Getting the Degree

• An associate's degree can be obtained at community colleges throughout the country as well as through an abundance of online colleges and universities. A few online colleges that offer associate's degrees are University of Phoenix, DeVry University, Argosy University, The Art Institute, Kaplan University, Colorado Technical University Online, Virginia College Online and Westwood College. There is a wide range of associate's degrees from which to choose from agricultural studies and wildlife and natural-resource management to health-care informatics.
  
  

Careers

• Career choices for those who have an associate's degree can be found in business and finance. You do not always need a bachelor's degree to get a career in these areas. The most popular career choices in the business and finance fields are accountant, tax specialist, financial analyst, marketing consultant and operations manager.
  
  Computer science is a fast-growing field. People who have a two-year associate's degree in this field are likely to find employment as a web designer, graphic artist, systems administrator, support specialist or desktop publisher.
  
  Criminal justice used to accept people who had merely a high school diploma; now it will only accept people who have an associate's degree or better. Careers for someone with an associate's degree in the criminal justice field include court bailiff, crime-scene investigator, police officer, court administrator or corrections officer.
  
  Health care is another job field that has abundant opportunities for people who have an associate's degree. A few of the job opportunities include registered nurse, radiation therapist, health-information technologist and occupational-therapy assistant.
  
  Science and technology is an in-demand career field and offers job opportunities to those with an associate's degree as an engineering technician, biological technician, forensic-science technician, mechanical-engineering technician and environmental-science technician.