Hospitality Management Associate Degree Online
Guide to programs offering a Hospitality Management Associate Degree
Imagine getting to work in an exotic place like Hawaii or the Caribbean, right on the beach. Or, if you're a skier, imagine having the luxury of working in Vail, Colorado at one of the ski resorts there, or in Big Sky, Montana, where they can ski 8 months out of the year. If you love being out on the ocean, can you imagine getting to work on a cruise ship where everyday is spent out on the water? If you're into horseback riding, wouldn't it be amazing to work on a huge dude ranch and get to go trail riding on your time off?
Most people go on vacation for a week or two and then go back to their "ordinary life". Well, with a hospitality management associate degree you have the chance to make everyone else's one-week vacation your everyday life. You can work anywhere there is a hotel, resort, spa, or restaurant, so this means that the world's your oyster.
With a hospitality management associate degree you'll be qualified to work as an assistant manager or higher in many travel and leisure fields. The hospitality industry is fast-paced, challenging, fun, and very people-intensive. You also have the chance to move up the ranks very quickly in most places.
With a hospitality management associate degree you'll get to learn things like front-office management, reservation systems, food and beverage management, customer service techniques, tour and destination planning, safety and sanitation, health and nutrition, travel and tourism marketing, and much more.
Professionals with an associate degree in hospitality management make sure that their guests have the most enjoyable experience possible when they're away from home. This means that you need to be skilled at working with many different types of people. You also will often have to make important decisions on the fly, and be highly organized to make sure your hotel, resort, or restaurant runs as smoothly as possible. There's no doubt that this field is fast-paced and will always keep you on your toes!
With an associate degree in hospitality management you can expect to make between $27,000 to $40,000, depending on which field you get into. If you pursue your Bachelor's Degree in hospitality management, you can expect your salary to go up much higher than this.
This is also a field that is expected to keep growing. The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that jobs in the hospitality industry will grow at 17% until at least 2014, so finding a job shouldn't be difficult. And, like we said before, you can live and work where your own interests lie. For example, if you love surfing then you can work in a resort in Hawaii and surf in your time off. If you love getting massages and facials, then you could work managing an elite spa in New York. This is definitely a field where you can blend work and play, and it's this aspect that draws many people to this industry.
If you love working with people and are highly organized, then a hospitality management associate degree might be the perfect first step towards a fun and challenging career.
