Everybody hopes to be in a better financial position after graduating, but here are some ways that people have made significant amounts of money from just the presence of distance learning.
10 ways people have gotten rich exploiting online degrees
1. By being the First 
Glenn Jones founded the first accredited fully web based university in 1996 with partner Bernard Luskin. The Jones International University still flourishes today, and its founder, who used to be a cable TV installer in the mid 70s, still envisages a worldwide online university for all. Inducted into the U.S. Distance Learning Hall of Fame in 2004, you can read his amazing biography here.
2 By being Innovative
Murray Goldberg is best known for founding the e-learning companies WebCT, Silicon Chalk and Brainify. WebCT was a web platform enabling the simple and rapid creation of a web-based learning environment. By the end of 2001, 10 million students in 2250 universities and colleges were using the WebCT software. In 2004 Goldberg was awarded the $100.000 Manning Award for Innovation for his creation.
3 By Enhancing your Qualifications (genuine)
Mary Peters served in the George Bush administration from 2006 – 2009 as United States Secretary of Transportation having achieved an online bachelor´s degree from the University of Phoenix in the 1980s. According to www.dcjobsource.com, this would have entitled her to an annual salary of $196.700. Other notable online scholars include ABC`s “Extreme Makeover” designer Didiayer Snyder and basketball legend Shaquille O´Neal (although he had the money before he got the degree!).
4 By getting your own Distribution Rights
Alan Arkatov is the founder and chairman of OnlineLearning.net which was previously known as The Home Education Network. In 1994, Arkatov persuaded UCLA to sign over the production and distribution rights of its electronic courses to T.H.E.N. for a kick back of 6-12% plus costs. Arkatov then exclusively marketed and promoted the content via his subscription cable TV station. It was a “business arrangement” that other entities mirrored. AOL entered into a similar agreement with UC Berkeley, and the University of Colorado with Denver based company, Real Education Inc..
5 By setting up a Diploma Mill
There are two types of Diploma Mills. The first is open about what it is doing and will happily sell you a PhD for your cat. The second continue to promote themselves as a genuine institution, despite laws being introduced in certain states to prevent anybody with a fake degree from using it to promote themselves for a job. Successful diploma mills have been known to start trading from a basement in South Dakota before moving their operations to the Caribbean.
6 By Enhancing your Qualifications (not so genuine)
Laura Callahan is probably the most famous example of someone who bought her way to the top, serving in 2003 as Chief Information Officer in the Department of Homeland Security. Her PhD degree and two others had been awarded from the diploma mill – Hamilton University – and on discovering her paper thin qualifications, her employers forced Callahan to resign from her position and six figure salary. More recently, reports of firemen, policemen, nurses and teachers purchasing degrees to enhance their pay-scale have hit the headlines, but none have progressed quite as far up the employment ladder as Ms Callahan.
7 By starting an Accreditation Agency
Again, this category can be split in two. The genuine agency offers thorough examination and constant review of the institution (at a price), whereas “quick” accreditation can be granted for as little as $200. More often than not, fake accreditation agencies are established by diploma mills to accredit themselves. Please note that a “non-recognized” accreditation agency does not necessarily mean that it is fake.
8 By being a Dubious Employer
Online Students are more often the victim of employers who want to pay low wages for long hours. There are a number of well publicized comments on the web, specifically about franchised operations, but this is a common situation throughout the country. How many of us are working for less than $7.25 per hour?
9 By Developing Educational Software
Tim O´Reilly had a background in technical writing and was one of the pioneers of the early internet. He created the first commercial web portal and was the first to introduce advertising on the net. His company, “Global Network Navigator”, was sold to AOL in 1995 in one of the major transactions of the dot.com boom, and subsequently O´Reilly set up The O´Reilly School of Technology, which was the first to use an interactive virtual learning environment – now, one of the most common learning platforms.
10 By being you!
Work hard, get your online degree, be creative – get rich!
