Is an Online Education Right For You? Choosing an Online Education, Part 1

Apr 26

jstephen@scc-i.comDistance Learning, Online Education 7 Comments

Whether you know it or not, you have spent your whole life learning. You just may not have a fancy printed certificate hanging on your wall to show for it. Is now the time to make that step to get your degree? Taking that step in the past was a scary, and for many, impossible, feat. You don’t have the time to attend classes at night, you cannot afford the tuition and travel expenses, or maybe you are uncomfortable in a classroom setting. With the advent of the internet, learning online may be the key to achieving your goals and overcoming those challenges.

For many adults, continuing, or even finishing, their education seems like an impossible task. The reasons will be as varied as the individuals. Some may include:

  • There is just not enough time in the day to deal with the challenges at home and work, and then attend classes at night, or on weekends.
  • For many it may be a fear associated with failing in the classroom. I think we can all dig bad memories out of the abyss of our mind about classroom experiences that may still give us nightmares.
  • For some it may just be impossible to physically to get to a school. You may live in the backwoods of Alaska, or on some remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, where there is not a school available.
  • The list could go on for ever…

This does not have to be the case anymore.

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Will rising fuel costs spur an increase in telecommuting?

Apr 26

jstephen@scc-i.comDistance Learning, Small Business, Technology, Telecommuting 1 Comment

The dream of working from home in your pajamas has probably been on the back of almost every ‘white collar’ worker at some point in their career. Not having to hassle with spending an hour or more in the car every day just to get to and from the office has always sounded pretty good. But that dream has never turned into a reality for most people. Even as recently as 2006 some suggested that there was more myth than reality to the idea of telecommuting and flexible work schedules (Gragg, 2006).

However, as gas prices have risen past the $4 per gallon mark, a renewed interest, and maybe even, sense of urgency, has again brought telecommuting to the forefront of employees’ minds.

If your total commute to work is 100 miles (50 miles each way) and you get 20 miles per gallon in your vehicle, at just $4.00/per gallon, it is costing you $20.00 per day, just to get to and from work. If you work 50 weeks per year, not counting holidays, it is costing you roughly $1000 per year to drive to and from your office.

Assuming the above costs and car mileage you could save $200 per year by working from home just one day per week. These figures also do not include maintenance and insurance costs which could be impacted by the amount of mileage you put on your vehicle.

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