Weird Situation: Should I pursue an associates for the kicks?

[LtheUKAmerican]

I'm a little hesitant to say the AA degree is worthless because this is in the UK. I don't know if UK employers respect the AA degree. But if the story was the same except the job is in the US, then I would say the AA is worthless. Except for a very few narrow exceptions like RN nursing, Collecting an AA degree is like collecting a second high school diplomas and trying to push off that joke credential to employers. Is there something in the job ad/requirement that says the AA degree will give you a specific raise? If not, concentrate on the main goal which is the speedy and efficient completion of the BA degree and don't get sidetracked with this AA degree stuff.

It's mostly for kicks but the main idea:
With an associates plus certtesol, I qualify almost automatically to be certified as a tutor by most of the major organisations in the us. This plus my foundation certificate emphasis on maths and physics in the uk means i would be able to tutor English as a second language, high school/1st year college level maths and physics and being bilingual in French I could also teach that more informally on websites like Italki. This does pay quite well for a part time gig compared to serving beers. One that pays high enough to where I could realistically pay off a not insignificant part of my student loans before I even finish school. Tutors are always in demand.

The idea is:
Test out of Associates of Science in Liberal Arts at Excelsior
Get certified as a tutor by NTA or a similar organisation
Work part time as a tutor during term time, full time during breaks.
Put the money towards emergency funds/savings as well as keeping my debt down for my bigger career trajectory.

Another thing to note is that since I would be tutoring online I would be able to go and spend a few months on the continent during the summers in say Germany or France, and there I would be able to work at a hostel part time for accommodation + work part time online for spending money. I did this before in Canada. This would allow me to add a multicultural employment history to my CV/Resume, albeit one emphasised on hospitality. I would like to keep this up with more countries in the future but without a steady freelance gig online like I used to have it is tough as I have to payback loans and volunteering at hostels means they can't pay you cash since you don't have a work visa. I lost most of my English students when I quit tutoring for awhile to focus on school, so if I could build myself back up or became apart of a tutoring agency where I have a guaranteed amount of hours because I have an NTA certification, that would be ideal. Plus it would be like free study abroads!

Tldr, the associates itself would be a stepping stone to a tutoring qualification.

[Thorne]

Tldr, the associates itself would be a stepping stone to a tutoring qualification.

If that is the goal and that is how things work, then go for the AA/AS/AAS degree.