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Weird Situation: Should I pursue an associates for the kicks?
#1
So, basically, I'm in the UK, from America. I'm currently doing a BEng in Electronic Engineering, starting with a foundation year. I was admitted as an exception to this degree. In the UK you do not have general ed so you do not declare majors, the individual departments of each university accept you and you start directly from year 1 of that degree.

Because of the way some things in my life have gone I've decided to pursue the maths and linguistics BA, however to transfer I need to accumulate 30 college credits over the summer to meet their entry requirements for US students.

Keep in mind this BA would only be 3 years.

I'll be using one transcript from excelsior.

I already have 15 because I know I'll pass the french exam at the 59 excelsior would require. (I speak the language fairly well), and have a previous credit from a local university that transfers. That plus getting the Analzying Literature and College Composition Cleps will be easy. and then from previous knowledge am doing calculus and biology.

That leaves me with 36 credits from prior knowledge.

I'm also studying at iowa state for fun over the summer (had this planned out as a nondegree student for awhile..long story, i like learning) in Astronomy and Astrophysics (1 credit) Evironmental Studies 101 (3 credits) and macroeconomics (3 credits).

So at the end I'll have acquired 43 credits worth of College material in less than 2 months... it won't be costing me much either as my 30 credits are being met from cleps alone, the iowa state classes are circumstantial to that.

My only question is... since at that point I'll have 43 credits, is it worth it trying to do an associates online part time in a disparate field from Mathematics/Linguistics? I could finish it by the summer after, and my thought process is if I acquired the associates here:
Excelsior College | Associates Degrees | Technology Electronic Instrumentation Technologies

I could then tutor maths, physics, and electronics online while finishing my bachelors over the next 3 years, which pays a fairly good rate for a job that you dictate the pace of, and would cleanly pay off quite a large amount of my student loans before I even finish school.

I'm already certified to teach English (TESOL) and soon to be French as well and am able to charge around $12 an hour pretty effectively, and it helps. I'm also starting to be able to raise my prices as I've gotten more experience. but tutoring maths and physics is much closer to $15-25 an hour, which part time when my dorm and utilities is being paid for is quite good. I also feel like having completed a degree level qualification in any subject, especially a stem field, would increase my CV.


But my questions are:
Do you think the above listed associates would be worthwhile achieving, seeing as it's a different background from the one I'll be going into and allows me to salvage some of the knowledge I've gained from the year of study in the UK so far? Also keeping in mind I do believe it would qualify me for online tutoring positions.

Looking at the description of the course, would the classes I've listed satisfy the general ed requirements? I believe all I'd have to take are the technology components right? In order to satisfy the electronics components are you guys aware of exams any other institution has that would save me money from taking the 17 credits through excelsior? I'll already have a large portion of the background knowledge.

Otherwise is it worth testing into a liberal arts associates for the extra couple hundred bucks instead of the technology one? I'd have less career prospects no doubt however, but already have most of the knowledge.

(it should be noted that as both institutions are in different countries with classes that do not overlap each other completing both programs at once would be no issue.)

Personally I do believe that 20 hours a week of hours set by me at $15-25 an hour is a good enough reason to complete the associates, as most online tutoring websites require a relevant qualification. If I completed it, it would pay off itself within the first 2 months and the remainder of my undergrad degree assuming I was able to find hours. (Which I would be able to as there is a market for it.)

The other thing is I kind of like the challenge of pursuing the second degree for fun, even though it wouldn't transfer to my UK degree, we don't do general ed over here anyway and my degree is only estimated to take about 20 hours of independent study a week. So 20 hrs of part time work + 20 hrs of studying an AA for fun comes off as reasonable, if I'd even have to study that long.

I also feel like, as employers in the UK aren't familiar with the associates, it opens up talking points on my CV/resume if I decide to go work somewhere B&M here for some reason.

I wouldn't really be open to spending more than $5000 on the qualification, as I just want it so I can have a chance to learn more and earn more while finishing uni here in the uk. Not planning to make a career out of the associate's field so the path of least resistance is ideal.
#2
Looked into it.. I could get an excelsior liberal arts Associates for about $2000 with just testing... seems fun and more justifiable than the more specialised electronics program.
#3
I'm moving from the US soon. I earned an AABA a while back, and should meet the requirements for a BSBA this summer. Still, after that I plan on getting an AS in Mathematics, mostly as a motivator to push myself in the subject. I may get a TESOL down the road, to have something to fall back on, and I think having a Math AS can only increase my marketability.

$2000 seems like a bargain to me.
College (146): RA (134), NA (12)
ACE-recommended (105): Sophia (53), Study (28), Google (12), TEEX (10), Institutes (2)
ECTS (69): ENEB (65), LUT (2), XAMK (2)
IN PROGRESS:

Certificate- Google Data Analytics
Bachelor- Cybersecurity Technology (105/120) /
 Organizational Leadership (99/120)
Certification- CompTIA A+
DONE:
Certificate- Google IT Support

Associates- Business Administration /  BoG (History)
Undergrad certificate- Computer Networking
MBA
#4
LtheUKAmerican Wrote:Looked into it.. I could get an excelsior Associates for about $2000 with just testing... seems fun and more justifiable than the more specialised program.

That's a bargain and is very cheap, you should consider it if that's what you're really wanting to go for. But I always ask - is it required or is it something you desire?
I ask myself that when I was looking at the ASNSM in Biology, it's my interest and I decided to "go for it". You should decide not because someone tells you to get it.
Further to that, have you looked at the partnership/scholarship pricing with Excelsior for Straighterline/Study.com? Anyways, best of luck, just go for it, I would...
In Progress: Walden MBA | TESU BA Biology & Computer Science
Graduate Certificate: Global Management & Entrepreneurship, ASU (Freebie)

Completed: TESU ASNSM Biology, BSBA (ACBSP Accredited 2017)
Universidad Isabel I: ENEB MBA, Big Data & BI, Digital Marketing & E-Commerce
Certs: 6Sigma/Lean/Scrum, ITIL | Cisco/CompTIA/MTA | Coursera/Edx/Udacity

The Basic Approach | Plans | DegreeForum Community Supported Wiki
~Note~ Read/Review forum posts & Wiki Links to Sample Degree Plans
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#5
StoicJ Wrote:I'm moving from the US soon. I earned an AABA a while back, and should meet the requirements for a BSBA this summer. Still, after that I plan on getting an AS in Mathematics, mostly as a motivator to push myself in the subject. I may get a TESOL down the road, to have something to fall back on, and I think having a Math AS can only increase my marketability.

$2000 seems like a bargain to me.

I totally agree it's a bargain, and I am in similar shoes to you, however; I am going to try to finish the ASNSM Biology at the same time of the BSBA.
Hoping to pay just one graduation/residency waiver fee and don't want to pay double for anything... TESU should be more transparent with students!
In Progress: Walden MBA | TESU BA Biology & Computer Science
Graduate Certificate: Global Management & Entrepreneurship, ASU (Freebie)

Completed: TESU ASNSM Biology, BSBA (ACBSP Accredited 2017)
Universidad Isabel I: ENEB MBA, Big Data & BI, Digital Marketing & E-Commerce
Certs: 6Sigma/Lean/Scrum, ITIL | Cisco/CompTIA/MTA | Coursera/Edx/Udacity

The Basic Approach | Plans | DegreeForum Community Supported Wiki
~Note~ Read/Review forum posts & Wiki Links to Sample Degree Plans
Degree Planning Advice | New To DegreeForum? How This Area Works

[Image: e7P9EJ4.jpeg]
#6
StoicJ Wrote:I'm moving from the US soon. I earned an AABA a while back, and should meet the requirements for a BSBA this summer. Still, after that I plan on getting an AS in Mathematics, mostly as a motivator to push myself in the subject. I may get a TESOL down the road, to have something to fall back on, and I think having a Math AS can only increase my marketability.

$2000 seems like a bargain to me.

Yeah im in a weird position where i need to accumulate 30 us credits as its considered equivalent to british a levels. luckily im bilingual and can read and do maths lol. so that put my halfway towards an associates and i figured itd be kinda cool to test out of the rest. with excesior itd be

500-1000 cleps/uexcel
1500 graduation/capstone fees

and id have earned an associates by about next winter while also starting the 1st year of a 3 year bachelors in the uk. since i can test out of all of the liberal arts assoc subjects from general knowledge (the foundation year i just took in the uk was equivalent to the 1.5ish years of uni in the us give or take so i have the knowledge + i can write well + bilingual + can do maths + excesior is a good combination.), i probably should give it a try i suppose. it's two qualifications for 1 years worth of learning.
#7
The funny thing is although you say it's just for kicks, it sounds like it will actually open up some opportunities for you. In that case, it's probably worth doing. Also, you should look into the WVNCC and Pierpont threads here. You can get an AAS for no extra money out of pocket. It might serve your needs.
NanoDegree: Intro to Self-Driving Cars (2019)
Coursera: Stanford Machine Learning (2019)
TESU: BA in Comp Sci (2016)
TECEP:Env Ethics (2015); TESU PLA:Software Eng, Computer Arch, C++, Advanced C++, Data Struct (2015); TESU Courses:Capstone, Database Mngmnt Sys, Op Sys, Artificial Intel, Discrete Math, Intro to Portfolio Dev, Intro PLA (2014-16); DSST:Anthro, Pers Fin, Astronomy (2014); CLEP:Intro to Soc (2014); Saylor.org:Intro to Computers (2014); CC: 69 units (1980-88)

PLA Tips Thread - TESU: What is in a Portfolio?
#8
I'm a little hesitant to say the AA degree is worthless because this is in the UK. I don't know if UK employers respect the AA degree. But if the story was the same except the job is in the US, then I would say the AA is worthless. Except for a very few narrow exceptions like RN nursing, Collecting an AA degree is like collecting a second high school diplomas and trying to push off that joke credential to employers. Is there something in the job ad/requirement that says the AA degree will give you a specific raise? If not, concentrate on the main goal which is the speedy and efficient completion of the BA degree and don't get sidetracked with this AA degree stuff.
TESU BA CS and Math (graduated December 2016)
#9
I'd also add that a few years ago I was offered a supervisor position with Kroger. I accepted the job offer, and minutes later the HR manager informed me that because of my Associates degree I qualified for a $1500 annual bump in salary, above what was on my offer sheet. It wasn't a big bump, but still, it was $1500 extra every year.

I'd dropped out of uni long before, and a couple of years prior to the Kroger position I'd taken some junior college classes online to meet the AA requirements. It was easy, and the courses were interesting.
College (146): RA (134), NA (12)
ACE-recommended (105): Sophia (53), Study (28), Google (12), TEEX (10), Institutes (2)
ECTS (69): ENEB (65), LUT (2), XAMK (2)
IN PROGRESS:

Certificate- Google Data Analytics
Bachelor- Cybersecurity Technology (105/120) /
 Organizational Leadership (99/120)
Certification- CompTIA A+
DONE:
Certificate- Google IT Support

Associates- Business Administration /  BoG (History)
Undergrad certificate- Computer Networking
MBA
#10
StoicJ Wrote:I'd also add that a few years ago I was offered a supervisor position with Kroger. I accepted the job offer, and minutes later the HR manager informed me that because of my Associates degree I qualified for a $1500 annual bump in salary, above what was on my offer sheet. It wasn't a big bump, but still, it was $1500 extra every year.

I'd dropped out of uni long before, and a couple of years prior to the Kroger position I'd taken some junior college classes online to meet the AA requirements. It was easy, and the courses were interesting.
I think we sometimes lose sight of the value of an associate's for jobs that we don't think of as a "career".
NanoDegree: Intro to Self-Driving Cars (2019)
Coursera: Stanford Machine Learning (2019)
TESU: BA in Comp Sci (2016)
TECEP:Env Ethics (2015); TESU PLA:Software Eng, Computer Arch, C++, Advanced C++, Data Struct (2015); TESU Courses:Capstone, Database Mngmnt Sys, Op Sys, Artificial Intel, Discrete Math, Intro to Portfolio Dev, Intro PLA (2014-16); DSST:Anthro, Pers Fin, Astronomy (2014); CLEP:Intro to Soc (2014); Saylor.org:Intro to Computers (2014); CC: 69 units (1980-88)

PLA Tips Thread - TESU: What is in a Portfolio?


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