In this article let’s take alook at what distance mba is all about and if distance mba is worth it by looking at all the pros and cons of it in detail.
This is the most comprehensive article you can find online regarding distance MBA so I would recommend you to bookmark the article and share this article with your friends and family members to let them know the pros and cons of distance MBA if they are interested in pursuing mba degree.
So without further ado let’s get started.
Is distance Mba worth it?
To summarise the article, distance MBA is definitely worth it for working professionals and people who cannot afford expensive MBA courses and do not want to sacrifice two years of the life in getting their MBA degree but of course if you can afford MBA degree or if you want more networking opportunities, and you are ready to sacrifice the time for the MBA then you should definitely choose traditional or online MBA course over distance.
Now let’s take a look at pros and cons of distance Mba in detail.
Pros and cons of distance Mba
Pros of distance Mba
Save opportunity cost
One of the main advantages of distance MBA is that you can save the opportunity cost which means that you can study MBA degree while you are doing your job and because of this you don’t have to sacrifice two years of your life, quit their job to study MBA rather you can do both your job and study MBA along the way.
Because of this you can earn money while you are doing MBA, This is a big advantage because many students who do MBA after UG either sacrifice 2 years of their life to take MBA degree before getting a job or do MBA after getting a job and experience but in the process they will be losing two years of network connections and salary they will be earning in the job which is called as opportunity cost but with the distance MBA because you do not have to attend the college physically you can save the opportunity cost and still get your MBA degree which is really great.
Less cost
Another big advantage of a distance MBA is that it is not very costly compared to traditional MBA courses.
There are many students and working professionals who consider having an MBA degree but they hold themselves due to lack of money and budget because getting admission into business schools is really expensive and costly thing but
with the help of a distance MBA because you do not have to attend the college at all, many universities offer distance MBA courses at a cheaper rate which gives opportunity to many working professionals to get MBA degree at affordable price.
MBA fees in India range from INR 20,000 to INR 40 lakh for a two-year full-time program, whereas the distance MBA fees in India range from one lakh rupees to three lakh rupees for two years. And even the admission process for distance MBA colleges is also simpler and easy compared to traditional and online MBA courses.
Convenient schedule
Another big advantage of a distance MBA is that You can have a convenient schedule and timetable and you can also create your own timetable as you do not have to follow the schedule of your college.
Because in distance MBA you will get all the video and PDFs tutorials, You can create any time table which is convenient to you and you can start doing your MBA at the time, You can get peace of mind and relax whenever you want, but of course, you need to meet certain deadlines and attend the college of a few centers for the exams and also to get your doubts clarified from the lecturers.
And because you do not have to attend classes and college regularly you will also save a lot of time, money & energy in traveling from home to college.
This is another big benefit for working professionals who are having a 9-5 job, they can study MBA degree in the morning or in the evening after they get back home from the job and they can create their own timetable and do the self-study with their pace and convenience but the only problem is that you will have to create a study environment and motivate yourself to study every day or depending upon your time table and you can read this article on how you can stay consistent and remove distractions while studying here.
You can apply what you learn instantly
Another big advantage of a distance MBA is that you can apply what you learn instantly in your job.
This is a big advantage because whatever you learn in MBA is all about business and administration and if you are working in a company then you can instantly implement whatever you learnt in MBA practically and solve the problems of the businesses and this can help you move ahead in your career and you can also get lots of promotions ahead.
Technology friendly
Another big advantage of a distance mba is it is technology-friendly which means You will get a bunch of videos, online notes and PDFs and you can easily store these files on your laptop and computer and you will not have to purchase physical books and write notes on a physical paper which is environmentally friendly and
also saves a lot of space on your desk and you can study whenever and wherever you want for example in the middle of your work like breaks with the help of videos which you stored on your device which is not usually possible with a book and of course you can save a lot of money with the videos and PDFs instead of purchasing the physical books for MBA.
Recognized by regulatory bodies
There are many top colleges and universities which offer distance MBAs that are actually recognized by many regulatory bodies like NMIMS, SCDL, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), etc
Studying in colleges that are approved and accredited will not only help you in placements and jobs but also study higher studies in foreign universities.
No competition feeling
Another advantage of a distance MBA is that you will have less or no competition feeling at all because Unlike the regular MBA programmes, where aspirants have to undergo rigorous process of taking MBA entrance exam, appearing for the GD, PI or WAT rounds, the aspirants for the Distance MBA do not feel the heat of heavy competition.
Moreover, since there is no specific number of seats, the enrollment of students can be of any number, without causing disturbance to learn. In online Mode, you can accomadate many students without any issues because they dont have to visit the college.
Comfortable to get education for elderly
Since there is no higher age limit for the candidates, the students can be from any professional background or position. For senior professionals, it might get difficult to enroll in a full-time program or he/she may feel uncomfortable attending classroom education amidst fellow students belonging to various age groups. For them, the Distance mode of MBA is ideal.
These are all the advantages of distance MBA, Now let’s take a look at the disadvantages of distance MBA in detail.
Cons of distance MBA
Less networking opportunities
In my opinion, one of the main disadvantages of a distance MBA is that it can have fewer networking opportunities for the students and as a matter of fact more than 50% of the students who pursue MBA degree do it to grow their network and connections but when it comes to distance MBA you can get less networking opportunities because not being able to attend the college and participate in clubs and associations properly.
In some cases if you attend online classes you can interact with other students through live chat but you have no experience with regards to industry visits and internship opportunities which other students have with traditional MBA degrees and you will have less exposure overall.
It is not just about network but your friend circle will also help you during your exams and motivate you while you are studying and you can also participate in group studies and discussions and exchange new ideas, thoughts with your friends but it will not be possible with distance MBA because it is more individualistic and self-oriented course.
No bond with teachers
Another disadvantage of distance MBA is that, because you do not attend the classes and college physically and you do not also interact with the teachers with online classes as you will be learning degree in the form of offline videos and PDFs so there will be no interaction between the teacher and the student and this is a disadvantage because you not only develop the relationship of a teacher and student as during the middle of classes and
lectures you can miss lots of important tips and advice students would get from the teachers and it can also become hard for you to solve your doubts and questions regarding the concepts with the teachers and many students actually drive their motivation and inspiration to study and move ahead from their teachers but from distance MBA you will not get that motivation because there will be no interaction with the teacher & student at all.
Fewer specializations
Another big disadvantage of distance MBA is that it does not offer many specializations in MBA courses as compared to traditional and online MBA courses because some specializations of MBA courses require the students to attend the classes physically and take internships but because
distance MBA is all about not being present physically and dedicating a lot of time to the MBA course so distance MBA does not have many specializations and varieties to choose from compared to traditional and online MBA courses except a few important specializations like finance and marketing etc.
Placement is not guaranteed
Another disadvantage of distance MBA is that placement is not always guaranteed of course this is also a disadvantage with traditional and online MBA courses but more importantly with distance MBA, because it is more inclined towards self-study and you will have to motivate yourself to study and pass the exams, and
obviously, because not attending college you can have less exposure and less network so It is not completely guaranteed that you will get placement opportunities after getting the MBA degree from distance education.
This is where traditional and online MBA courses would have the upper hand because in those mediums at least you will have some level of network and connections with other students because you will be interacting with them during the lectures and
classes and you can also join clubs and groups and you can develop certain skills like communication and networking skills which can help you advance in your career. Most recruiters would prefer traditional MBA grads over distance MBA because of all these skills.
These are all the advantages and disadvantages of the distance MBA program.
With that said let’s conclude the article.
Conclusion
These are all the things you need to know about distance MBA.
Do comment down what are your thoughts about distance MBA in the comment section below.
Share the article with your friends and subscribe to my blog to receive notifications regarding whenever I publish a new post in future.