When Todd Echols left his job at a small publishing company 3 years ago, his supervisor's farewell was not exactly heartbreaking. "He was glad to see me go," Echols says. "He said something like, 'Make sure you take your fake plants with you.' The feeling was mutual."

Echols left the company but not for another job. "I knew I never wanted to be in that situation again, with some unqualified caveman breathing down my neck, telling me what to do, my career in his hands," says Echols. "An MBA degree seemed to be the best way to avoid that scenario."

He did his homework and found out about the benefits of a master's of business administration. Most programs took only 2 years. Courses would teach higher-level strategy and skills reserved for executives. Coming out of an MBA program, he could make more than $80,000 annually. "Best of all, there would be no limit to my career," Echols says. "Once I had that MBA, I could go as high as I wanted. I could be a CEO one day."

Echols looked at both online and on-campus MBA programs and found a slew of convenient, affordable programs online. "I liked being able to take classes from my computer and absorb the material at my own pace," he says.

Two years after leaving his company, Echols returned with a MBA and became the department manager overseeing his former supervisor. "The look on his face when I walked in the door was priceless," recalls Echols. "But I'll take it easy on him."

If you are interested in becoming your boss' boss or just improving your career, you can learn more about online MBA programs at the following schools.

University of Phoenix

Kaplan University

Capella University

Change your career today. Be your boss's boss with a MBA degree. Request information and find the right MBA program for you.