{"id":487,"date":"2013-08-16T15:40:56","date_gmt":"2013-08-16T15:40:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/blog\/?p=3658"},"modified":"2014-06-05T16:20:58","modified_gmt":"2014-06-05T16:20:58","slug":"what-is-an-associate-degree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/blog\/counselors\/2013\/08\/16\/what-is-an-associate-degree\/","title":{"rendered":"What is an Associate Degree?"},"content":{"rendered":"<link rel=\"author\" href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/117910908603707878379\/posts\" \/>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-large wp-image-3668\" style=\"margin: 10px;\" alt=\"degrees - assoc\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/blog.mymajors.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/degrees-assoc-221x1024.png\" width=\"116\" height=\"539\" \/>An <strong>Associate Degree<\/strong> is typically a two-year program offering a degree in <strong>Associate of Arts<\/strong> (A.A.), <strong>Associate of Science<\/strong> (A.S.), or <strong>Associate of Applied Science<\/strong> (A.A.S.).\u00a0 There are many specializations within these main associate degrees depending on your enrolled college.<\/p>\n<p>Many students will continue their education at a four-year college or university to earn their Bachelor&#8217;s Degree.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/college-search-by-major\/\">Search for colleges<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>You do not have to get your bachelor&#8217;s degree to still receive a <a href=\"http:\/\/hechingerreport.org\/content\/community-college-grads-out-earn-bachelors-degree-holders_11261\/\">great job for your future and potentially have a better ROI from your education<\/a>.\u00a0 Some careers only require an associate degree, talk with your counselor about your future career and education requirements.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>What are the benefits of an Associate Degree?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Less financial aid<\/strong> required- two years of financial aid vs. four or longer (only <strong>40%<\/strong> of students graduate within 4 years of starting).<\/li>\n<li>Classes can be close to home at community college, therefore save money &#8211; <strong>no rent<\/strong>!<\/li>\n<li>Complete your <strong>general education requirements<\/strong>, at a lower cost, before you continue to receive your bachelor&#8217;s degree at a four-year college or university.<\/li>\n<li>A high school graduate can expect to earn $1.2 million over his or her lifetime, while a person holding an <strong>Associate Degree can expect average lifetime earnings of $1.6 million<\/strong> (US Census).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>What types of schools offer an Associate Degree?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Community colleges<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Career colleges<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Some<strong> four-year colleges<\/strong> will offer an associate degree.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Need to find a college?\u00a0 Use the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/college-search-by-major\/\">college search<\/a> tool to find your future campus that offers your intended <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/list-of-college-majors.cfml\">major<\/a> or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/list-of-careers-and-job-titles.cfml\">career<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mymajors.com\/blog.mymajors.com\/index.php\/type-of-colleges\/\">What are the different types of colleges and universities<\/a>?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Check out other degree options:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bachelor&#8217;s Degree<\/li>\n<li>Graduate Degree<\/li>\n<li>Professional Degree<\/li>\n<li>Joint Degrees<\/li>\n<li>Liberal Arts &amp; Career Combination<\/li>\n<li>Teacher Certification<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An Associate Degree is typically a two-year program offering a degree in Associate of Arts (A.A.), Associate of Science (A.S.), or Associate of Applied Science &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":3660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[66,60,52,14,67,68,69,70,53,64,71,72],"class_list":["post-487","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-associate","tag-bachelors","tag-career","tag-college","tag-degree","tag-financial-aid","tag-graudate","tag-joint","tag-major","tag-masters","tag-professional","tag-university"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>What is an Associate Degree? 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