How do I become completely independent with just an Associate's Degree?

Talk to a counselor and see if there are jobs available to you or if he/she has ideas about what you can do with this Associate's degree. How about a job at an accounting firm?

You can transfer to a major university now. Live on campus.

I agree - the school you are attending should have career placement counselors - speak with them. They should be able to help you plan for a career and give you advice on how to get a full time job. Often times they have resume writing/interview skills/job seeking workshops - and often times they receive "want ads"or job openings for new grads and those with 2 and 4 year degrees.

I have first hand experience - I worked in the career placement office while I attended school.

Also, you could potentially find a full time job that may have tuition assistance - where you attend college part time at night and they reimburse you for it so you could finish your 4 year degree - almost free. I did this to obtain my Master's Degree.

And there is nothing wrong with wanting to be out on your own and be independent -- it doesn't mean you do not appreciate what your parents have been doing for you -- just that you are an adult and ready to be one completely. Another thought when you obtain a full time position --- to seek out a roommate to help share the expenses of renting an apartment. Usually this is the highest costs of living independently.

An associates degree carries little to no weight in the work world. Even a bachelor's degree doesn't open all doors, as the economy suffers it's current woes.

With as much respect as I can muster ragman, that's the sort of attitude that contributes to this elitest idea that only people who got some many times worthless piece of paper deserve to make a good living.

There are an enormous amount of jobs out there that require no degree, and support people and their families well.

We've been fed, and many people have willingly swallowed this idea that the only way to succeed is to go to college.

That pure bullshit.

Many good jobs may require some additional specialized training, but not a degree.

I understand your point. I'm neither an elitist nor uninformed. I'm a pragmatist.

However I think your's is a bit of an over-reaction to what I wrote and meant. I didn't say that you couldn't make a living...though for his purposes an AA most people would agree, does little to help you get past a minimum wage job.

I was intending by my advice to indicate that it's hard to find a job with an AA..and that even a Bachelor's degree is not an automatic door-opener either.



I can attest to the fact that one can make a living with or w/o an AA...as I have no degree at all, and have about the equivalent of an AA. I went to technical schools and worked my way up through the ranks of a large computer company. All of this occurred in 1975-182, when the economy was vastly different. i also had technical training from being in USAF.

The point is that having an AA is not a very hard marketable or certain way to make a decent living. In terms of the odds, they are stacked against you in the market place re qualifications for a decent paying job, though not an impossibility.

Back to the subject posed by OP...
Some excellent advice:

You see it as an over-reaction, but that's not how I meant it. I also didn't call you an elitist, just the attitude you are showing in this particular subject.

I know you are a photographer, and didn't need uni for that.

I think this attitude toward the "necessity" of college directly relates to the OP.

He/she is getting it from all sides in life that it's "just" an Associates, can't imagine what they would do with "just" that.

Before I'm confronted (Not that confrontation is a negative thing) with the usual anecdotes and cautionary tales about how hard it is to find a job without a degree 4 year or beyond degree, I'd like to preface my statements to come. I am not saying college/university is not an important institution. Got that? Good, because I don't want to have to repeat it in every post.

I think it is, in many circumstances, not necessary to have a productive, and more important, happy life.

In the same way many people say they believe in, let's say Jesus as our Lord and Savior without examining it, they are now raised, or teaching their kids that it's just to be an unexamined tenent that college is the way to go. Looking at it, it's the the relgion of "you must go to college or the only other thing you can do to make money is be a plumber, otherwise you will make minimum wage the rest of your life."

I don't know why, but the occupation of plumber is always brought up by people when lack of a college degree is brought up. It's done in this condescending way also, as in "Well sure, you can always be a plumber and make good money"

Yeah, or an RN, carpenter, bookkeeper, massage therapist etc. etc. All of which sound more interesting that the standard "web designer" that gets mentioned when graduates are brought up.

What I'm addressing to the OP is that there is a world of interesting things you can do where you will be able to be financially independant, and more importantly, doing something with your time that you enjoy.

You are getting a degree in math.

Here's a link that provides some info on careers that require that.

http://www.westfield.ma.edu/math/careers/math.html#Careers

Actually, the part of my career to which I was referring was as a Technical Writer. My photography is a long time hobby that grew out of a passion of mine..and only after I was nearly through my tech career did I ever earn anything from it.

That job, TW, almost universally requires a degree. I was fortunate to go through a very unusual corporate program that allowed me to transition from a field service engineer/technician (no degree) to a full-time 30-40-week course wihtin the corporation. I got certified and became a technical writer - which was an accomplishment that was not recognized my much of the industry at the time. Nowhere else other than my company was that happening. The amount of bachelor's degrees in my field was about 95%... though I had no AA either.

Point being, though it's possible, an AA degree these days makes for a difficult and volatile path to making a decent living beyond temp jobs and minimum wage.

Returning to OP query. My opinion is that an AA might not be the answer to the problem. Consider trying technical schools as well as the possibility of continuing on with college. Also, as was mentioned earlier, you might look into finding a roommate.

Not true.
False.
No.

There are many jobs that are interesting, pay well, and require is anything, technical training in that particular field.

Vocational training has become a dirty word for some reason.

I see no point on continuing a disagreement. We just have different points of view. I won't add to the noise level here as it doesn't serve the OP or my purpose to continue.

In addition, when in college, the students are being sold a bill of goods. I've personally heard this from a number of recent and not so recent graduates.

They are being told they are going to be sought after, and in a remarkably short amount of time by realistic standards, will be in upper management, and supervising people who have been with the company for years. All because they went to their college.

I heard young people express anger, panic, embarrassment over their current state, and the fact they were gullible.

It does serve the OP to let them know that they can live a happy productive life, not making minimum wage, with "just" an associates degree.

Oh, BTW, when I was temping in the last couple of years while coming to terms that I didn't have to work anymore, you know who most of my fellow temp workers were?

Semi-retired, like me or young people that had graduated from UT within the last 2 years, and still couldn't find a job. The 4 year grads were totally struggling with the fact they were barely getting by, were dependant on their parents still (and fearful they were disappointing them) and trying to wrap their minds around the fact employers weren't falling all over themselves to hire them.

I don't believe I ran into any people who had skilled trades.

Your only good option is to borrow a bunch of money and go to university. Make sure you pick a field that you can get hired in. What was the purpose of a 2 year math degree? That does not sound useful.

A 2 year math degree is not vocational training, as I am not aware of a single job a person can get with it.

I wasn't referring to the math degree, but the idea of 4 year univ being the only viable option for everyone, unless they want to be an utter failure in life and starve to death.

I was wondering about the math degree too. That's why I posted the link before as to possible jobs.

ok - so you're working on an associate's degree in math. that suggests you should be good with math.

sooooooo do the math

what would it cost to share a small apartment with someone or to rent a room in a house. what would your food, clothing, transportation, entertainment etc costs be? what income do you need to support you? do you want to continue with school while living away from your parents? what are the costs of that?

figure out the baseline costs and sort out what jobs pay at least that minimum - then start applying for those jobs.

also think seriously about whether it is more important to you to complete your education quickly or to live independently

if living independently is more important, consider continuing your education on a part-time basis and recalculate the costs

use your math skills

Good realistic advice beth.

I agree - I know many people with a two year degree or less that make plenty of money to live on. Considering this individual is young, they do not have much in the way of expenses, just personal expenses --- you could get a job that should be able to support you; maybe not get a rich, but with enough potential to live on.

I'd rather do "life" things than academic things. I really just want to be done with education once and for all.