At Brunswick County Early College High School, students can obtain a high school diploma and an associate’s degree within four to five years. Many students decide to continue their education and attend a university, but some students decide to go straight into the workforce. Students that decide to go straight into the workforce have many opportunities as there are numerous job openings in Brunswick County that require an associate’s degree of some sort. 

The first job in Brunswick County that requires an associate’s degree is a Billing Technician in Bolivia, North Carolina. This job requires an associate’s degree in accounting, and it requires one to two years of experience in customer service and billing, which many early college students have by the end of their high school and community college careers. A billing technician performs specialized clerical work including preparing water and sewer utility bills, maintaining customer accounts, and verifying and posting payments and charges to customer accounts for Public Utilities. The salary for this position is $17.59-$23.74/hour. 

Another job in Brunswick County that requires an associate’s degree is a Substitute Teacher for Brunswick County Schools. The job requires an associate’s degree or at least 48 hours of college credits, and the completion of an effective teacher training course. This is a good opportunity for anyone who is interested in the education field and may want to become a teacher one day. A substitute teacher’s job is to help students learn subject matter that is required for scheduled lessons, in the absence of a regular classroom teacher. The salary for this position is $161/daily, which is about $20-$23/hour. 

One more job that requires an associate’s degree is a hair stylist at Great Clips, which has numerous locations in Brunswick County. This job requires a cosmetology and/ or barber license, which can be obtained by passing the State Board of Cosmetic Arts examination, which BCC graduates can take shortly after completing their associate’s degree. Great Clips provides a good opportunity for workers to advance their careers, and they allow employees flexible scheduling. The salary for this position is approximately $21/hour. 

Whether students decide to go to a university or go straight into the workforce, it is clear that Firebirds have a bright future full of great opportunities.