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One disadvantage of taking an online learning course is that it doesn’t allow for a study abroad style experience. Online learners are fortunate in being able to be located nearly anywhere while they study for their degree. This allows them to keep their jobs, and even their friends, as they work towards earning their degree. This option is quite popular for those who need to work their way through college, since it offers up the flexibility that is so necessary when doing both.
But the whole point of studying abroad is to immerse oneself in the local culture, gaining a new perspective on how people around the world live. By gaining this broader perspective, one can make better-educated decisions, both in their own lives, and at the workplace. One’s worldview tends to shift when they’ve lived outside of their own country for some length of time. Not everyone will agree that your country has made the best decisions, nor will the news networks always show your home country in the most favorable light, when you live outside its borders.
This alone is eye opening. Living exclusively inside one’s own country’s borders, one will be subject to a fairly positive home bias. It’s only natural, as no one wants to say bad things about the country they come from. But by stepping out of the land of your nationality, you will gain a different perspective. This is often cherished by employers who seek a person with an ability to think more critically than average.
