Robert Lawrence
BBA with a concentration in Marketing

After years of working in retail sales, Robert Lawrence wanted to take his career to a higher level by becoming a pharmaceutical sales representative. He soon found out that there are a few hurdles to make before getting there. "Making the transition from inside sales to outside sales in a professional capacity is not easy. I applied for several positions in outside sales and found that very few hiring managers would even talk to me until I earned a Bachelor's degree. I soon realized it was necessary for me to continue my education in order to achieve my career goal."

Robert, however, was somewhat apprehensive about continuing his education. He was not sure how attending classes at a brick and mortar university would work with his full-time work schedule and unsure of how he would interact with students that may be half his age. "I am organized, self-disciplined and can work very well unsupervised. I wanted an educational environment that fit my personality, without time-consuming distractions such as commuting or waiting in line to purchase textbooks. When I stumbled upon an advertisement for AIU Online, I thought that online learning may be my best option. As it turned out, AIU Online was more than my best option – it was a great learning experience."

Robert looked into other universities that offer online degree programs, but chose to enroll in the Bachelor of Business Administration degree program with a concentration in Marketing through AIU Online for several reasons. "The Admissions Advisors at AIU Online are knowledgeable, helpful, professional and inspirational. The accelerated format enabled me to complete my Bachelor's degree in significantly less time than other universities and the Virtual Campus is top notch. Once I started my courses, I realized everything I need to complete my course work is within reach on the Virtual Campus from the peace and quiet of my home office. The instructors are very open and accessible. The interaction with other students, most of whom are working professionals like me, enhances the learning experience. But most importantly, the curriculum is very relevant to my profession. I cannot imagine a better learning environment for me than that!"

With years of experience in sales and marketing Robert wanted even more from his education than flexibility and convenience. He wanted practical knowledge and skills that are applicable to his profession and his career goals. He feels AIU Online delivered that to him as well. "I am very impressed with the curriculum as well as the learning environment at AIU Online. After years of experience in sales, I have learned that marketing and sales are inseparable. Almost every company that sells a product has a marketing department. The knowledge and skills I have learned through my courses with AIU Online have not only reinforced what I have learned through experience, but also have given me better insight into how I can be a more effective sales representative. I have been able to apply knowledge and skills that I have learned through my courses to my position, as well as apply my work experience to projects in my courses."

Robert feels that the knowledge and skills he has acquired through AIU Online will also help him achieve his career goal of becoming a pharmaceutical sales representative. "Perhaps the most important things I have learned through AIU Online are the soft skills that are required to be a successful online student. I have always known most of those, such as how to manage my time and motivate myself, but through my courses I have also learned to be a more critical thinker. Critical thinking can be very useful in sales. As a student, I am better at asking the tough questions, researching facts and finding answers. As a sales representative in the pharmaceutical industry, I can expect questions like that from my clients and I am more confident that I can address the tough questions."

Although Robert has not yet embarked on his career search, his life has changed in intrinsic ways since continuing his education through AIU Online. "I am more confident in my ability to pursue my career goals. I have been able to continue my success in my current position, as well as in my hobbies. I am also a professional dancer. When I enrolled through AIU Online my colleagues told me I should forget about doing that for the time being. On the contrary, I continued dancing and won more awards after I enrolled through AIU Online than before. But most importantly, AIU Online helped me remove the words ‘quit' and ‘fail' from my vocabulary. I thank everyone at AIU Online, because now I feel that I am prepared to do anything in the world that I want to do."

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