Going the AGS route will usually ensure that you have finished all of the general education requirements for graduation from a University, so that you can concentrate on your major courses once you get there.

It is a good idea to use your associate’s to reinforce your future bachelor’s degree. The avenues that are going to offered to you when you finish your B.S. are these.

1. Enter financial services industry focused on financial sales. These are commission based jobs that range from selling financial planning at a company like Ameriprise, to insurance and planning at MetLife, to insurance for Prudential, or mortgages through Countrywide. In essence, they are all financial related sales jobs. If you have the charisma, don’t mind the rejections and hassle of cold calling, it can be a very lucrative field. Fair warning is that many many people go into these fields and simply don’t make it. Especially right out of school.

If you decide you like financial sales then it is better to have an associate’s in a more generic field to make you well-rounded and be able to relate to customers. I would recommend an economics degree, communications, or even English or history.

The next avenue is becoming a Financial Analyst. This is a combination job between finance and accounting. Typically, they are competitive and offered by bigger businesses like Prudential, CIGNA, The Hartford, Travelers. The insurance companies and other finance companies have a huge demand for these people. Also, every company small and big needs good finance people to analyze cash flows, meet GAAP standard for accounting, and operate A/P and A/R.

The best way to build your resume for a job in corporate finance doing financial analysis is to have a background in accounting. An associate’s in accounting and a B.S. in finance would make you very attractive to a lot of companies in your area.

The valuation side of finance, is typically the higher paying side, and the more exciting. That is the Investment analyst, the Real Estate analyst, the traders, the brokers and the investment bankers. When you start into the world of valuation it becomes a lot more numbers based and blends those numbers with relatability. To succeed in the valuation world you need to be well rounded in a lot of subjects from general economics, to communication, to accounting standars and financial valuation. Again an associates in accounting would probably serve you best, but it would be a good idea to aim as many gen ed credits as you can to economic classes, communication classes, software classes, mathematics and statistics. If accounting is the best associate’s, mathematics is a close second to getting into the valuation field. Note: To be an investment banker, or top investment analyst be it stocks, bonds or real estate many places will want you to go back for an MBA within five years of completing your B.S.

Their are a lot of opportunities in the finance world. It is tough, jobs are competitive, the hours can be brutal and it is important to pick an avenue that you feel comfortable with.

Accounting is my final recommendation but make sure you are solid in your math classes, and stats if you want to do valuation. Make sure you arn’t afraid to give presentations because no matter which avenue you choose you will be speaking to people and in financial services case food on your table and making your bills will depend on that talent.

Good luck and God bless.