There is no universally correct answer here, only a correct answer for your situation.
Certificate. A few months to two years. Focused entirely on a specific occupation, with little or no general education coursework. Strongest fit when you know the job you want and that job asks for a specific technical skill. In Kansas, many certificate programs at community and technical colleges are Kansas Promise Scholarship eligible, which can cover tuition, fees, books, and required materials.
Associate degree. Roughly two years, and the flavor matters. An Associate of Arts or Associate of Science is designed to transfer, covering your first two years of a bachelor’s at a fraction of university cost. An Associate of Applied Science is designed to put you directly into a career and generally does not transfer course-for-course, so credits get evaluated individually by a receiving school.
Bachelor’s degree. Roughly four years. Required for entry into some fields, including most teaching, engineering, social work, and nursing at the BSN level.
How to decide. Start with the job, not the credential. Look up the occupation on O*NET OnLine to see what education level is typical, use CareerOneStop for local salary ranges, and check College Scorecard for what graduates of specific programs actually earn.
You are not locking anything in. Kansas is set up so these paths connect. A certificate can stack into an associate degree, and an associate degree can transfer into a bachelor’s. Starting narrow does not close the wider door.
Want to talk it through? Level Up Kansas offers free navigators to Kansans 18 and older.
Sources: O*NET OnLine, onetonline.org; CareerOneStop, careeronestop.org; College Scorecard, collegescorecard.ed.gov; Kansas Board of Regents, kansasregents.gov/scholarships_and_grants; Johnson County Community College transfer guidance on AAS and AGS evaluation, jccc.edu/student-resources/transfer; Level Up Kansas, levelupks.com.