If you’re reading this, you are interested in furthering your college education. So what’s holding you back? Is it the cost of returning to school, or a concern about the amount of time you’ll have to invest to make your degree possible? Does it seem like the investment is going to cost more than the payoff ever could?

Many people decide to earn a college degree online, only to find that distance degree programs are usually more expensive than traditional college educations. They fail to consider the cost of their time away from work and family, as well as the cost of gas and car maintenance, that are included in a traditional degree program. Some people also incur added costs in childcare or other miscellaneous costs.

The tuition at a distance education online program is more expensive than that of a brick-and-mortar campus. Employers, however, are beginning to recognize the worth of online distance education degree programs, however, and are beginning to offer tuition reimbursement for these online degree schools. In addition, many scholarships can be used for online tuition as well as traditional college tuition fees.

It’s true that online tuition costs more than traditional college tuition fees do. Remember, however, that people with even a two-year degree earn, on average, more than $500,000 more throughout their work careers than people who have no degree. Even if you do spend a little more in tuition than you would in a traditional program, you can save in terms of time, childcare, and gasoline expenses. Finally, even if your degree is a little more expensive than a traditional degree, the extra half a million dollars you can expect to earn over your career makes the extra money more than worthwhile!