I’m a junior in high school and am currently taking college courses through dual enrollment at my local community college. I plan to eventually pursue a career in zoology, veterinary medicine, or law. At the community college I’m currently attending, the degree they put me as pursuing is an associate in business administrative since that’s one of the only basic degrees they offer. This fall I intend to attend a local university where my plan is to eventually get a bachelor’s in science. After more research, I found that most say it’s best to get an associates as well as a bachelor’s. I looked on the degrees offered through the university and found that the only associates offer is in criminal justice. Most of the credits that are required for the associates overlap with the bachelor of biology, so I would only be taking a few extra classes since most would be able to count toward my bachelor’s as well. Plus, most of the core classes required for the associate’s I’ve previously taken at the community college. The only reason I want to get my associates from the university rather than the community college is because most of the classes I take for the associates there won’t be able to transfer to the university. In other words, I would have to retake some of the classes at the university in order for them to count toward my bachelor’s, where as at the university I won’t have to worry about them transferring because I’ll be getting my bachelor’s from the same college.
My question is: will it benefit me to take the extra classes for an associates in criminal justice before I get my bachelor’s? Additionally, if I don’t plan on working in a field for criminal justice besides the chance of my attending law school, will the associates still benefit me when I’m, for example, applying for jobs or colleges?
Any help would be most appreciated!
If your plan is to get a bachelor’s degree (in anything, but especially in a completely unrelated field), nobody is really going to care whether or not you have an associate’s in criminal justice. It won’t really help you in applying to transfer or in applying for jobs that require a bachelor’s degree. The only way I could see it helping you is if you wanted a part-time job while you were finishing up your degree - you could find one that required an associate’s. But there are few jobs that require or specifically request an associate’s in criminal justice.
So I think it’s really up to whether you want the personal fulfillment of having the associate’s.
Update: the criminal justice degree won’t really help me too much, but I believe it’s possible for me to transfer credits from the university back to the community college to get my associates there in business or accounting. But the question still stands: do I really need an associates if I’m going to get a bachelor’s? My plan at the moment is to get an associates while working toward my bachelor’s so I can have more job opportunities as I’m in school for my bachelor’s. The only problem is if I get an associates in accounting, for example, I’ll have to take multiple classes focused on taxes, spreadsheets, etc. that won’t go toward my bachelor’s in biology. Is there an associate’s degree I could obtain without taking a ton of specific classes that I wouldn’t be able to use toward my bachelor’s as well?
I appreciate any help offered and I hope this makes sense!
Update: the criminal justice degree won’t really help me too much, but I believe it’s possible for me to transfer credits from the university back to the community college to get my associates there in business or accounting. But the question still stands: do I really need an associates if I’m going to get a bachelor’s? My plan at the moment is to get an associates while working toward my bachelor’s so I can have more job opportunities as I’m in school for my bachelor’s. The only problem is if I get an associates in accounting, for example, I’ll have to take multiple classes focused on taxes, spreadsheets, etc. that won’t go toward my bachelor’s in biology. Is there an associate’s degree I could obtain without taking a ton of specific classes that I wouldn’t be able to use toward my bachelor’s as well?
I appreciate any help offered and I hope this makes sense!
That depends on the specific community college you’re attending. It doesn’t sound like it, from what you’ve described. I’m sure your CC has a transfer advisor or other academic advisors, so the person to ask would be one of them.
No.
I doubt that you’ll find many positions that will want an associate’s in business. When I said that in my comment above, I was thinking about more professional associates - like HVAC, medical imaging, etc.
You may find some that will ask for an associate’s in accounting, or would prefer someone with an associate’s in accounting. (Medical billing jobs, for example.) However, is that worth all the additional coursework that you would have to take on? How much extra time (and money) would it take for you to finish the coursework? And is it worth it to expend the extra time on something that may net you a few more dollars an hour for 2 years and then never matter again? (Well, not never - it may help you find something after college if you were interested in accounting/billing positions.)
@juillet Thank you for your input! I just saw your earlier reply (I’m not sure why I didn’t see it earlier). After reading over what you’ve said, I’ve decided to only pursue my bachelor’s (and possibly later a master’s or doctorate). After research I found that the coursework specific toward an associate’s would take too much time, money, and effort with little to no payback. I would have to transfer my credits to another school and take a few classes from them (most of which I won’t need for my bachelor’s or that won’t transfer) just to get an associate’s which will do me little to no good in a few years. Honestly, with the time and money I’d spend on an associate’s, in the end I’d probably make more money without one with college tuition. Thank you again for the information!