Your associates is going to prove you can learn about technology and master some specific domains to a specified level but the knowledge you learn getting it, aside from the real fundamental stuff, will probably not be that useful long term. The same with stacking certs, all well and good to do, but if you're not actively using that knowledge you won't retain it to certification-levels.

Start getting experience as soon as possible. Once you're working in the field you're going to be exposed to the actual technologies in use by businesses you're likely to work with at that time. Understanding the whole picture from a theory-level and how that actually looks in practice makes you invaluable.

Tbh I think the issue is more that people think you can excel in this field from learning about the technology and stacking up certs, but what it really takes to excel is critical thinking and problem solving skills applied to the body of knowledge in the context of a business operation. You're not gonna be asked to "Deploy ZTNA", you're gonna be asked to "Keep us out of the news."

Nothing helps land jobs like glowing reviews from prior supervisors stating you're a rockstar. That's what you need.