Just curious about an AA.......

Does an AA degree in general studies even look good on a resume? The reason I ask is because I have one and people have given looks like "what did you get that for?". Well, it was to get me into a four-year school. Anyway, I assume it looks good and it certainly is better than nothing. I guess my question is: would employers automaticly throw your resume out if you just had an AA in general studies?

 

Congratulations on your A.A. degree! You should be very proud. Take advantage of the classes that you took for general studies and if you're pursuing a Bachelor's that's great and you can use this to highlight as well. Don't let people discourage you. You're doing just fine. Keep up the good work. The key is to take what seems to be an obstacle and to tailor it to what you're interested in doing. For example, if you took a lot of philosophy or some other subjects work on those strengths. You may also want to put A.A. degree such and such college, and not include what your major was and if asked present it in an interview. That'd be my advice. You're great to get your education, and keep your spirits high.

 

I agree with philosophy and I have an A.A. in general studies.

Mention what you are going to college in now and most people will not care about what your A.A. was in.

I also put a little section below my degree in my resume with related coursework and I would put any classes I took that might be related to the job I am looking at getting there.

 

Your AA

Show it off man! You spent...what 2yrs or so completing it? Be proud of your academic achievement.

 

How a degree looks or is perceived can vary greatly from person to person. My opinion is listed below...

Does an AA look good - yes. It looks better than a HS diploma and not as good as a BA/BA/etc...

What did you get it for - If you are still in school, tell them it was a step towards a BA. If you are no longer in school, tell them it was to advance your knowledge in _______

Would an employer throw out your resume - possibly. I doubt an employer would throw out your resume for having any degree. On the other hand, if the employer is looking for someone with a BA/BS and you do not have such a degree, your resume may be put in the big pile.

 

Congratulations!

Many people attend community college either to help in gaining admission to a bachelor's program or simply to get general education courses for a bachelor's done at a much lower cost.
Any college degree shows dedication, commitment and responsibility to an employer. If you are looking for a job with the AA, I might list specific courses on your resume that are in accordance with what an employer in your chosen field would be looking for in addition to listing the AA.

I agree with the suggestion of concentrating on your major for your bachelor's degree to employers. It matters more where you are going than where you have been.

Good luck!

 

AA degree

I now live in a neighborhood near a large, reletively well paying INTEL plant. They require an AA or AS (or equivlent hours) in any subject, for anyone to apply. This weeds out those who want to go directly from High School and make over 20 dollars an hour from the start.

Congrats on the AA. I like the AA because you can track your progress in increments instead of getting lost in the 4-6 year Ba process (or like me, an 8 year progression to the BS).

I'm considering another AA in Early childhood Ed to qualify for the corperate world of commercial childcare and after school programs. It has to be a growth industry!

DC

 

If you think about it, everybody with a bachelors degree spent two years at school studying essentially the same material you covered in your AA degree. If they ask, simply tell them you plan to eventually finish your bachelors at another school. They won't think another thing of it.

 

I've read that having an AA/AS/AAS is actually better for you in terms of money and employability than having 3-4 years of college and no degree at all.

The former shows some motivation and the ability to complete what you start; the latter seems to imply that you either "quit" or couldn't cut it.

The only time I'd expect to hear "why'd you do that" re: an AA is when applying for a job where education is generally not expected and/or frowned upon; or when applying for a job that generally requires a degree higher than an Associate's. In either case, that's probably not a place you want to work.

You might want to read this article. It clearly implies that an Associate's degree has a lifetime value of nearly 1/2 million dollars.

 

Such an AA degree would be great on the resume, IMHO. The only exception that I can think of is if the person went on to get their Bachelor's degree. In that case I would not list it if there was a few years worth of experience to describe because it would just make the resume unnecessarily longer. If the person was a new grad then listing it would help fill out the resume.

 

It's common knowledge that an AA in general education is obtained to meet the general education requirements of a Bachelors degree. Thus, it is evident that someone who gets an AA in general education did so for the sole purpose of transferring to a four-year university.

IMO an AA in general studies has very little utility, except to meet the requirements of a Bachelors degree. I will always list my AA in general education on a resume because it shows the long ardious climb up the academic ladder.

 

Absolutely it's an asset and a significant achievement. Sometimes we get so caught up in "ladders" and "advanced" degrees around here that we lose sight of the integrity of each and every real educational degree from DL high school completion to postdoc and everything in between.
There is a certain school offering an associates' in a field that interests me very much. When my other projects are finished, I hope to get it, and will be justly proud of it if I do.
Best wishes to you, J.

 

Joe,

Yes, an AA in general studies looks just fine on a resume. As CoachTurner states, it is superior than have years of college study with no degree at all. Unless you are applying for a job that requires a bachelors or higher degree, there should be no reason at all for an employer to throw your resume out.

I was very happy to receive my AA years ago. It represented far more than two years of college work for me (and took far longer than that to achieve). Even though I now possess four degrees, I still (proudly) list my AA on my resume.

 

An A.A. in general studies can be used to meet the general ed requirements for many universities, and allow you to jump straight into a B.A. or B.S. It would also show employers that you've not only accomplished something, but that you're ready to accomplish more (particularly if you explain it that way).

List it proudly, and my congratulations!

Dave

 

I can think of no reasons not to list an AA in general studies. I would expect potential employers to look first at your experience and only later at your education, but an AA certainly shows added learning and the ability to complete long-term projects and reach long-term goals. When I was hiring for education-unspecified service-level jobs, an AA certainly helped many applicants in the hiring process.

 

I list my AA on my resume because my electives were biomedical engineering and computer science classes so I list it as :
·AA - Biomedical Technology and Computer Science Technology

As I review resume for open positions I am hiring for, I look for a degree - any degree. It shows you can start something and complete it.