Four ways online courses help with remote work skills

Now is a compelling time to pause and reflect on how the professional landscape is shifting due to COVID. To accommodate the changes caused by the pandemic, several industries and career paths are moving to include more remote positions and work opportunities. If you’re wondering how you can develop the skills needed to succeed in a remote career, pursuing an online degree or certificate at the Alamo Colleges might be one option. Here are four ways that participating in online courses at the Alamo Colleges can help you develop remote work skills:

Refines your technical skills

The wide variety of fully online programs offered at our Alamo Colleges are valuable opportunities to refine technical skills that make you more marketable in your current and future jobs. Online courses require you to be skilled with team engagement technologies, virtual presentations, and file management. These skills will make you a more versatile employee, which is important in the wake of so many economic changes. In addition, honing these skills may help you feel more prepared for any career changes that come your way.

Promotes work-life balance

With unemployment rates reaching peak numbers as a residual effect of the pandemic, you may feel pressure to increase your work productivity and forgo a healthy work-life balance. With any luck, the economy will soon normalize and you can resume an equal balance between your work and home life. In the meantime, participating in online classes can prove helpful when balancing your education with work, family, and other obligations during these uncertain times. As an online student, you learn to monitor upcoming assignments, set study times, and plan ahead for projects and tests. By building these skills into your everyday life, you learn to set boundaries and make wise decisions about how you spend your time. Each of these skills will set you up for success in any remote work situation where you are required to meet the demands of both work and home.

Enhances marketable skills

It’s likely that many industries will continue to offer remote positions, so it is essential to enhance marketable skills such as working independently, communicating in a virtual realm, and practicing time management. Although these are crucial skills in any professional setting, they are even more critical when working in a remote position where you are expected to take primary ownership of the process.

Offers structure

In addition to providing the opportunity to learn essential skills, our fully online degree offerings also provide the same structure and consistency as a remote job. Each course clearly articulates the standards and tasks expected of you, just as your manager will do when you enter the workforce. By learning how to operate in an environment based on remotely-assigned tasks and feedback, you will graduate with your degree and enter a remote position without noticing a difference between your online learning experience and your new professional role.

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