Do you have a desire to work in event planning, create a comfortable stay, a memorable vacation, or a positive business travel experience for your clients? An online associate degree in hospitality or tourism may be perfect for you.
Associate degrees are a great alternative to a bachelor’s degree. An associate degree can not only boost your earnings but also can be earned in half the time.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), earning an associate degree can increase your salary by more than $8000 over someone who has a high school diploma alone.
And, if you have already earned that high school diploma and want to go on to earn a bachelor’s degree, an associate degree can be a great first step towards earning that next degree.
In fact, many community colleges have transfer agreements with nearby public and state colleges that make continuing on towards higher education as painless as possible.
Even better, many regionally accredited colleges now offer degree programs online, which can offer a more flexible schedule over classes taken on-campus.
An online associate degree in the hospitality and tourism industry is ideal for students with an interest in:
In about two years, students in an online associate degree program in hospitality and tourism can complete the required 60 credits either online or in person.
During their studies, online students in a hospitality or tourism program will study the theoretical and practical aspects of the thriving hospitality, tourism, event planning, and luxury sectors.
In a hospitality associate degree program, typical courses include business law, event planning, financial record keeping, lodging management, and marketing.
Students will also learn effective communication and problem-solving skills as well as customer service management best practices in the context of hospitality.
In a tourism management program, typical courses include marketing and sales, cruise and resort operations, customer service, and event planning, to name a few.
Graduates of an online associate in hospitality degree program will be prepared for entry-level opportunities in hotel management, travel booking, resort services, event planning, food service, and much more.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median salary for travel agents was over $43,000 per year.
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Career | Job Growth | Avg. Salary |
---|---|---|
Managers, All Other | 6.01% | $103,157 |
Facilities Managers | 6.87% | $96,615 |
Business Teachers, Postsecondary | 6.19% | $84,571 |
Gambling Managers | 14.63% | $77,767 |
Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling | 16.67% | $67,416 |
Bottom 10% | Median | Top 10% |
---|---|---|
$40,200 | $65,720 | $107,179 |
State | Cost of Living | Avg. Salary |
---|---|---|
#2 North Carolina | 11% higher than average | $73,919 |
#3 Delaware | 2% higher than average | $83,691 |
#4 Michigan | 15% higher than average | $68,193 |
#5 New Jersey | 13% higher than average | $89,646 |
#6 Texas | 10% higher than average | $70,013 |
Industry | Avg. Salary |
---|---|
Nuclear Electric Power Generation | $145,410 |
Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing | $139,980 |
Natural Gas Distribution | $135,393 |
If this is your first time taking an online course, the experience may require a time of adjustment. Although you’ll typically learn the same material and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, going online will require greater independence and responsibility than going in person. You’ll be accountable for your own time management, for harnessing the online educational technology that you’ll need to use, and for completing the course requirements, such as listening to lectures, learning lessons, reading texts, and handing in assignments. This means you’ll need to create a suitable workspace for yourself, maintain a realistic schedule, and take the initiative in building relationships with your instructors and classmates. With online college, your goal is to find a balance between independence and engagement.
No. The only part of online education that’s easier than campus-based education is ease of access: all you need is a computer and an internet connection for online education. But even this seeming advantage of online education can be misleading: what’s easier, studying online with your computer and internet connection from your home where you need to cook, clean, pay rent, and maintain a job? Or studying on campus in a dorm where all your living needs are handled by the school, and college staff are there to help you every step of the way?
If you take the commute to campus out of the equation, campus-based education is easier. All the support structures available on campus for students, especially with real people to help you in person, are not there online. The demands on you as an online student will largely be the same as for your campus-based counterpart, but without the same helps.
In general, your online courses will present the same material and test you in the same way as traditional in-person courses. In many cases, you’ll even have the same instructors as your on-campus counterparts. In fact, if you are adjusting to the experience of independent learning with remote educational technology for the first time, online college may be considerably more challenging than campus-based college. For a few insights on how to manage this new online experience, check out our 10 Tips for Adjusting to School Online.
Accreditation is especially important when it comes to online college. This is because the online education landscape is a mix of highly-reputable non-profit institutions on the one end and less-than-reputable for-profit institutions on the other end. Accreditation gives you the power to identify the more reputable actors in online education. Accreditation is a stamp of approval from an independent accrediting agency indicating that a college or university is meeting standards of quality and credibility. School-wide accreditation falls into two major categories: regional and national accreditation. Regional accreditors generally hold jurisdiction only over schools in the states comprising their region, whereas national accreditors hold jurisdiction over schools in all states. Regional accreditation is widely regarded as a more rigorous standard of quality and credibility than national accreditation.
Attending a college or university that is not regionally accredited could limit your opportunities. For students seeking an online education, we strongly recommend that they opt for regionally accredited schools. Regional accreditation ensures eligibility for federal loans and grants, ensures your college credits can be transferred between schools, and ensures that your degree credits can be accepted if you wish to earn an advanced degree. For more on this important topic, check out our What is Accreditation and Why Does It Matter? College & University Accreditation Guide.
As long as your online college degree is regionally accredited (see the previous point), you should have little difficulty transferring most of your credits or credentials to another regionally accredited undergraduate school. Every school carries its own standards and procedures for granting a transfer of credits. In many cases, you will encounter some bureaucratic haggling in which some of your credits will be transferred and others may be refused. However, provided that you have attended an online school with recognized regional accreditation, you should be in good shape in transferring your credits earned online.
In most cases, as long you graduate from a well-regarded, regionally-accredited online college, prospective employers won’t look sideways at your degree. In fact, unless you attend an exclusively online college or university, there will likely be no specific indicator on your degree, transcript, or resumé differentiating your school from its brick-and-mortar counterpart. This means that your employer will likely only differentiate between an online and in-person degree if you mention this distinction.
Some employers may express the concern that because you did your degree online, you may need to transition from an online education experience to in-person workplace experience. But in an age of Covid, that concern seems much diminished. The fact is that much employment these days is remote. And collaboration increasingly happens online over Zoom. Many employers will therefore view your online degree as evidence of valuable 21st century professional skills such as independence, self-motivation, time management, and tech savvy.
If you are a student who thrives on the dynamic energy of in-person discussion, who requires the physical surroundings of a classroom to feel engaged, or who considers the social aspects of education to be of equal importance to the actual content of your courses, online education will be less than ideal for you (though depending on your circumstances, it may also be the only viable option).
While there is much in traditional campus-based education that can be substituted or simulated through the online medium, some students may find that there is nothing that can replace the conversation, collaboration, and motivation that occur in an actual in-person classroom setting. As you transition to online education, one of the biggest challenges you will likely face in getting the most out of your online classes is overcoming this difference between “real reality” and “virtual reality.” Fortunately, we’ve got some great Tips for Online Education Beginners.
The advantages of online classes are many. Above all, online courses give you the freedom and flexibility to attend class from anywhere that works for you, whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or in a quiet conference room at work. In many cases, you’ll also enjoy the convenience of asynchronous learning opportunities-educational experiences that you can complete at your own pace and on your own schedule. This may include pre-taped lectures, ongoing chat-board discussions, and 24/7 access to digital materials. And of course, just as there are some learners who prefer the energy of a live classroom, there are those who learn best when working in their own personal space, free from distractions. If this sounds like you, you might find the solitude of online learning to be a major advantage.
Whether you’re just getting started on your college search, you’re looking for survival tips on your way to a bachelor’s degree, or you’re preparing for the transition into grad school, we’ve got guides, how to’s and tons of other valuable resources to keep you moving forward in your educational journey.
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