Education pays. Not only will you earn more, you’ll also be less vulnerable to rising unemployment.

And you don’t need a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree to up your ante.

According to BLS, in 2008, workers over 25 with a 2-year Associate’s Degree earned, on average, $736 a week. Compare that to high school graduates, who made just $591. The unemployment rate for this group is also 2% higher – a very significant gap when it comes to unemployment figures.

A 2-year degree – either online or on site – will put you on your way to a rewarding career as one of the following:

Database Administrator:
If you’re highly logical, and pay close attention to detail, consider a career as a Database Administrator. In this role, you’ll plan, build and maintain computerized information systems –systems like banks’ customer account networks or hospital patient record systems. Your specific duties will vary, as you might be upgrading an existing system or creating and building an entirely new one. As with most jobs, strong communication skills are essential – just think, you’ll need to be able to communicate effectively with other computer personnel, but also with staff who may have no computer training at all.

Median Salary: $48,560
Degree Required: Associate’s in Information Systems
Associate’s in Information Technology

Computer Technical Support
Like fixing computers? A computer support specialist provides tech support either in hardware or software. You ask the user to describe their problem, then guide them through the troubleshooting process. If the problem was caused by a user error, you tell them how to fix it. If it’s a hardware or software issue, you do more in depth research to and identify a solution. You then and then walk the user through steps required to fix it. You’ll need to have strong analytical thinking an problem-solving abilities, and being able to reduce a highly technical issue to the simplest language (so anyone can understand it) will give you an edge.

Median Salary: $44,847
Degree Required: Associate’s in Information Systems
Associate’s in Information Technology

Web Designer
Do you enjoy scrutinizing websites? Do you scoff at their lack of functionality or praise them for a job well done. If you’ve got an eye for design and are good with computers, web design might be the career for you. You may take part in the planning of web pages and come up with ideas for the layout. Once the design has been decided upon, you’ll collect the text documents and images needed to create the site. In addition to creativity and mastery of HTML and FTP, having solid communications skills is essential to this role – web site design is an ongoing process that involves quite a bit of back-and-forth with clients.

Median Salary: $47,710
Degree Required: Associate’s in Visual Communication