It used to be that if you wanted to obtain a college degree without physically being present at the institution providing the course, you needed to undertake a distant learning course. In most cases though, doing so meant being afforded less respect for one's achievements than those who completed their studies on-site.

The advent of the Internet, however, has completely changed the sphere of distance learning. Today distance learning is a huge industry, worth billions of dollar a year, and you can achieve an on-line degree at almost any institution of learning in the world.

So, how do you go about deciding which online degree program to study? To help you, we have listed the most popular career training programs & the best colleges for each:

In addition, here are 3 questions to ask yourself before embarking on your quest:

1. What do I really want to learn?

The traditional learning process was to select a number of courses you might want to study and then to apply to the universities respectively - places not guaranteed though. However, with the availability of online programs, this process is no longer as important.

In this regard, today's online degree programs can take an almost unlimited number of students - so choosing the right course to take becomes far more important, and much less of a gamble!

2. Where do I want to learn?

Historically, deciding where you wanted to learn was of importance because that meant you would have to go there and live; at least during the time you undertook the course. In most cases this would mean having to leave family and childhood friends, or choosing to study in the area you grew up in.

One of the benefits of an online degree program is that this no longer becomes an important factor. As it goes without saying that by studying an on-line bachelor degree, you can be physically located anywhere whilst studying somewhere else! Researching the institution you want to study at, and the courses they provide, therefore becomes very important.

3. Am I disciplined enough?

This last question is probably going to be one of the most important you'll need to honestly ask yourself. You see, with on-campus education you have teachers to help you if you are falling behind schedule. However, with an online bachelor degree program, your study period and method is much more in your own-hands.

Thus, finding the time to study, and being disciplined enough to sit-down and study during this period, is vital if you want to succeed. Otherwise, learning in the more traditional methods may be more beneficial to you.

"Thanks for all the great info on online Colleges!"