Poll: Do you think an associate degree is a legitimate college degree?

[Jacco]

There's this girl I know who is "graduating" from a community college and she's all excited and acting like she's graduating from a university or something.

I think it's kind of dumb to go through a ceremony and everything for something like an AA. Keep in mind that I have an AA and am currently double majoring and minoring at a university so I know what you need to go through to get one.

That being said, even though I've been there and have one, I don't consider an associate degree a legitimate college degree. It's basically like saying "look! I can do basic math, science, writing and humanities!"

But I've been told that I'm kind of snobbish when it comes to academics so I'm curious, do you consider it a legit degree or are you like me and see it as more of a "congratulations you're now of an average education level"?

(also, sorry if this offends anyone. Its not meant to)

 

[Chemical Alia]

An associate's degree can be a good qualification hiring managers can use to filter out applicants when there's tons of resumes to go through. If it helps you get a job, then I guess it can come in handy, but I always saw them as either a first step to a bachelor's degree or something you use as a line on your resume.

 

[Limecake]

There's this girl I know who is "graduating" from a community college and she's all excited and acting like she's graduating from a university or something.

I think it's kind of dumb to go through a ceremony and everything for something like an AA. Keep in mind that I have an AA and am currently double majoring and minoring at a university so I know what you need to go through to get one.

What are you taking in university? because I know several people taking philosophy, sociology and arts degrees.

To me those are a much bigger waste of time and money than a 'basic' college course that teaches you skills that are actually applicable to everyday life. This is where I find the university snobbery, just because you're going to university doesn't make you better than anyone who hasn't.

you wouldn't let a university student studying to become a doctor look down on your degree because it's "not as difficult as their degree". The girl made the conscious decision to further her education beyond what was necessary and I think that's commendable.

after all if people can feel good about graduating from high-school or getting pregnant of all things, I don't see why someone can't feel good about a college degree no matter how easy it is.

 

[Jacco]

There's this girl I know who is "graduating" from a community college and she's all excited and acting like she's graduating from a university or something.

I think it's kind of dumb to go through a ceremony and everything for something like an AA. Keep in mind that I have an AA and am currently double majoring and minoring at a university so I know what you need to go through to get one.

What are you taking in university? because I know several people taking philosophy, sociology and arts degrees.

To me those are a much bigger waste of time and money than a 'basic' college course that teaches you skills that are actually applicable to everyday life. This is where I find the university snobbery, just because you're going to university doesn't make you better than anyone who hasn't.

you wouldn't let a university student studying to become a doctor look down on your degree because it's "not as difficult as their degree". The girl made the conscious decision to further her education beyond what was necessary and I think that's commendable.

after all if people can feel good about graduating from high-school or getting pregnant of all things, I don't see why someone can't feel good about a college degree no matter how easy it is.

History and psychology.

I see what you're saying, but being proud of and stopping at an AA is like fixing your car to just go another 100 miles. Yeah, it'll get you to the store nd back but you can't go on a road trip with it. An AA or equivalent is essentially glorified high school. While I don't look down on her as may have come across, I think it's dumb to be proud of it.

As a step to a BA or BS or whatever else it's fantastic. But just taking it on its own is essentially settling for mediocrity and average.

 

[Screamarie]

Dude, it may not be the hardest degree to get, but it still takes work to get one and it's a good step. Hopefully she'll go on to continue her education, but whether she does or doesn't, if she's happy, let her be happy.

Associates degrees CAN get you a job, that's what matters the most and I know plenty of Bachelors that WON'T get you a job (like Englsih -_- which is what I got my degree in). If nothing else, you have to consider the fact that you can't get a Bachelors without getting your Associates.

 

[Total LOLige]

A win is a win even if it's a shitty win. I don't even know what an associate degree is, so I don't know if it's worthless or not. There's probably a UK equivalent. But seriously don't piss on this girls bonfire.

 

[DarkRyter]

Only if it's a real degree, like Physics or Education.

And not like, West African Studies.

 

[Dags90]

A win is a win even if it's a shitty win. I don't even know what an associate degree is, so I don't know if it's worthless or not. There's probably a UK equivalent. But seriously don't piss on this girls bonfire.

I think it's probably similar to A-levels, really.

As long as it's not from a diploma mill, it's a "legitimate" degree. And it's pretty well shown by the data that a 2-year degree is worth a fair amount on the job market.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

A win is a win even if it's a shitty win. I don't even know what an associate degree is, so I don't know if it's worthless or not. There's probably a UK equivalent. But seriously don't piss on this girls bonfire.

I think it's probably similar to A-levels, really.

As long as it's not from a diploma mill, it's a "legitimate" degree. And it's pretty well shown by the data that a 2-year degree is worth a fair amount of the job market.

Heck, a fair amount of what's on the job market requires some sort of two year degree -- most nursing programs, for example, last two years. Granted, those are mostly AS and AAS degrees, not AA degrees, but a two year degree is nothing to sneeze at. Besides, if you want to apply the "it's a stepping stone and nothing to be proud of" argument, nothing short of a doctorate would qualify.

 

[Revnak_v1legacy]

A win is a win even if it's a shitty win. I don't even know what an associate degree is, so I don't know if it's worthless or not. There's probably a UK equivalent. But seriously don't piss on this girls bonfire.

I think it's probably similar to A-levels, really.

As long as it's not from a diploma mill, it's a "legitimate" degree. And it's pretty well shown by the data that a 2-year degree is worth a fair amount of the job market.

Heck, a fair amount of what's on the job market requires some sort of two year degree -- most nursing programs, for example, last two years. Granted, those are mostly AS and AAS degrees, not AA degrees, but a two year degree is nothing to sneeze at. Besides, if you want to apply the "it's a stepping stone and nothing to be proud of" argument, nothing short of a doctorate would qualify.

Pffft, everybody knows a doctorate is just a stepping stone towards developing telepathy. If you aren't going to go the whole way then what's the point?

You are being ridiculous OP. All education is important, including AA's.

 

[Smokej]

It's a matter of perspective; an offical educational degree is always legitimate and desirable.

From the viewpoint of real academic quality the whole US system of higher education (and its impact on foreign systems...) is highly problematic. If the only way to get a traditional academic education, regarding the heterogeneity of all the higher educational institutions, is to study in a doctoral & research University, then you could question the legitimacy of nearly all the remaining degrees.

Or what's even worse, if most undergraduate-level education even in the "top-ranked" Ivy League Universities is just below average [http://www.goacta.org/publications/downloads/TheHollowCore.pdf], it shows that in a system where money, prestige and social selection are more important than academic quality, most degrees can't be an indicator for academic achievements.

On a side note: for those bashing on humane sciences, this only proves that you don't belong on an University/College in the first place...

 

[Eclipse Dragon]

OT: I would say that any level of degree, even an AA is worth the effort. From an employer perspective, that little piece of paper says a lot, it say's you're willing to go the extra step to succeed. Granted it doesn't look as good as a BA but some professions you really just don't need to go any farther.

There's this girl I know who is "graduating" from a community college and she's all excited and acting like she's graduating from a university or something.

I think it's kind of dumb to go through a ceremony and everything for something like an AA. Keep in mind that I have an AA and am currently double majoring and minoring at a university so I know what you need to go through to get one.

What are you taking in university? because I know several people taking philosophy, sociology and arts degrees.

To me those are a much bigger waste of time and money than a 'basic' college course that teaches you skills that are actually applicable to everyday life. This is where I find the university snobbery, just because you're going to university doesn't make you better than anyone who hasn't.

I need clarification, did you just say that an art degree isn't applicable to everyday life? I know quite a few people who would take great offense to that. Especially since a college even half it's worth will require you to take those "basic" college courses and then some to even start an art program. I'll also remind you that you're surrounded by things that people did with an art degree. Every logo you've ever seen, the clothing you wear, the packaging your food comes in, the video games you play, the movies you watch. Take a look at the interface of a program like Autodesk Maya and tell me it doesn't look like something designed by Nasa.

Edit: Here's a screenshot of Maya 2013 to illustrate my point. You can't self learn this. Also to put this into context, Maya is the program in which Naughtydog does their modeling. It's hard to see, but that little drop down menu in the corner which currently says "polygons", that menu has about eight other options, each option changes all the buttons on the entire interface, so just what you see in this screenshot in not all there is, it's more like all this times eight. Maya pretty literally has menus on menus.

Spoiler

 

[TheSteeleStrap]

Is it a legit degree? Yes.
Is it particularly helpful? No.
I have one and it's a great way to have a lot of debt with nothing to show for it.

 

[Logiclul]

I don't think it's not useful, but as far as getting really good jobs and having a career, it's not too useful no.

However - your history/psychology degree is kinda funny when you consider that you're attacking the worthwhileness of someones' AA.

1) She probably knows that an AA isn't very impressive, but she is at least consciously happy and that's enough to smile and tell her good job. I'd think that a PSYCHOLOGY major would understand cognitive science/philosophy to some degree enough to understand the ethics behind maintaining ignorance.

2) Lets say you spent 35k for a year of your 4year degree, and she spent 3k a year for her 2year degree. She can still upgrade her degree if she applies as a junior to a college (which you can do definitely) and if she were to go into new sciences or engineering, I'd say that she definitely got more bang for her buck than a *heh* history/psychology major.

I mean, if you turn out to be Daniel Dennet or Hofstadter then congratulations, but the turnout rate for those degrees are low I believe.

Also - doublemajor in history/psychology? What the heck classes are you taking and why?

 

[tsb247]

My Associate's of Science in general engineering did not get me a job, but it was a great stepping stone into the engineering field. It solidified my credits and will transfer to ANY university within the U.S.

I'm not upset about it at all.

Keep in mind, I was studying aerospace engineering, and I am having to undergo a bit of a paradigm shift due to having to move. Soon, I will be studying unmanned ariel systems - in short, I will be working on, with, piloting, and designing drones.

 

[SciMal]

There's this girl I know who is "graduating" from a community college and she's all excited and acting like she's graduating from a university or something.

I think it's kind of dumb to go through a ceremony and everything for something like an AA. Keep in mind that I have an AA and am currently double majoring and minoring at a university so I know what you need to go through to get one.

You're not her, though.

Maybe it was MUCH harder for her. Maybe she has cause to be excited about it that you lack.

That being said, even though I've been there and have one, I don't consider an associate degree a legitimate college degree. It's basically like saying "look! I can do basic math, science, writing and humanities!"

In general, I agree. Thanks to shit education policies in the United States, an Associate's is equivalent to a HS Diploma in the rest of the world most of the time.

However, it's also about as useful as a HS Diploma. If you're a pragmatist, it's a lot of effort and money that you won't make back for a while. There are jobs which require an Associate's or better, but for the most part the sharp increase in benefits above HS Diplomas come at Bachelor's, and then jump steadily up with each degree from there (though in the current economic environment being 'overqualified' is also a big problem).

Also, you might be a little snobbish, but there will always be people who know your topic better. You say you're double-majoring? That means nothing unless you're at a particularly difficult college or studying a particularly difficult subject.

 

[SciMal]

History and psychology.

Ah, missed this bit.

No, I wouldn't brag about those two being a double major.

I respect the people who do "hard" Psychology well, but there's a lot of fluff and pseudo-science in the field (I might say it's the majority of the field, but I don't have proper access to the Journals or the time to read them).

I don't know enough about History as a Major, but I don't remember meeting a lot who studied for more than an hour or two per final/midterm.

It's not to say you can't be proud about your Majors if you're passionate about them - every Major has people that truly do the topics justice - but overall, unless it's a "hard" science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics) most of the bragging is done within-Majors (with the worst culprits being the "Leadership" or similarly oriented student-cheer group, whose inbred thoughts ring hollow to ears trained towards logic and criticism).

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I have an Associates in my field and fun fact time!

There may be a Bachelors degree in Audio Engineering, but not every college has one and it's mainly a technical school thing. I would have to study something else like Electrical Engineering or Physics with a specialty in Acoustics.

That degree I have helped me get a lot of gigs, and from that, I have a network, and you need one in my field since having a shiny degree doesn't really mean much. I guess my field is a little special, but still, I'm a head of some people who go into it knowing nothing.

 

[LetalisK]

I respect the people who do "hard" Psychology well, but there's a lot of fluff and pseudo-science in the field (I might say it's the majority of the field, but I don't have proper access to the Journals or the time to read them).

The fluff and pseudo-science by definition doesn't have anything to do with legitimate psychology. The problem is, like what has plagued many other fields before it, pop psychology that doesn't have a basis in the psychology community is more exciting and sexier than actual psychology, so guess which one gets more attention from the public?