Online MBAs anyone?

Cokebotle

So I'm looking at getting a new job (English teacher in Japan) and am not quite sure what I want to do. I have a bachelor's in Electrical Engineering, and am thinking that getting an MBA wouldn't be a bad thing to do. However, since I'm still in Japan, there are distance issues.

So! I'm wondering if anyone has any advice for taking online classes, or have any information about what to expect? Bonus points for MBA-related information! I've sent in requests for information from 4 different colleges (Walden, Kaplan, University of Phoenix, and DeVry University), but there's a lot here I don't really know much about.

Thanks for the help!

Edit: I'm thinking an MBA with a leaning towards Technology would best suit me, as such I'm now down to Walden, UoP, and DeVry, since Kaplan doesn't have a Technology focus.

Inquisitor77

Don't do it. Huge waste of money. You're far better off going to a real school in Japan and getting the international experience/connections.

Dr. Frenchenstein

a lot of reputable schools have online programs as well (being from baltimore, i only know local schools) but University of MD has one, and i think University of Baltimore does as well. You might want to lean towards those, as just having those initials only means as much as the school you got it from.

VisionOfClarity

Dr. Frenchenstein wrote: »

a lot of reputable schools have online programs as well (being from baltimore, i only know local schools) but University of MD has one, and i think University of Baltimore does as well. You might want to lean towards those, as just having those initials only means as much as the school you got it from.

Ditto'd. Do it with a real college or it won't be worth it at all. MBA's are a dime a dozen these days and if yours is from a shitty degree mill it won't do anything for you but cost money.

Deebaser

VisionOfClarity wrote: »

Dr. Frenchenstein wrote: »

a lot of reputable schools have online programs as well (being from baltimore, i only know local schools) but University of MD has one, and i think University of Baltimore does as well. You might want to lean towards those, as just having those initials only means as much as the school you got it from.

Ditto'd. Do it with a real college or it won't be worth it at all. MBA's are a dime a dozen these days and if yours is from a shitty degree mill it won't do anything for you but cost money.

I have nothing to add but lime.

ceres

What Frenchy said. The school I graduated from had an online program (though I only used it for one class). A friend of mine got his Master's in Library Science via (I think) PennState's online program. He didn't *like* the program, but now he has his dream job working in a library at a nearby university, so I guess he's glad he stuck with it.

Do that if you can. If you get your degree from a good school, you don't put on your resume that you got it online; it looks the same as any other degree. If you get one from DeVry or UoP you won't have to - people will know by looking.

Serpent

Everyone I know about an MBA says the most valuable parts of getting it were:

1. Doing group work
2. Building a network

I can't imagine and online MBA being good for either of these.

EggyToast

As someone who just finished an MBA (over the past 4 years), the biggest thing you get from it is working well in groups. This is more than just group work, and it took me the first 2 years to get past that. After all, the point of an MBA is to be a manager -- which means you have people working under you. You need to be able to understand the finance, accounting, and stats stuff -- which is easy to learn online, and is how I plan to stay up to date on it (thanks Wikipedia!). The marketing, team, leadership, and strategy stuff? Yeah, that's much harder to learn online. Most of my later classes didn't even have tests, just papers and presentations. Some had just presentations and group work. My last class was one long group project for an actual client requesting actual work.

Can you find online programs that do a very good job? Sure, and they're likely from very strong MBA programs because they'll apply the same elements of the "in person" MBA to the online portion. I personally suggest online classes only as a refresher or an update for stuff you already know -- for things that are new or lend themselves to being around people and having a discussion, it's difficult to get that online.

Kathris

I started my MBA at a school and finished it online.

University of Colorado - Colorado Springs

I dont know about teaching, but in the corporate world you are defintely better off having on than not having one. (Whether you learn anything from it or not)

Mine cost me around 15K and in 4 since then years I've already made that back and more in salary.

Cokebotle

Hm... interesting.

I don't know if I really want to go to a college here in Japan unless it's an international one, honestly. I've heard that colleges here are the "break" from studying so hard in high school until you get a job. I'd assume that graduate programs are similar, but I'm still a bit suspicious.

The main reason I'm looking at doing it online vs attending a school is that it's easier to fit around my schedule while I still teach here in Japan, unless I find another job in the meantime. My current job earns decent money, all things considered, and it'd be nice to save some money for the future while I work on getting something better.

I also didn't know there was some sort of huge stigma about those colleges in particular. I mean, they have actual campuses, but they have established online courses and degrees which is why I was looking into them (plus googling around a bit came up with those as some of the "top" online colleges, with a few others). I don't really know much about college rankings and the like. Is there a good site you guys know of that can help me pick, maybe?

Thanks again all!

EggyToast

As someone with an MBA, I admit that if I were in a hiring position I would not consider an online MBA (or many online degrees, depending on the individual's background) as strong as an "offline" degree, simply because I think you gain more from interacting in person.

I might think differently if I was hiring someone to work offsite, such as freelance or contractual work.

Aurin

Cokebotle wrote: »

Hm... interesting.

I don't know if I really want to go to a college here in Japan unless it's an international one, honestly. I've heard that colleges here are the "break" from studying so hard in high school until you get a job. I'd assume that graduate programs are similar, but I'm still a bit suspicious.

The main reason I'm looking at doing it online vs attending a school is that it's easier to fit around my schedule while I still teach here in Japan, unless I find another job in the meantime. My current job earns decent money, all things considered, and it'd be nice to save some money for the future while I work on getting something better.

I also didn't know there was some sort of huge stigma about those colleges in particular. I mean, they have actual campuses, but they have established online courses and degrees which is why I was looking into them (plus googling around a bit came up with those as some of the "top" online colleges, with a few others). I don't really know much about college rankings and the like. Is there a good site you guys know of that can help me pick, maybe?

Thanks again all!

Well, what you want to start with is finding a not-for-profit college. UoP in particular is horrid, and I've heard DeVry is pretty bad too. They'll show up high in Google because... well, their sites are likely done really well. Since they're fleecing their students.

Look at the different state colleges and their online programs, that'll be your best bet.