If you are considering getting an advanced degree or want to take your career to the next level, getting a master’s degree is a logical step. Depending on your work and other life responsibilities, traditional study may not be a convenient option. Traveling to a college or university that is appropriate for your chosen field of study can be time-consuming, expensive or even impractical. The journey is also likely to have a terrible effect on your carbon footprint.
Thanks to today’s technology, these concerns need not be the barriers they once were. Online education makes it possible, or even easy, to pursue an advanced degree from the comfort of your own home by fitting your study around your busy schedule. That’s great news for you, and great news for the planet: not only is online career advanced education practical – it is much greener too!
Cut Your Carbon Footprint With Online Education
Studying online is a more environmentally friendly choice than traditional on-campus study. The main advantage is the reduced distance that you need to travel when pursuing online career advancement. Traditional students’ daily commutes to get to classes release a huge amount of carbon dioxide and other pollutants into the atmosphere, particularly when they travel by car.
Even for those who live on campus and are within walking distance of their classes, traveling to and from college at the beginning and end of each semester builds up an enormous carbon footprint for each student. The environmental impact is particularly bad if you attend a college far away: a single cross-country flight from San Francisco to New York emits 2.5 tons of carbon dioxide, which is as much as 15% of the average American’s carbon footprint for the entire year. Making several of those flights every year would turn your lifestyle into a environmental catastrophe!
The advantages of avoiding travel are obviously not just environmental; just think of all the time you won’t have to spend sitting in traffic or waiting around in an airport lounge. You can be at your desk within five minutes of getting out of bed.
Online degree programs use learning materials that are designed to support learning on a computer. You won’t have to make and carry around vast quantities of paper notes (unless you choose to, of course!) which is great news for the world’s forests. Compared to the environmental cost of creating and transporting physical educational resources, the electricity used to run your computer has a minimal effect.
Further Your Career With Online Education
An advanced qualification is a must in many fields. A master’s degree can help you to access the higher tiers of many professions and accelerate your progression up the career ladder. The availability of online education puts advanced study within the reach of a greater range of people, including those with family or work commitments that would prevent them from leaving home to attend college. Keen environmentalists benefit from online master’s degree programs by being able to pursue their dreams without needing to worry about their impact of their education on the planet.
Show Your Commitment to Being Green
Getting a master’s degree online is the best option for career advancement in fields where environmental concerns play a major role, such as urban planning. Choosing to pursuer your master’s degree in urban planning online demonstrates that you understand the value of using modern solutions to reduce energy consumption and emissions. Employers in environmentally sensitive fields such as urban planning have embraced online study programs because of their green benefits, which means that your accredited online master’s degree is sure to be well-respected.
Sarah Rawson is an avid blogger with a longstanding career in environmental sustainability. She researches the benefits of various online masters in environmental sustainability programs and contributes articles to various higher education blogs.
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