Associates degree and unrelated Bachelor's? (and Grad school enrollment)

[Ideas]

I would like to get opinions on how employers see the difference between these situations:

Candidate A has:
Associates degree in the field from some not-known RA school (probably a community college)
Bachelors degree in different field from TESU (such as business)

Candidate B has:
Bachelors degree in the field from TESU

1. I know that many jobs might disqualify candidate A completely. I am pursuing non-traditional employment paths, so it won't be black and white for me. However, I am unsure if candidate A has a small disadvantage or a large one. Assuming they are equal in work experience, etc.

2. Also, what if Candidate A was enrolled in a grad Diploma/Cert/Masters in the field, planning to complete it in 1.5 years or less? And Candidate B is not. Now is candidate A on equal footing to Candidate B?

3. What if it was only an Undergrad Certificate instead of Assoc degree? But still enrolled in Grad school.

I know there is not really enough information to say for sure, but I just want a general idea.

[SolarKat]

Can you at least give us an idea of what field you're trying to work in/into? If it's a technical field, I'd think it would be a big problem, because you'd be competing against people with a lot more study in that area. Otherwise, I'm not sure. I'd be looking for something compelling on the resume that suggests enough experience/skill for the post.

And are the degrees at all connected, or is it "AS - Math" and "BS - Business"? And if the plan is to go back for a masters in math or biology, you'd be better served getting the BS in math or biology, otherwise you'll need a ton of prerequisites before grad school anyway...might as well do the degree.

[Ideas]

They're not connected. It's Psych and Business. I know most Psych jobs require PhD, Masters, etc. I want to do the Psych Bachelor's but the $4000 seems better spent toward a Psych Masters. However, then I have a couple years where I have either no Psych degree at all, or just Psych Associates (+BSBA).

I already have a PT non-traditional job without any Psych degree, but with the Bachelor's (and maybe Associates) and I could possibly get a second PT non-trad job. I'd really like that, to help pay for grad school.

I may need to try for a second PT job in I.T., healthcare, or something else, if I can't get the Psych one.

[SolarKat]

Do you have a masters program in mind? (Or an employer in mind...one with tuition reimbursement?) I would start there. Also, with the masters, would you want to be eligible for licensure? If so, that will further narrow your selection. Then you can see what they expect for admission, and work backwards. As far as employment options in the meantime...again, try searching LinkedIn, Indeed, etc. - find both positions you'd like (and note what degrees they want), and positions that request what you're planning (either AS Psych or BSBA). This will give you some things to think about. Where do you want to be in 5 years? 10? 20?

[Ideas]

Masters at Capella, because of cost. No future or current employer with tuition reimbursement

There's hardly anything that takes less than a Bachelors, but I'm just trying to avoid spending the $4K which could go toward Masters. In order to do that, I'm thinking of getting the Assoc since it's at least something.

I will have to look into it more.

[dfrecore]

1) I think for most employers, an AA means virtually nothing. I'm really not sure why you would even get a BSBA if you really want the Psych degree? Doesn't make a ton of sense to me.

2) Also, I worked in HR for years, and someone told me they were enrolled in a grad diploma/cert/masters program, it would hold zero weight with me. Tell me when you have your degree, otherwise, I'm not interested. MAYBE if you were in your final course, or something like that.

3) Undergrad cert holds as much weight as an AA - which is zero.

Then again, all of this really depends on the job that you're going for, and what the requirements are for it. Some places really don't care what degree you have, they just want you to have a degree in something. In that case, it really wouldn't matter if it was in the field or not.

[SolarKat]

Masters at Capella, because of cost.

Then step 1 is finding out what *Capella* wants for admission to the psych masters.

I'm reading your posts & sig, and I'm a little confused about your big picture, that "What I want to be when I grow up." part of the equation. Biology, psychology, CIS, marketing, math, CS...you're all over the map. Multiple AA/AS, multiple BA/BS, certificates, concentrations...it's very tangled.

The associates is "nice to have" along the way, but if you don't need it for work/cash-inflow, then just keep heading towards your BS/BA and when you have enough credits, toss transcripts at a BOG program for the AAS along the way. Don't focus on the AS/AA/AAS as the goal unto itself, because it's unlikely to open many doors...the only advantage to focusing on it is if you can justify it by a) job prospects, b) a raise, c) ability to participate in something otherwise unavailable to you. Otherwise, you can pick up the AS/AA anytime - focus on what really moves the needle for you, which is more likely to be the BS/BA.

As for the BS/BA plan - here's where discernment has a bigger payoff than the AS/AA/AAS. Tell us what you want to *do* with/after the bachelors. Are you planning to look for a new/different long-term job? If so, what interests you? Are you planning to continue your current job while you move into a masters program? Are you looking for a bachelors that yields a more lucrative career so you can save up for the masters?

If it was me...if what I really want to do is psychology, I'd just bite the bullet and get the degree in psychology. If what I want is a degree so I can earn more money, which would then create time/resources to get me what I really want down the road, I'd just go for the fastest bachelors that I could stomach, whether that's business or something else. The associates is "at least something"...but I wonder if it's sidetracking you from Your Big Picture. I don't see AS/Bio getting you to BS/CIS getting you to MS/Psych very easily (nor very affordably). Maybe you can help me see the chain of thought that I'm missing.

[clep3705]

I helped someone plan out a psyc B.S. An associate's degree was obtained along the way. That's because there was one end goal - a B.S. in psyc. A bunch of community college psyc courses were taken that applied to the B.S. It happened to be enough courses to get an A.S. Don't waste time and effort on an A.S. If by chance the associate's degree ends up costing only a $10 diploma fee and no additional time, sure, pick it up. Otherwise don't.

Focus on the fastest, cheapest way to get into graduate school. As the others have stated, figure out the requirements for graduate school and make those your priority. Don't be distracted by lesser degrees than aren't what you ultimately need.

[cookderosa]

I would like to get opinions on how employers see the difference between these situations:

Candidate A has:
Associates degree in the field from some not-known RA school (probably a community college)
Bachelors degree in different field from TESU (such as business)

Candidate B has:
Bachelors degree in the field from TESU

1. I know that many jobs might disqualify candidate A completely. I am pursuing non-traditional employment paths, so it won't be black and white for me. However, I am unsure if candidate A has a small disadvantage or a large one. Assuming they are equal in work experience, etc.

2. Also, what if Candidate A was enrolled in a grad Diploma/Cert/Masters in the field, planning to complete it in 1.5 years or less? And Candidate B is not. Now is candidate A on equal footing to Candidate B?

3. What if it was only an Undergrad Certificate instead of Assoc degree? But still enrolled in Grad school.

I know there is not really enough information to say for sure, but I just want a general idea.

"Most" candidates don't have an associate's degree if they also have a bachelor's degree- I think you're overthinking this. Both candidates have bachelor's degrees - the candidate with the bachelor's degree in the field AND some experience in the field (even unpaid internship) is the golden ticket.

I wouln't pursue grad school without work experience unless you're sure it won't work against you. Sometimes, having a grad degree makes you an expensive inexperienced risk- as opposed to a better prepared one.

[Ideas]

Then step 1 is finding out what *Capella* wants for admission to the psych masters.

Yeah. I've been busy with getting study.com done, because I thought my credits would expire.

The ASNSM is mostly only because it's pretty quick and cheap for me, since I'll already be at TESU, but I have personal reasons for that too.

I am sure that if I could only have one Bachelor's, it would be the BSBA (CIS and Marketing). Not psychology. However, yes, I don't want to get denied from Capella. To me that is the only possible downside.

I believe the BA Psychology at COSC requirements would take me less than 3 months to complete since I have the 18 GRE credits. (I'm not including the waiting around). To me it seems like a no-brainer in terms of time and difficulty. The only thing I'm doubting about my plan is the money for this BA at COSC... maybe I should skip it, to have more money for Masters. Except if I'll get denied, or have to take the courses anyway to get admitted.

I'm not sure how to explain my unusual plans, except that I have various permanent disabilities, and it cuts off a lot of traditional employment options to me. Therefore, I feel like I have to cobble together multiple PT jobs and spread out my risk over 2-3 fields. And/or have my own business. I know that some jobs and businesses can be done without a degree (or without one in the field), but I also know the limitations well too. There are about 3 fields I actually enjoy and have some strengths and/or experience in, one of which is business.

Edit: Because it's non-trad, I believe I can get away with sometimes having lesser degrees like just the Bachelor's in Psych, or just the "-CIS".

Edit: However, yeah Associates degrees or Undergrad Certs still won't do much. I feel like an Associates + my experience might be enough to get me a second PT job I want, but it's iffy, and I don't think I can "find out" how they would rate me compared to other applicants, besides assuming that nearly everyone with a Bachelor's would be ahead of me.