Meet mum of three and Master of Business Administration (MBA) student Nicole, who is currently living and studying abroad with her family in Japan. With a career in supply chain planning and customer engagement on hold for a few years while she sees the world, Nicole decided that studying online was the perfect opportunity to broaden her horizons outside of her specialised knowledge.
After starting her MBA many years ago, Nicole found that as much as she loved studying, she was struggling to enjoy it when combined with both full-time work and parenting. So when given the opportunity to drop her five-day work week and jet off to Japan, it was the perfect opportunity for Nicole to complete her course.
Choosing online study
Nicole ultimately decided to study with Swinburne Online so that she would be able to complete her Master’s with an Australian university while living abroad. She appreciates how the flexibility of online study allows her to slot studies into her life, rather than having to fit her life around studying.
My favourite thing about online study has been the ability to take it with you. Last year in the July semester I was on holiday with my family in Italy – I brought my laptop and while my kids were playing table tennis and my husband was cooking over an open fire, I was studying international trade.
Nicole’s career goals
For Nicole, studying has very little to do with career advancement. It is rather a commitment to personal development and an expansion of knowledge.
I’ve just completed corporate finance which means that when I talk to a financial planner about whether to buy debt or equity I actually understand what that really means, and now that the sharemarkets are plummeting due to Coronavirus I understand how that impacts on companies and investors!
Once the family moves on from Japan, Nicole’s goal is to find employment somewhere that will set her apart from the crowd for when they finally return to Australia.
I will be employable in a rewarding position that doesn’t just pay the bills but also enriches my life and those around me.
Advice to other students
Nicole’s love of studying may not come naturally to everyone, but she has a few tips and tricks for her fellow students.
Keep on top of the assigned work and reading each week because if you let it get away from you it is a big mountain to climb to get back to everyone else.
She also encourages students to engage as much as they can with the course content and make the most of the great learning opportunity.
It is easy to fade into the background, but if you are putting the effort into studying, then do it properly and extract everything you can out of it.
If the flexibility of how Nicole studies abroad interests you, take a look at Your Study Journey or view our range of courses to find out more about how online study could be the path for you. For more student stories like Nicole’s, head to our blog.
