College: Associates vs. Bachelors Degree

[Law Knight]

Well, I'm only a Sophomore right now, but I guess it's good to plan ahead.

I know I want to go to college. I'm not sure if I want to get a Associate's Degree or a Bachelor's Degree. I just want to be a Patrol Officer, so I'm kind of leaning towards the Associate's Degree. But I'm sure at some point I would like to rise through the ranks and having a four year degree would definitly help that.

But if I did take the Bachelor's Degree I'd have to wait another year before I would be done with it, or try to get hired and work full time and go to college to finish up my last year, which I don't want to do because the first year as an officer would be hard enough to do without going to college on the side.

Not to mention I heard by the time I would be ready to apply, roughly 6 years I think, department's standards would be up to requiring a 4 year degree anyway, which is what I heard from a few officers. And if they aren't and I still get the four year degree, I would be ahead of the competition that didn't have it.

The college I'm looking at is Alexandria, MN Technical College. It's the best one in my area, I think atelast it has a great reputation. What I like about it is that it is very hands on. What I heard from an Intern that was also on a ride along last night, said that there is a lot of PT and stuff like that, along with being paramilitary, which would be right up my alley. The only bad thing is that they only offer Associate's Degrees.
http://web.alextech.edu/web/Default.aspx?pid=42

So which are you guys taking, or planning to take, or did take out of the Associate's and Bachelor's Degrees and which would you reccomend.

[Kimble]

Not knocking an associate's degree here, as it's a legit academic accomplishment, but your seriously asking if should get a bachelor's degree (which will help you be more competitive over others without) or an associates (half the work, and half the competitive edge)?

You didn't state how old you were, so if you're under 21 yoa, I'd be focusing on the bachelor's degree. Also, with most good departments, they're going to want to see you have some life experience, too. This can be helped by extracurricular activities (sports, academic clubs, honors/awards, etc.), but is generally measured by full-time work experience somewhere (not necessarily in law enforcement). So basically, you've probably got a good bit of time on your hands to strategize how you're going to get educated and enough experience to be a truly competitive candidate for a police agency (unless you apply somewhere that is hurting for numbers). If you've already got substantial work experience somewhere and are older than 21 yoa, the associate's degree may be just enough to distinguish you from other candidates (depends on what their backgrounds and experience are as to whether it gives you an edge or not).

In short, if you're asking if less (2 years) is better than more (4 years), the obvious answer to this is no.

[RO56]

If you don't want to commit to the 4 year degree right off the bat, consider this:

While MORE education is never a BAD thing, an Associates Degree that included obtaining credit hours towards your degree by attending the police academy would definately put you ahead of many other applicants. Here in MI, there are a number of community colleges that allow you to attend the police academy as part of earning your Associate's degree. I'm sure you have some in MN.

When you're finished, you have a degree AND are certifiable.

Further, depending upon the colleges involved and their transfer/articulation agreement, many/most or all of your credit hours earned towards your Associates can be transferred to a 4-year institution towards a Bachelor's degree. Many have curriculums that are 2+2 or 3+1 plans with transfer agreements between the schools specifically designed to help you earn your Associates (including the academy) with 100% of your credit hours being transferrable to a specific 4-year degree program. You also save $$ paying CC tuition rates for your first two or three years, too.

[Law Knight]

I'm 15 right now.

Well, I know that the more education you have is better of coarse. Maybe "vs." wasn't a good topic idea. I was just wondering if your departments think that a Bachelor's Degree is really necessary or if a Associate's would suffice. The PD I Explore with is moving in that direction where you would need a Bachelor's Degree, but I'm not really sure about other Departments. I know that more education is always better but if it wouldn't really matter anyway, I'd rather not do two more years.

I'm anxious to get into the field as soon as possible, but I do understand that it is a competitive field and the more education the better. But I don't really want to wait another year to finish up my Bachelor's Degree when I am eligable to be an officer, at the age of 21 I mean. And if I was to get hired before I finished it, I would have to work full time and go to college, whcih I don't really want to do, because I'm guessing the first year is hard enough without college on the side.

RO56, hmm that sounds pretty awesome. I'd have to check and see how that would all work out in South Dakota though.

I was also wondering, if you get an Associate's Degree from a reputable college, Alexandria Technical College for instance, would the department weigh that over someone who has done a community college with a Bachelor's Degree? Or do they mainly look at the Bachelor's and Associate's Degrees without caring which college you went to?

Thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate it. Sorry about the confusion of the topic's title. If someone could change that to something more approprite for this topic I would appreciate it.

[grumpyirishman]

Go for the 4-year degree. It took me 30 years to get mine, and I wish I had done it in four.:cool:

[RO56]

RO56, hmm that sounds pretty awesome. I'd have to check and see how that would all work out in South Dakota though.

I thought you were in MN? My (bad) assumption ... ;)

I was also wondering, if you get an Associate's Degree from a reputable college, Alexandria Technical College for instance, would the department weigh that over someone who has done a community college with a Bachelor's Degree?

Community colleges are two-year colleges. You can't earn a Bachelor's from a 2 year college. When you earn your BA/BS through a program similar to what I outlined, it is awarded by the 4-year school, not the CC.

Or do they mainly look at the Bachelor's and Associate's Degrees without caring which college you went to?

A Bachelor's from an accredited 4-year school will always be considered better than an Associates. It doesn't really matter WHERE you went to school, until you start comparing apples and apples, and especially when you start comparing degrees in certain fields (e.g., an Engineering degree from MIT or GMI trumps an Engineering degree from Upper Iowa University).

[Law Knight]

Whoops, I thought "community college" simply meant that it wasn't an official state college or prestigous college or something like that.

Grumpyirishman, thanks for the advice. I guess I might as well get the 4 year degree. I can still possibly get hired when I'm 21 and go to college and work full time it will only be for a year anyway.

Taking that into consideration, if I explained I plan on finishing my Bachelor's Degree to the Department, would they still only see it as I have a Associate's since I would have 3 years of college completed but still had to finish up? Do you think a Department would generally be okay with that?

As always, thanks for the advice and input, I truely appreciate it.

[hutchins]

I've got an associates and will have my bachelors in May. I am one of the lucky few that will get it in 4 years. I'm finding that it very much depends on what the departments want. Some of the departments I'm looking into is the Illinois State Police which requires a bachelors, Mesquite, Tx which I believe only needs 30 credits to get hired and they say a bachelors won't help you get hired but will give you a pay raise. And lastly I'm looking at Dane County Wisconsin who needs an associates (within 5 years of work) but will give extra money for a bachelors.

Bottom Line, A bachelors can't hurt but do your homework on where you want to work and what they need/ want. You have time to think about it if your 15 but it is very important that you keep your nose clean and keep yourself to a higher standard. this includes picking friends and every single choice you make. Best of luck to you.

[Law Knight]

Thanks hutchins, I appreciate it. Speaking of that there are some of my friends that are...well on a different path than me. We have been friends for a long time, but now a few of them smoke weed and smoke underage and stuff like that. I'm probably going to have to break the tie soon.

[RO56]

Thanks hutchins, I appreciate it. Speaking of that there are some of my friends that are...well on a different path than me. We have been friends for a long time, but now a few of them smoke weed and smoke underage and stuff like that. I'm probably going to have to break the tie soon.

If you have even a remote interest or belief that you may want to enter LE, you need to break the ties with your dope smoking delinquent friends NOW, not just 'soon'.

All it takes is one incident. From then on, you'll have to worry about explaining that incident when you apply. Not that (depending upon the severity) it would be a show stopper, per se, but if you can completely avoid it by making the right decisions NOW, why not?

[Law Knight]

Yeah, I'll take that advice for sure then. I live right next to them and work with them, and go to school with them so I'll keep the remainder of the relationship peaceful, for lack of a better word, and just deal with them professionally and only when I need to. I've known these guys for a long time, but I do not want it interferrig with job opportunities in the future.

[lawduck]

I am starting the police academy soon and I have a bachelor's in criminal justice. While riding the other night with a veteran officer, he quoted to me, "With that degree, you can do things you couldn't have imagined. Heck, you might even be my boss one day."

You can take away everything from a man but his education. If you can afford it and the opportunity is there, you're a fool for not getting it (bachelor's).

[SENY]

Not to be the party-pooper here, but I don't think there's much more you can do with a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice than you can with an Associate's.

It's your choice, you do what you want. :cool:

[Law Knight]

Yeah, I was talking with a few of the officers here and I am not going to get a Criminal Justice degree. One of them said thy are a dime a dozen within the applicants applying with my town's police department.

I am still going to get a Bachelor's Degree, but I'm not sure in what yet. I might minor is Criminal Justice.

[Kimble]

Not to be the party-pooper here, but I don't think there's much more you can do with a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice than you can with an Associate's.

It's your choice, you do what you want. :cool:

Not at all true. Many departments in my home state gave a 10% pay incentive for a bachelors degree upon hiring, but only gave a 5% pay incentive for an associates. I'd say an extra 5% is a bit more when it comes to paying the bills and having money for fun.

Yeah, I was talking with a few of the officers here and I am not going to get a Criminal Justice degree. One of them said thy are a dime a dozen within the applicants applying with my town's police department.

I am still going to get a Bachelor's Degree, but I'm not sure in what yet. I might minor is Criminal Justice.

I don't have a BS in CJ, but if I had it to do over again I'd probably have minored in CJ and got a major in either Spanish or accounting. These fields aren't for everyone, but definitely nothing wrong with picking a major that is marketable outside the CJ field.