Should I Finish my Business Degree?

Degree Completion Programs | 5 MIN READ

benefits of a degree illustration

Whether you’ve earned an associate degree or completed some coursework toward a degree in business, finishing your bachelor’s degree is within reach.

Institutions recognize that as an adult returning to school, you have many responsibilities. Accordingly, many colleges and universities offer flexible programs to accommodate your work schedule and family commitments, and they provide the individualized support you need to get back on your educational path.

What are the Benefits of a Degree?

A bachelor’s degree completion program for adult learners gives a person who began a degree and then left school for a time the opportunity to complete the degree. There are many convenient options for bachelor’s degree completion programs. Choose one that best suits your goals, needs, and schedule.

These degree completion programs are designed for busy adults who typically can’t attend classes full-time. Instead, institutions offer convenient format options for the classes, such as evening, online, hybrid (a combination of on-campus and online), and asynchronous (a format that allows you to listen to recorded lectures and complete assignments at your convenience over a designated time period). In addition, many institutions offer accelerated programs, which allow you to complete your degree in less time than is typical for a returning adult student.

An advisor or admission counselor works with you to identify your transferable academic credits from your previous institution and to determine whether work experience can be translated to credits.

Professional Benefits of a Degree Completion Program

Whether you choose a career in finance, healthcare, data analysis, supply chain management, information technology, the public sector, arts administration, or entrepreneurship, all these industries need leaders who understand business and can make informed decisions.

With a bachelor’s degree in business, you build skills which serve you throughout your career, including:

  • Leadership
  • Oral and written communication
  • Team building and collaboration
  • Project management
  • Organizational behavior
  • Decision making and problem solving
  • Analytical skills

This combination of business and leadership skills is attractive to employers. They know the person they are hiring is capable of a multitude of responsibilities, giving business graduates an edge as they seek employment.

Not only does a business degree give you a wide range of career choices and an advantage in the job market, it also provides an opportunity for increased earning potential. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) calculates a median annual wage for business and financial occupations at $76,570 as of May 2021, which is higher than the median annual wage for other occupations. BLS also projects approximately 980,000 openings each year in business and finance occupations.

Another of the many advantages of a business degree is its versatility. You may choose to spend your career in one industry where your skills will put you on a trajectory for advancement. Or, you may choose to try something new, knowing that your business degree will set you up for success wherever you go.

Personal Benefits of a Degree

In particular, completing a college degree has important generational benefits for students who are parents. A study by the National Center for Education Statistics indicated that children of parents who hold a degree are significantly more likely to complete their own undergraduate degree.

These connections motivate you to continue the progress you’ve made by completing your degree and pursue additional growth opportunities, setting you up for long-term personal success.

Flexible, Career-Focused Bachelor’s Completion Degree

The Elmhurst Management Program (EMP) gets you on the fast track to completing your degree and establishing or advancing your career in business administration.

EMP is designed for busy students who want to complete their business degree while balancing work and home responsibilities. EMP courses meet once a week, and some courses may take place online, making it as convenient as possible. You study in a cohort model with a group of peers who go through the entire program with you, sharing insights from a range of business topics.

EMP faculty and classmates create a supportive environment that establishes a clear pathway to success. Our faculty are scholars and experts who have written and published textbooks in their fields, advised Fortune 500 companies, and consulted with start-ups. Most importantly, they want to share their knowledge and experience with you, get to know you and your interests, and do whatever they can to help you reach your educational and professional goals.

Achieve Your Goals by Completing Your Bachelor’s Degree

Career opportunities, heightened earnings, job security and satisfaction and self fulfillment are a small selection of the advantages of finishing your business bachelor’s degree. With a flexible and convenient program geared to returning adult students, completing your bachelor’s degree in business may turn out to be one of the best decisions of your life.

Take the next step in your career by requesting more information below about the Elmhurst Management Program.

Fill out my online form.

Illustration by Lucie Rice
Posted June 13, 2023

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