At HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s Community College, we understand you might want to enter the workforce or transfer to a four-year school prior to earning your HACC degree, certificate or diploma. However, as the first and largest community college in Pennsylvania, we know the importance of earning a degree, certificate or diploma. Our alumni network of over 100,000 also understand its importance!
Once you complete YOUR HACC requirements, you earn a degree, certificate or diploma that you’ll have for the rest of your life – something you can carry with you when you’re ready to enter the workforce or transfer to that four-year school.
Here are just a few reasons why you should complete YOUR HACC degree, certificate or diploma.
This chart, courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, proves:
- The unemployment rate is lower for individuals who earn their associate degree when compared to those with less education.
- The median usual weekly earnings are higher (more than $100) for those who earn their associate degree when compared to those with a high school diploma.
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data shown in the chart above, having an associate’s degree instead of just “some college credits but no degree” may allow you to earn an average of an additional $36,400” over a ten-year period.
Earning YOUR HACC degree, certificate or diploma increases the job opportunities that are available to you.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Employment in associate’s and postsecondary nondegree-level occupations is projected to grow 11 percent from 2016 to 2026, faster than the 7-percent average projected for all occupations. In occupations typically requiring some college but no degree, employment is projected to grow 4 percent.
The skills that you have earned may be perfect for your current job, but having your degree, certificate or diploma can help move you to the next level in your career. As students who earn their associate degree can enter the workforce quicker, graduates may also qualify for tuition reimbursement from their employer to earn their next degree.
According to the NACE Center, employers seek these skills on a candidate’s resumé:
- Ability to work in a team (61% of employers)
- Analytical/quantitative skills (50.4% of employers)
- Communication skills (written/verbal) (50% of employers)
- Problem-solving skills (61.4% of employers)
- Strong work ethic (52.4% of employers)
- Technical skills (50% of employers)
YOUR HACC experience will provide you with these attributes! To view a full list of attributes, please visit the NACE Center website.
#HACCyeah! Many of HACC’s articulation agreements have extra benefits built in for students who complete their associate degree, such as guaranteed admission, waiver of application fee and guaranteed transfer of all 60 credits, and, in some cases, scholarships and other financial incentives for transferring with an earned associate degree.
When students transfer before completing their associate, the transfer school may not accept all of their credits.
No matter what happens in the future, you will always have your HACC degree, certificate or diploma.
Life circumstances can change at any moment. Your plan may be to come back and finish your degree, certificate or diploma in a few years or earn your bachelor’s degree. But circumstances may change. To set yourself up for continued success, finish your HACC degree, certificate or diploma to receive these many benefits now and in the future.
"HACC has provided me with great confidence for when I do transfer." - Bailey Neveker, HACC Alumnus
"Occupations that typically require workers to have an associate’s degree for entry had a median annual wage of $52,830 in 2017."
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
