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Business Support & Assistance

Types of Degrees Business Support & Assistance Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Business Support & Assistance can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	3,043
Associate’s Degree	2,516
Bachelor’s Degree	352
Master’s Degree	7,177

What Business Support & Assistance Majors Need to Know

Programs in Business Support & Assistance build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Business Support & Assistance graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Business Support & Assistance emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills emphasized by a Business Support & Assistance program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Service Orientation — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Business Support & Assistance careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Near Vision — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Business Support & Assistance graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Working with Computers	4.3 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Processing Information	3.9 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	3.9 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	3.9 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.9 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	3.8 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	3.8 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	3.7 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Business Support & Assistance professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
SAP software	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	✓
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Database software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Intuit QuickBooks	Accounting software	✓
Adobe Acrobat	Document management software	—
Microsoft SharePoint	Document management software	✓

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Business Support & Assistance graduates include:

• Administrative Coordinator
• Office Assistant
• Automotive Service Advisor
• Warranty Administrator
• Shipping Coordinator
• Receiver
• Hub Associate
• Export Coordinator
• Air Export Coordinator
• Transportation Clerk
• Freight Router
• Freight Forwarder
• Cargo Agent
• Freight Specialist
• Staff Assistant

What Can You Do With a Business Support & Assistance Degree?

Graduates with a degree in Business Support & Assistance commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Cargo and Freight Agents	8.2%	$54,941	$45,304–$64,578
Customer Service Representatives	9.4%	$62,906	$51,661–$74,152
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers	-0.4%	$27,636	$23,670–$31,602
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive	-3.9%	$42,498	$33,141–$51,856
Order Clerks	-0.5%	$58,253	$46,346–$70,160
Freight Forwarders	0.3%	$46,360	$38,810–$53,910
Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping	11.9%	$57,361	$48,763–$65,960
Receptionists and Information Clerks	11.4%	$42,506	$35,196–$49,817
Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants	1.2%	$59,046	$49,560–$68,532
Correspondence Clerks	-2.6%	$50,840	$42,040–$59,641
Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks	4.7%	$34,431	$26,701–$42,161
File Clerks	-2.9%	$28,086	$22,160–$34,012

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Business Support & Assistance graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
High school diploma or equivalent	36.2%
Bachelor’s degree	23.3%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	15.2%
Some college courses	13.8%
Postsecondary certificate	7.7%
Master’s degree	2.5%
Less than a high school diploma	0.5%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	0.5%
Post-master’s certificate	0.2%
First professional degree	0.1%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Business Support & Assistance?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 67.7% of Business Support & Assistance degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	10,942	67.7%
Men	5,211	32.3%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Business Support & Assistance graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	7,081	43.8%
Asian	468	2.9%
Hispanic or Latino	3,678	22.8%
Black or African American	3,076	19.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native	192	1.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	49	0.3%
Two or More Races	484	3.0%
Race Unknown	1,032	6.4%
International Students	93	0.6%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Business Support & Assistance Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Business Support & Assistance graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$24,716
4 years	$28,352
5 years	$31,368

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $31,368 — roughly 27% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Business Support & Assistance Programs

Distance learning is reported by IPEDS for Business Support & Assistance. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Associate’s	126	73
Bachelor’s	3	2

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Business Support & Assistance Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Business Support & Assistance graduates earn a median of $28,352 four years after completion — about 25% below the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000). On earnings alone, this program does not show an income premium over the baseline; non-financial outcomes (career interests, certification requirements, advancement potential) are typically the stronger argument for fields in this range.

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	Annual Degrees Awarded
Business Administration, Management and Operations	402,942
Accounting and Related Services	81,835
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	62,236
Business/Commerce, General	57,976
Finance and Financial Management Services	57,564
Marketing	53,750
Human Resources Management and Services	25,424
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations	14,306
Hospitality Administration/Management	13,333
Management Information Systems and Services	12,092
Real Estate	7,906
International Business	6,933

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.