Earning an Associate degree is a smart decision to minimize time and money spent while maximizing your education. There are many associate degrees to get you into the workforce and doing what you want to do. These are your top 10 associate degrees with the most employment prospects.
- Dental Hygienist
A dental hygienist is responsible for communicating with the patient, cleaning their teeth, examining for oral diseases, and providing preventative care. The job outlook for this career is very good. The average pay is $75,000 per year. The best part is a dental hygienist will always be needed, and you can work in any dentist’s office.
- Radiation Therapist
Like many of the current jobs, there are lots of openings due to baby boomers retiring. Working as a radiation therapist, you would work in a hospital treating cancer and other diseases with radiation treatment. The salary for this career is $80,000 on average, has great job growth, and you can work both in a hospital and outpatient center.
- Nuclear Medicine Technologist
A Nuclear Medicine Technologist career is expected to grow greatly. This career uses radiation to identify, diagnose, and treat medical issues. You do have to go to an accredited nuclear technology program for this associate degree.
- Medical Sonographer
Another medical profession is a Medical Sonographer
They create images of the body using special equipment that you can use to diagnose patients. The machine you would learn to use uses sound waves and vibrations to create an image for the doctor. The medical field is full of opportunities in the coming years.
- Respiratory Therapist
Respiratory therapists help people who have chronic respiratory diseases or ones that recently lost the strength or ability to breathe fully. These people include babies, those with sleep disorders, heart attacks, the elderly, or emergency services for drownings, shock, or other airway issues. As a respiratory therapist, you work closely with patients and should be able to communicate, think critically, and help assess and educate the patient. This job has a salary of $60,000, but the job growth looks great for the future.
- Radiologic & MRI Technologist
A Radiologic & MRI Technologist manages the MRI and radiological machines. The MRI is used to diagnose patients with tumors, joint pain, cancers, heart problems, cysts, soft tissue issues, and other medical issues. An MRI technologist needs to communicate with a patient and have empathy, have strong math skills, be organized, and think critically. This career has lots of opportunities for employment and has a great outlook. Pay for this career is $65,000 per year.
- Mortician
A funeral director or mortician is involved with all aspects of a person dying. They embalm the body, are part of the burial or cremation, and arrange all funeral aspects. As a mortician, you can work independently or work for a funeral home. You must have empathy, good communication skills, be able to handle working with a human body after death, be organized, and pay attention to detail. The top paid morticians make $80,000 per year, but the average salary is around $50,000.
- HVAC Installer
HVAC installers work on HVAC systems which are heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. They install, repair, replace, and maintain HVAC systems. They work in all types of settings, from businesses to homes. This career will never be replaced and has become a necessity in both homes and businesses. The outlook for this job is great, and won’t be going anywhere.
As an HVAC installer, you must be able to communicate, have strong technical skills, know how to handle situations that may be emergencies, and you may have to work on-call or at odd hours. You can run your own company or work for an already established company. This career makes $60,000 on average and can include overtime pay and benefits.
