An Associate of Arts (AA) degree in business opens up to you a host of career, educational and personal opportunities. Your Associate of Arts (or Associate in Arts, as it is more often called) will cover many areas including management, accounting, auditing, finance and other general business disciplines. The AA degree in business is recognized by most industries as long as the degree is received from an accredited school (see Reference 2).

Further Education

One of the purposes of an associate degree is to prepare you to continue onto another level of education such as a bachelor's degree. Most associate degree programs, like those in a community college, provide transferable credits that can be used for the core course requirements that four-year college students need to complete before majoring in a subject.

Further Existing Career

An Associate of Arts degree in business allows you to further an already established career. For example, a bank teller can move up or qualify for a management position once he has earned the associate degree. This accomplishment shows the employer that you want to continue learning and are willing to educate yourself in order to fulfill certain job requirements. This also shows that you intend to advance at the company by learning as much as you can on the job as well as off the job.

Better Career Options

A business degree may open up other career doors. You can use the Associate of Arts in business to enter retail, banking, manufacturing and other industries that require college in order to qualify for a position. A person working in a service capacity can easily find a better job after completing an associate degree, and that job may include more opportunities for advancement and other benefits.

Higher Wages

Worldwidelearn.com estimates are that a person with an associate degree makes approximately $8,000 more a year than a person with just a high school diploma. Figuring a 40-year work life and the cost of an associate degree, which is just over $26,000 as of 2010, the individual will make an additional $294,000 in lifetime earnings compared to a high school graduate, not even including any pay raises he may receive (see Reference 6).