You need to choose a program online based on your personal strengths and your goals of the future. Most importantly, the right course will help you to develop skills for the long term, for your career and personal future development. Master's programs are designed to give you a solid education in a specialized field. Most master's candidates spend one to two years earning their degree before returning to the professional world. A handful continue on to earn a doctorate degree. PhD programs are designed to give you extensive expertise in a specialized field; they train you to pursue a life in academia as a professor or researcher (although many PhDs do not follow this path). Most candidates spend five to six years earning their degree