Has it ever occurred to you that your online degree may worth less than a traditional degree? Or that employer may not view your online degree to hold the same value as a traditional degree?

You Decide – Is an Online Degree Worth Pursuing?

According to a survey conducted by Vault.com, out of 239 human resource professionals, “37 percent of those surveyed believe that an online graduate school degree is as credible as a traditional degree, while 54 percent said that it was not as credible but acceptable. And roughly 40 percent of employers said they believed online degrees are just as credible. So what about the other 60 percent?

Are Online Students less Competitive in the Job Market than Campus Students?

Today’s job market is very competitive and most decent jobs prefer a college degree. But there is no real evidence to show that online job seekers are less competitive than their on-campus counterparts solely based on their area of education. Or that they were not hired solely based on a misconception about earning an online degree. Sometimes experience, interview skills, likeability and other factors could play a very important role in getting hired.

Employers Perspective on Online Education

The way most employers view online degrees in the past has definitely changed over the years. As more and more schools have started providing distance education, more employers are realizing that online education is legitimate and holds the same value. Most employers are more concerned that the institution is accredited and the school has a good reputation, rather than the method someone used to obtain a college degree.

According to a career counselor and educational consultant based in New York City, “Traditional programs have been around for hundreds of years, but online programs are relatively new and employers tend to be less familiar with them,” he says. However in a survey done by online institution Excelsior College and Zogby International, 61 percent of CEOs and small business owners nationwide said they were familiar with online or distance learning programs.

Some Common Misconceptions about Online Degree Programs

• Online education is easier than traditional education.
• Students do not get much social interaction with other classmates.
• Distance education is still too new to gauge effectiveness.
• Employers do not give the same value to online education.
• It is extremely difficult to find employment with an online degree.

Online degrees may not work out for everyone but “to each his own.” And if the idea of online degrees is not worth anything then why are so many big name universities increasingly offering online classes both to traditional students as well as distance students?

The choice is yours to make. With the information provided in this article and from your own research, you decide whether or not an online degree is the best choice for you and is worth pursuing.