I have spent the last two and a half years attending university, and will probably have to go another two and a half to get a bachelor's degree. I am considering transferring to the local community college, where in about a year I will have an associates degree and can be done with school (for now, may return later for a bachelors).

I already have all my general education credits, and a few classes towards my major completed. I'm currently majoring in Management Information Systems, but plan to switch to whatever they call a management major.

I'm really tired of going to school and can not wait for it to be over. I fucking hate it. I feel like I should get a refund for the past 2.5 years, because it has not been worth it. I'll spare you all the details for now, may post a thread in B&M later on the subject.

So, what I am wondering is, how does an associates stack up agaisnt a bachelor's? I want a job in an upper level management position (manager or co-manager) in a retail store. I've been working retail in a couple different places for a combined 3+ years, and know a handful of store managers throughout the city that have told me if I ever needed a reccomendation or whatever for anything from them all I had to do was ask. It is something I know I enjoy and could do for a while, but not at the wages they pay stock clerks, cashiers, etc. I want a management position.

Any insight is appreciated.

Well it all depends on the field and the individual. Now I know how retail can be, in my experience, a person with a college degree (this meaning a bachelors) will be thrust to the front of the line for store manager positions just because they have that degree. One manager for a store I worked at had a bachelor's in biology. He just got the job because he had a degree.

Companies tend to gloss over associates degrees when they are in something that could also be a bachelor's. An associates is good for something that is meant to go along with the associates degree, like being a paralegal.

In business, it might be worth it to get that bachelor's. But dude, if you know so many store managers, why don't you ask them what they did, and what they recommend?

Well it all depends on the field and the individual. Now I know how retail can be, in my experience, a person with a college degree (this meaning a bachelors) will be thrust to the front of the line for store manager positions just because they have that degree. One manager for a store I worked at had a bachelor's in biology. He just got the job because he had a degree.

Companies tend to gloss over associates degrees when they are in something that could also be a bachelor's. An associates is good for something that is meant to go along with the associates degree, like being a paralegal.

In business, it might be worth it to get that bachelor's. But dude, if you know so many store managers, why don't you ask them what they did, and what they recommend?

Agreed, it depends on the job field. In some job fields it's no longer, "Do you have a masters?" It's, "Where did you go to grad school?" Source: Penn St. grad that works in human resources.

For you, experience is the biggest factor. The degree is only going to underwrite your experience. With three years of experience and an associates degree, you would be pretty damn qualified.

For you, experience is the biggest factor. The degree is only going to underwrite your experience. With three years of experience and an associates degree, you would be pretty damn qualified.

He wants to work in retail though...you'd be surprised how these big national corporations that make up most of the retail industry are trying to retool and set all of these gay standards. They'll take someone with a bachelors degree and no managerial experience, train them, and make them store or district manager over the old man who has been working assistant manager at the store for 25 years but doesn't have that magical four year degree.

Yes, a bachelor's degree can be a magical thing in the United States. Maybe because it costs so much...

Get a job, for one.

If you're already in university and have 2 years and change done, wait out the two years.

AA degrees are for people who can't make it to university because they're working full time or have kids or don't have the resources to take out massive student loans or can't transfer to uni because of aforementioned work or kids or both - the list goes on and on.

You'll find few people who are lazy and just want to go two years. They exist, sure; but they wash out.

Even though it's a two year school there's still a buttload of schoolwork. Final essays and projects usually range from 12 to upwards of 30 pages. This tends to weed out the apathetic quite nicely.

Community colleges aren't for people who want AA degrees - they're for people who consider them a step up from entry level. They're for working class people who NEED AA degrees.

Or, for people who fucked up in HS and need college level credits to transfer OR as a stepping stone for getting a BA at half the cost. You're ass backwards of that last one.

Get a BA. Stay at the university and take more credits each semester, finish in 2 years, and then you'll have your degree and you won't have to worry about whether or not you need one to get the job. Problem solved. Seriously, this is a no brainer. Get the degree and then you'll have it if you need it later on, and you'll hopefully - gasp - learn something along the way.