What can you really do with an AA/AS degree?

sseamom
Sat, 26 Sep 2015 21:26:58 +0000

Doesn’t your college have a career counseling department? You could ask them where they place students with some of these that you’re doubtful of. Are you at S. Seattle College? It offers many of the degrees above. Let’s see:

Culinary arts-uh, self-evident. LOTS of restaurant jobs out there. And at least SSC has one of the best culinary arts programs around. Kids come from all over just to take it. There are specialties in say, baking, that get kids into niche bakeries/cake shops, for example. I’ve read great things about this program.

WA state has many wineries, so a wine-related degree would be a good bet for this area. I have a friend who chucked her IT career to do exactly that. She loves it. Doesn’t live expensively, but wouldn’t go back.

Recreation leadership-good for working at one of the many community centers which offer all manner of programs at free or low cost, often to immigrant communities. Having that degree and being bilingual would look great on a resume.

Outdoor recreation-leading kayak tours, camping expeditions, working at one of the rock climbing outfits around here.

Early childhood-daycare, after school programs, assisting at one of the many preschool programs out there. In-home childcare (you need to be licensed to do this legally), para-educator in some school systems.

Construction-You can’t outsource construction. Even in a downturn, homes need repairs, wealthy people expand and upgrade, commercial construction never really dries up. Son has a welding degree from a CC-he actually never has welded as a career, but he has never lacked for a job in the construction industry, not even when things were very bleak in 2008. Owns his own company now, and the business classes he took as part of the degree have been hugely helpful.

Hotel/restaurant management-lost of people in this industry do not have 4-year degrees. Some don’t even HAVE a degree. But internships and required field work in this area can launch a good career. H’s best friend did exactly that. He’s now a highly paid, very successful consultant.

Graphic designers seem to do well. Anything in computers or IT. Not everyone is writing codes and working for Google. Someone needs to keep systems in small businesses running. Paralegals are in demand to do scut work for lawyers that needs more expertise than a legal secretary can offer. I see adds for them all the time here. Broadcast production-radio producers. Every radio show you listen to has one. Someone is running the sound board and picking which “10th caller” gets through for the free tickets, or selecting the next caller for a talk show. It’s not especially well-paying-H had this job while in college, but it’s not minimum wage and can be very interesting.

These are the ones I know about just off the top of my head. It depends what you mean by “good jobs”./ If you think ibanking, medicine or law, no, these degrees will not make the students that kind of income. But they can launch decent ways to earn a living and I have seen people become successful with just an AA. Keep in mind that the immigrants you’re teaching may see some of these careers as huge steps up. They may later even transfer and get a 4-year degree. I work for a church with several immigrant families and we just sent one off to do just that.

Also, education is also better than no education. These majors will ALL help students improve basic skills like writing, math, logic, etc. Unless they are being induced to borrow money that they won’t be able to pay back, I don’t think any of these majors are useless.