo.net/school-match/?commandName=inquiry&programCategoryId=3000&programSubcategoryId=3009&svid=wMMlZKBNud8xBoR7%2BvCKcQ%3D%3D&svkid=1HMNV&partner=1946&usid=d92b8a60-b79e-11e0-8ae0-0022195be248