mitraces Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Has anyone considered the benefits of an Associate Degree vs a Bachelors Degree? I hear that the average income for Bachelor's degreed students is less than $40,000, so many have much higher debts than income. My dd would like best to take an associates degree in Interpretive Education (signing) and later add more courses for a Bachelors if still interested. My husband is a college prof so this is harder to stomach. Any experiences to share? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-FL Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 An Associate's will prepare you for some jobs (an RN is a 2 yr degree) or at least get the pre-reqs out of the way for a Bach's. Also, firemen make more $ if they have an AA/AS degree than w/o. If your dd can get the Assoc & be employable with that, I'd encourage her. If nothing else, she'll get her feet wet & can possibly have income to complete the Bach's. The thing to keep in mind is to actually get the AA/AS, not just take 60+ credits (equal to 2yrs of college.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I say fine, as long as the AA also covers all the classes needed to later transfer to a four-year college if she decides to, or needs to, get a BA or BS for her career. My first years were spent at cc, and I ended up PhD ABD (all but dissertation - not for want of trying, twins came first.) My sister has only an AA - and for the past several years has seen BA's hired into positions right over her that she could well have filled (she is in banking) - but the four-year degree was required (her pilot hubby was not supportive of her getting the four-year degree as he had HATED school and thought he would always be the primary support of the family. After his heart condition kicked in the FAA grounded him and now he is on permanent disability and my sister is the sole breadwinner. If your dd can manage a four-year degree she should. At least she should not rule it out.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 In many professions a bachelors degree is required. I would look into her specific profession. I wish I had my BS degree. I'm an RN with an AA. I have had a great career with many different opportunities. But to get a Masters I would have to finish my BS first. Along the way I wanted to specialize not take undergrad courses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 Has anyone considered the benefits of an Associate Degree vs a Bachelors Degree? I hear that the average income for Bachelor's degreed students is less than $40,000, so many have much higher debts than income. My dd would like best to take an associates degree in Interpretive Education (signing) and later add more courses for a Bachelors if still interested. My husband is a college prof so this is harder to stomach. Any experiences to share? It really depends on major and career goals. For example, a student with a bachelor's degree in engineering will make more than $40,000. Co-op students in chemical engineering make more than prior to graduation. How much debt a student incurs is also variable. Students can go to less expensive public schools and still end up with high paying jobs. Our oldest will graduate from college with no debt. His college education (room,board, tuition) has been 1/2 the cost of the private high schools of his younger brother. His education has been excellent, but at a less well known engineering school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CO MOM Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 My dh sort of did this backward - got a BSc in Geology, discovered he was unemployable in that field in the '80's, and went back to cc and got his degree in drafting. He has worked in that field ever since. At every job interview, they always note that he has his bachelor's and seem impressed by that even though it has nothing to do with the field he is in. He has never officially used his bachelors, but it has seemed to open doors for him and seems to mean something to potential employers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokyomarie Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 My dh sort of did this backward - got a BSc in Geology, discovered he was unemployable in that field in the '80's, and went back to cc and got his degree in drafting. He has worked in that field ever since. At every job interview, they always note that he has his bachelor's and seem impressed by that even though it has nothing to do with the field he is in. He has never officially used his bachelors, but it has seemed to open doors for him and seems to mean something to potential employers. This is the kind of thing I've been pondering since learning that my dd wants to abandon her current bachelor's degree in music path (she's halfway through- 2 years down, 2 to go). Her degree path is actually a Bachelor of Musical Arts which combines professional music training with a minor in a complementary field- in her case Entrepeneurship. The business skills gained in the Entrepeneurship minor would be helpful no matter where she seeks employment. I've had it in mind to counsel her that just having the bachelor's- no matter what the field- will get a person's resume looked at faster than someone without any 4-year degree. It's good to hear a couple of stories where the job did not require the specific knowledge gained in the bachelor's degree program, but the employer nonetheless developed a more favorable impression of the person because he had a 4 year degree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted July 17, 2009 Share Posted July 17, 2009 I have a BA in English and was a technical writer for about 5 years before becoming a SAHM and now a homeschooling mom. With my BA at a the University of TN (back when $1500 was the semester cost for in state tuition), I came out owing about $11K in student loans. My first year out of college, I made $60K. I think that the real money is in further education...masters/doctorate (as long as you don't have a psychology degree...that almost takes a doctorate to do anything. My best friend has struggled with this for a long time now). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 His education has been excellent, but at a less well known engineering school. It's also worth remembering that schools have public reputations and then they have reputations within a certain field. A school that is well known amongst engineers or within a certain science discipline may have little recognition among the general public, especially outside the geographic region of the school or if it doesn't have a big sports team. This happens even with pretty big and high quality school. Several of my relatives went to Miami University (in Ohio) and are fond of the quote that Miami was a university before Florida was a state. I would also say that a discussion of average salaries may provide little actionable information. So much depends on industry and personality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 It's also worth remembering that schools have public reputations and then they have reputations within a certain field. A school that is well known amongst engineers or within a certain science discipline may have little recognition among the general public, especially outside the geographic region of the school or if it doesn't have a big sports team. This is exactly the situation with my ds's school. In the area, it has an excellent reputation and students are highly recruited for employment. Outside of the area, the general population has never heard of the school. It is very small (only 10 or 11 chemE students in ds's class, only about 8000 students total on campus), does not have a sports team, and is absolutely an unknown gem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary in GA Posted July 18, 2009 Share Posted July 18, 2009 Like other posters have said, it really depends on the field of study. I have a relative who had more than 3 years of engineering school but he did not finish; no degree, and he could not qualify for any higher paying managerial positions at 3 different companies where he was employed because he had no 4 yr degree. He had many years of supervisory experience in the army and substantial accomplishments on the job. Not having a 4 yr degree can also seemingly ridiculously preclude you from things like ordering and/or administering certain standardized tests to your home-schooled children. Debt incurred is definitely a factor, and you don't necessarily have to attend an expensive school to get a good job. But in my experience, it seems to be really important to just get that 4 year degree at pretty much what ever college! One of my younger cousins worked in a warehouse driving a forklift, and to get a first line supervisory position there one needed a 4 year degree (any degree would do.) This kind of thing really makes me mad, because I truly believe that for many jobs, a 4 year degree is absolutely not necessary. And certainly a mom with an associates degree is no less qualified to administer a standardized test to her kids than I am! Many students and employers would be better served by students working apprenticeships, but that just isn't the way most jobs are structured. Some of this is me venting! Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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