Associates Degree in IT? vs. Bachelor's

[Standpoint]

I have been attending a rather expensive College. My schooling has been OK, though for the most part what I learned was to learn on my own.

I discoved that there is a cap on the amount of money that can be borrowed from the federal gov't. I have a year and a half part time at least to finish my Bachelors, which I have been working towards part time for three years. Anyways, I will run out of financial aid well before, and will struggle to obtain more funding. My current financial situation w/ 2 kids, wife, house and life makes this unrealistic.

So I talked to the school, and found out that I could obtain my Associates degree by the end of next semester if I wanted. But I have always felt that an Associates degree was 'worthless' compared to a Bachelor's. I realize that the IT industry is odd, in that certs and xp are often more valuable. I'm thinking that getting the Associates instead may be a much better choice. However, if I do this, I will have to re-enroll for the Bachelor's, which would involve switching to a newer version of the program, and more classes & money involved.

What is everyone else's thoughts on this? Is an Associates that much worse than a Bachelor's?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Ns1]

that would be the equivalent of having sex and stopping halfway through; if you wanted an AA you should've just gone to a community college, might as well finish it up

 

[Descartes]

By itself, yes. In addition to experience, no. IT is not like most other industries in this regard; it's more of a trade than it is a professional career, so experience can supplement education in many, if not most, cases. If you're light on experience I would stick it out for the BS, because it will make your life significantly easier in getting those first few jobs.

 

[Bateluer]

I suppose it depends on the specific associates degree, they seem to be more specialized than the more generic bachelors degrees. At the moment, I'm pursuing three associates degrees in various IT fields. Fortunately, the electives for each program are the required for another and vice versa. There's also a plethora of certs that I can pick up on the way.

How much actual experience do you have in the field?

 

[Standpoint]

In retrospect, I wish I had not gone to this College. The State University is half the cost. Unfotunately, I am locked in here and need to finish at this school. I like your comment, though. I do feel like I am cheating myself out of a Bachelors, but financially the Associates seems like the only option for me.

 

[Standpoint]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
I suppose it depends on the specific associates degree, they seem to be more specialized than the more generic bachelors degrees. At the moment, I'm pursuing three associates degrees in various IT fields. Fortunately, the electives for each program are the required for another and vice versa. There's also a plethora of certs that I can pick up on the way.

How much actual experience do you have in the field?

I don't have any official field work. I have been working IT related things on the side, and am the De Facto IT guy at my job, since in their infinite wisdom we have no one.

 

[yoda291]

2 yrs experience, if you can get it will usually trump the differential between the bachelor's and associates degrees since usually it's spec'd as "4 year degree or equivalent". However, might I suggest another avenue even if it seems long-shotty?

Goto your financial aid office before the term starts or as a term ends and talk to your advisor about financial aid. It turns out, there's often a few grants or money floating about that you might qualify for that you don't know of. A good counselor will be able to check on this for you. When I was doing my undergrad, I managed an extra 12k/term this way because of a grant I didn't know I qualified for because I had done well in HS taking the AIME and AHSME(color me shocked).

 

[evetstech]

Unless you already have a good amount of work experience, I would say go and finish your B.S. If you need extra funding, and can't get stafford loans anymore (you borrowed the max of 23k already??), try looking into alternative loans. There are always ways to get money for school, you just have to do some research.

 

[Mxylplyx]

If you already knew someone that could slide you into a job position, I'd say get the AA. If you are going fishing for a job without a network of people to help you get placed, and therefore must rely solely on your education, you'll need the Bachelors. I've worked with plenty of programmers that had no degree at all, making the same money as me. They were fortunate enough to start their careers during the tech boom when any experience was good enough. Now that things have tightened, your education or your network gets you in the door.

 

[tfinch2]

Leaving school with max debt and no degree to show for it is just STUPID!

 

[SoulAssassin]

Find a job with tuition reimbursement.