Get Workforce Ready
Ready to get to work? Start with a certificate or degree from Copper Mountain College in your field. When you launch your career, you have the skills and are ready to succeed.
Blend hands-on skill (know-how) and theory (know-why) for some of the most rewarding careers around. Our experienced professors lead you through skill-building courses in real-world environments.
Choose your field and choose the way you want to package your college education in that field. A shorter program can get you started working. Then add courses, certificates, and degrees as you go. Get just the college you need to move into roles with more scope and more responsibility.
Turn to us for the next chapter in your education. You can be workforce-ready in record time.
Why Go to College If I Want to Go to Work?
A college education gives you a more complete set of skills and a greater chance of success as you continue in your work.
Turn Your Passion into Paychecks
If you love to bake or fiddle with engines, you already know a lot, just from doing what you love. Yet the professional worlds of pastry chefs and auto techs include so many more skills and ways of understanding the material. Loving it isn’t enough. You need to know it from every angle.
Impress Your Next Boss
You may know enough to continue working in the job you’re in. Copper Mountain College shapes your program around what is current and what is coming next for your field. You also improve your ability to talk to people (especially people without your specialized skills), to solve problems that cross into other people’s expertise, and to think of new solutions.
Earn More
Over the years, education pays off. Some college means more earnings than high school alone. An associate degree is even more. According to the Association for Career & Technical Education, CTE associate degrees and certificates can pay $10,000 more than associate degrees in other fields and can even pay more than bachelor’s degrees.
Choose Your Badge: Certificates & Degrees
You go to college to learn—and to show the world what you’ve learned. As you reach certain levels in your college education, you receive a credential, or badge.
In most Career & Technical Education (CTE) programs, you choose to pursue a certificate or an associate degree. Certificates represent key phases or sets of skills in your education. Your degree completes it.
Where you set your next finish line is up to you. Here are some things to understand about each credential.
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Certificate of Proficiency = Skills for Work
A certificate of proficiency indicates you’ve mastered one aspect of your field. It’s the quickest certificate to earn. You can usually complete one of these in less than a year. Depending on your chosen field and past work experience, this may be enough to start your new career. It’s often considered a “local” certificate; it has no recognition at the state level.
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Certificate of Achievement = Skills for Your Career
This longer-term certificate recognizes you are prepared to get to work in this area. They take between one and two years to complete. The State of California recognizes these certificates and the preparation they represent.
In some programs, you can earn a certificate of proficiency first, then come back to take the additional classes you need for a certificate of achievement. It’s also possible to take additional classes after a certificate to complete an associate degree. Talk to a counselor to make a solid plan.
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Associate in Arts = General College Education
This is the broadest and most general associate degree. It focuses on the most common college education goals: improving your writing, reasoning, and math skills.
This broad approach makes an A.A. degree more flexible. It’s a great foundation for work that involves communicating well or organizing teams. It’s also flexible when used as the first two years of a four-year degree.
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Associate in Science = Math & Science Education
This is the broadest and most general associate degree. It focuses on the most common college education goals: improving your writing, reasoning, and math skills.
This broad approach makes an A.A. degree more flexible. It’s a great foundation for work that involves communicating well or organizing teams. It’s also flexible when used as the first two years of a four-year degree.
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“T” = Guaranteed Transfer to CSU
An A.A.-T and an A.S.-T are associate degrees that have been designed for guaranteed transfer to a California State University (CSU). Earning either one will count as the first two years of your CSU degree.
If your first goal is to get to work, you will probably choose a certificate or an associate degree without the transfer guarantee. If your goal changes, though, know that these options are available.
Some Copper Mountain College transfer degrees may also match a guaranteed transfer pathway to certain University of California (UC) schools. If you’re aiming for UC, work with your academic counselor to make a good plan.
You can apply to other universities as well. You just don’t have the guarantee or the assurance that your credits will apply to your four-year degree in the way you plan. Work with your CMC counselor and a transfer admission counselor at your chosen university as early in your CMC career as you can.