There’s no doubt that earning a four-year college degree almost guarantees a decent pay, but according to a report from CareerCast.com, there are some lucrative careers in which a two-year degree is all that’s necessary.
An electrical technician was listed among the top 20 job positions that requires its potential employees to, at the most, acquire an associate’s degree through programs provided by community colleges.
Taking a licensure examination tests usually follows after you obtain your degree, and then you can immediately enter the workforce.
Online advertising manager, web developer, medical secretary, paralegal assistant, and a stenographer/court reporter are just a few of the other positions that are obtainable with a technical/associate degrees.
People who are aiming for a good career can also choose this alternative path of getting a two-year degree and immediately entering the workforce.
In the long run, you can always go back and continue working toward your bachelor’s degree.
It’s a tactic that’s working for Gerald Boulin, a 19 year-old Miami Dade College student who is in the Corrections Academy at North Campus.
“The program is only twelve weeks long,” Boulin said.
“A job position is waiting for me as soon as I finish the program, then after I get settled into my new job I’ll go back for my bachelor’s in Computer Science.”
Whether a two-year or four-year degree is more or less of your thing, the learning doesn’t stop there.
It is not enough to have the basic technical skills for a specific job.
You must show valuable qualities to any employer that’ll make you a universally great job candidate.
According to JSOnline.com, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s website, displaying good communication skills, maintaining a positive attitude/body language, good posture, eye contact, verbal enthusiasm, and having basic technological/computer skills even if your desired position doesn’t call for it will make you stand out.
“Palm Beach State prepared me to enter straight into the workforce. It’s not enough to use what was taught in classrooms, you must make sure clients leave with smiles on their faces,” said Ritha Casimir, a 25-year old dental hygienist who received her degree and license at Palm Beach State.
“Getting them to feel at home is what we pride ourselves on and that’s the most important thing,” Casimir said.
Two-year degrees and technical programs have such a high appeal, not only for its previously said benefits, but because it won’t create as much debt in the long run.
Sooner or later, they’ll be a technical degree for every profession you can think of.
Not everyone needs to follows the same path and I do not think we should look down upon the alternative paths, because they do work if you work hard.
