Secretarial Science Associate's Degree
Earning an associate's degree in secretarial science can prepare you for a career as a secretary or administrative assistant. Learn about required courses and career options.
What Is a Secretarial Science Associate's Degree?
Entering the business world as a secretary isn't as easy as it once was. These days companies are looking for people who have skills already and can hit the ground running. Earning an associate's degree that covers secretarial skills prepares students to enter the corporate world as a qualified secretary or administrative assistant. Now more commonly known as an office administration or office technology degree, this associate's degree is extremely versatile. This means once a student has earned the degree, he or she will be able to find a career in a variety of industries.
<table border="1"><tr><td><b>Degree Fields</b></td><td>Office technology, office administration, secretarial science</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>Common Courses</b></td><td>Business computer applications, office management, records management, office administration, business mathematics</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>Key Skills</b></td><td>Data entry, business communication, Microsoft office, records management, business administration</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>Benefits of Degree</b></td><td>Equips students with a variety of skills, increases employability, prepares students for higher business degrees</td></tr>
<tr><td><b>Salary</b></td><td>$40,420* (mean salary in 2020 for secretaries and administrative assistants) and $52,750* (for legal secretaries)</td></tr>
<tr><td><b> Job Outlook (2019-20269)</b></td><td> 59decline* (<i>for all secretaries and administrative assistants</i>) </td></tr>
</table><p><i>*Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics</i>
</p><h4 id="section---RequiredCourses">Required Courses</h4><p>When a student is trying to earn an office administration or secretarial science associate's degree, he or she will need to pass a number of classes to prepare for working as a secretary in today's business world. For the student to graduate with this degree, he or she will need to complete the following classes:
</p><ul><li>Keyboarding & Word Processing
</li><li>Microsoft Office Professional
</li><li>Data Entry
</li><li>Business Mathematics
</li><li>Business Administration
</li><li>Economics
</li><li>Business Computer Applications
</li><li>Business Communications
</li><li>Records Management
</li><li>Office Management
</li><li>Office Administration
</li></ul><h4 id="section---SkillsObtained">Skills Obtained</h4><p>Once a student graduates with an office administration or secretarial science associate's degree, the student will be fully prepared to enter the workforce as a professional administrative assistant. The skills required to be successful in this field include the following:
</p><ul><li>Business Administrative Skills
</li><li>Microsoft Office Skills
</li><li>Planning Events & Travel
</li><li>Business Software Application Skills
</li><li>Basic Computer Skills
</li><li>Office Management Skills
</li><li>Records Management Skills
</li><li>Business Communication Skills
</li><li>Data Entry Skills
</li></ul><h4 id="section---ReasonsForEarningASecretarialScienceAssociateSDegree">Reasons for Earning a Secretarial Science Associate's Degree</h4><p>In the business world these days, those who can come into a job with some training under their belt are very highly sought after. Therefore an individual who obtains an associate's degree will be prepared for the work required to be a successful administrative assistant. An office administration, office technology or secretarial science associate's degree is a degree that covers a wide variety of business disciplines and leaves a student with skills in areas like computers, software and business technology. Students with this degree will also have the base knowledge necessary to manage an office and other administrative assistants. Many students who earn this degree go on to earn higher business degrees.
</p><h4 id="section---EarningsAndSalaryInformation">Earnings and Salary Information</h4><p>According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, <i>www.bls.gov</i>, secretaries and administrative assistants earned an average yearly salary of $40,420 in 2020. Some occupations provide a higher salary, such as legal secretaries, who earned an average yearly salary of $52,750 in 2020.
</p><p>There is always a demand for qualified administrative professionals in the business world. Those who can come into a job with training are prized because the amount of time it takes to assimilate them to their jobs is greatly shortened. This makes the outlook for students with a secretarial science associate's degree very positive and potentially lucrative. Employees in the business field who have degrees tend to move up the corporate ladder faster than those without credentials. When it comes to the field of administrative assisting, those with degrees can move into executive assistant jobs faster than without degrees.</p>