Executive Assistant

Types of Degrees Executive Assistant Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many executive assistant/executive secretary graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Basic Certificate	1,057
Undergraduate Certificate	344
Associate Degree	286
Bachelor’s Degree	85

What Executive Assistant Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, executive assistant/executive secretary majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Executive Assistant/Executive Secretary Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in executive assistant/executive secretary should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for Executive Assistant/Executive Secretary Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to executive assistant/executive secretary:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.

Abilities for Executive Assistant/Executive Secretary Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a executive assistant/executive secretary student include the following:

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Executive Assistant?

This major is dominated by women with about 92% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of executive assistant/executive secretary majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	2
Hispanic or Latino	78
White	0
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	5

How Much Do Executive Assistant Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Executive Assistant/Executive Secretary majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $38,030 to $61,550 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Executive Assistant

Some careers associated with executive assistant/executive secretary require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for executive assistant/executive secretary careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	37.8%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	4.1%
Some College Courses	15.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	27.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	11.3%
Master’s Degree	0.8%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.6%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	1.3%

Online Executive Assistant Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 134 schools offered some type of executive assistant/executive secretary program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	65	15
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	79	14
Bachelor’s Degree	0	0
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	0	0
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Executive Assistant Worth It?

The median salary for a executive assistant/executive secretary grad is $38,030 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

Majors Related to Executive Assistant

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to executive assistant/executive secretary.

Major	Number of Grads
General Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science	6,847
Customer Service Support/Call Center/Teleservice Operation	4,699
Business & Office Technology	2,730
General Office Occupations and Clerical Services	2,122
Other Business Operations Support and Secretarial Services	375
Traffic, Customs, and Transportation Clerk/Technician	270
Parts, Warehousing, and Inventory Management Operations	181
Receptionist	123

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.