That is a pretty broad question. It all depends on what your degree is in and what experience you have to go along with it. Some A.A.S. programs, such as Radiologic Technology, can lead to decent starting salaries in the $40-50K range.
It's up to you to do the research and a good place to start is the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH). Here is a search of the keywords 'associate degree,' and if you follow the link you'll see four pages of results. High up on the list is airtorn's suggestion of radiologic technician. I also notice my state, Ohio, often hires workers with associate's degrees (whereas most federal jobs require bachelor or higher). If you are looking for benefits and days off (if at a somewhat retarded rate of compensation), you could see what your local state government has to offer. Good luck, Mark
Sorry about the broad question, I had about 5 min until my laptop battery was about to go dead! To be more specific, I want to work in IT. I don't have any experience, so it will be a complete career change. I've always loved computers, and believe it or not, I think I would enjoy working help desk. I love searching for solutions to problems. I'm more of an independent worker, project oriented. I was curious what jobs are out there for an associates. I have a few credits from JC, so it would take me about a year to complete the degree. I'm ready to get into the field, but not sure what particular field of IT would have the most openings that would pay enough to support the family. Any advice?? Many Thanks
I just recently filled a Help Desk opening in a non-profit with a starting salary of about $35k. I received nearly 500 resumes which ran the gamut from graduates of computer-related certificate programs, to B.S. degrees in Computer Science, a lot of Masters degrees in CS. Every age range was represented and the some applicants had no real world experience while others had 15 years or more. I interviewed approximately 24 candidates and even those with a Masters degree really wanted this job. It's a tough field to get into at entry level when there is such a pool of people looking for jobs.
I'd really like more info - such as what geographic location the job was advertised in - and the "quality" of the MS/BS candidates. Were they DeVry grads or MIT grads?
The job is located in a New York non-profit. Most of the resumes that I received were from graduates of RA B&M colleges in New York. There were many more B.S. candidates than Masters but plenty of Masters degree holders or in progress ones from these schools and others. I would say that 90 percent of the inquiries were from people with degrees from RA B&M schools. A bunch were from technical schools such as Chubb and TCI. Some were taking computer related classes at learning centers (non-degree programs but "rigorous" 100 hour track type programs that I'm not very familiar with). A few had no techology degree but had a lot of experience working in the field and/or multiple certifications. I haven't filled a position in quite a long time and must say that I was aghast at some of the resumes I received. Many were full of typos, poorly formatted, or appeared deceiving with regard to having a degree. Listing "Education - Brooklyn College 2002" doesn't tell me if you have a degree or took a single class there. The formatting of some of the resumes was atrocious. Using fancy script fonts that are impossible to read will get you resume tossed immediately. Some typed their information into the body of the email and for good measure decided to put a green background and change the type color to magenta. Many others looked identical so they probably used the templates that come with Microsoft Word, however, the choice of font was just very poor. Their attempt to make the resume more aesthetically appealing actually achieved the opposite effect. Some of the cover letters were even worse. I realize that some candiates may be ESL, however, it's imperative that a cover letter be professional and not full of errors. If you have to, pay someone to help you write it. How are you going to communicate both verbally and via email with my users if you cannot compose a letter of inquiry? Some peppered their cover letters with smiley faces and other emoticons. The other dilemma that I faced was that while having employees with advanced degrees is nice, the job that was available offered no network or system administration duties. It's basically responding to the same repetitive calls for assistance such as replacing toner cartridges, unjammng a printer, setting up an LCD projector with a laptop for a meeting, restarting a computer that's misbehaving or renewing an IP address along with repairing/upgrading hardware as necessary. Not very stimulating if you're looking to get heavily into networking or systems administration. The applicants with advanced degrees would no doubt be always on the lookout for something better (and rightfully so, they invested a lot in their education and should pursue whatever they like), however, I do not want the position that I have available to be a revolving door. The interviews were very interesting. Some of the candidates came across as extremely arrogant and pompous and implied that by hiring them, they would singlehandedly "improve" all of the operations. A couple of the candidates came to their interview in sandals or flip flops. I understand the weather is extremely warm and would have been fine with khakis and a collared shirt as opposed to a business suit, however, sport pants or shorts and sandals is just not acceptable. All in all it was quite an experience. I was extremely lucky to find a candidate with several years experience in a non-profit, provided a clear and concise resume and cover letter sans errors, arrived at the interview on time dressed in a suit and was obviously genuinely interested in working here. He starts next week and I have no doubt he'll do just fine.
