Sometimes you need a formal education to start the career you want. A 2-year degree, usually called an Associate’s Degree, is a great way to kickstart your future. If you go to a technical college, classes are flexible and the costs are low enough that you don’t have to go into debt on your way to earning an education.
Curious about how an associates degree could help you? Keep reading to find out.
Associate’s Degrees Only Take Two Years to Complete
Compared to the education required to become a doctor, lawyer, or scientific researcher, two years is a very short amount of time. In just two years, you can have all the education you need to start a lucrative career in engineering graphics, industrial maintenance, AC/refrigeration, automotive technology, or any number of other fields.
Two years may seem like a long time, especially if you’re trying to start right now. Luckily, some employers will help you with your education, being flexible with working hours and sometimes even helping pay for your classes. If you want to work in a field while attending classes to expand your skillset, this is a great option.
Associate’s Degrees are Inexpensive
Almost every day a new story or study shows up in the news about how high student debt is climbing across the nation. You can avoid being part of those statistics by getting an associate’s degree at a technical college. Tuition and associated fees are around $5000 for a whole year of school (2 semesters) at York Technical College, and the out-of-pocket costs can be reduced significantly with financial aid, grants, and employer support.
To calculate total education expenses, including textbooks, food, travel, etc., use York Tech’s Net Price Calculator.
All of Your Classes Apply to Your Career
Concentrated programs — such as associate’s degrees, diplomas, and certificates — make sure every class counts. If you’re training to become a CNC machinist, you won’t need to take any abstract courses to fill up time. Instead, every class you take will involve your career choice and will give you hands-on experience.
The first semester classes for the Air Conditioning/Refrigeration Associate’s Program at York Technical College are Basic Economics, Communications, Technology, Mathematics, and Personal/Interpersonal Psychology. All of these courses are tailored towards a trade career, where you have to deal with money, technology, and people on a daily basis. As the program progresses, classes become even more specific to the major.
To see class requirements for each program, use York Tech’s 2019-2020 Class Catalogue.
Your Schedule Will Be Flexible
Tech colleges understand that their students need options when it comes to getting an education. York Technical College and others like it offer traditional, hybrid, and night classes, which means many courses have multiple ways to be taken. This makes associate degrees an ideal option for students with children, jobs, or other situations that make a completely traditional college schedule impossible.
People With Degrees Make More Money Than People Without Them
In case you need another reason to pursue an associate’s degree, statistics show that people with more education make more money. If you start working as an HVAC mechanic without a formal education, you will have to start at the bottom and learn everything on the job. If you start with a degree, you can expect a higher starting salary and possibly even a better position since the company won’t have to spend time training you.
Even if you’ve already started your dream career, there are benefits in starting your formal education. A degree gives you industry-wide credibility and allows for more freedom if you want to change companies or climb the ranks in a company you love. The potential for higher pay is a great bonus, too.
To learn how to register for an associate’s degree or other technical college educational program, navigate to our career pages on Career Connect.
