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Office Administration

Types of Degrees Office Administration Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Office Administration may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	252
Associate’s Degree	1,025
Bachelor’s Degree	291
Master’s Degree	1,542

What Office Administration Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Office Administration build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Office Administration graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing Office Administration emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Administration and Management — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

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

Skills

Skills emphasized by a Office Administration program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Coordination — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Monitoring — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Office Administration careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Office Administration graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Working with Computers	4.4 / 7
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.2 / 7
Processing Information	4.1 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.0 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	3.9 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	3.9 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	3.9 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Office Administration professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Minitab	Analytical or scientific software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
IBM SPSS Statistics	Analytical or scientific software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Dynamics GP	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
SAP Business Objects	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—
IBM Notes	Electronic mail software	—
Database software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Fund accounting software	Accounting software	—
Oracle Hyperion	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Office Administration graduates include:

• Business Office Manager
• Administrative Coordinator
• Administrative Officer
• Business Manager
• Inventory Control Supervisor
• Real Estate Office Supervisor
• Purchasing and Claims Supervisor
• Claims Supervisor
• Magazine Supervisor
• Inventory Administrator
• Production Clerks Supervisor
• Dispatch Manager
• Survey Workers Supervisor
• Gate Services Supervisor
• Mail Sorting Supervisor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Office Administration graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	41.7%
High school diploma or equivalent	24.9%
Some college courses	18.9%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	10.0%
Postsecondary certificate	2.7%
Master’s degree	1.8%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in Office Administration?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 74.3% of Office Administration degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	2,323	74.3%
Men	803	25.7%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Office Administration graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,373	43.9%
Asian	148	4.7%
Hispanic or Latino	773	24.7%
Black or African American	516	16.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native	42	1.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	13	0.4%
Two or More Races	119	3.8%
Race Unknown	91	2.9%
International Students	51	1.6%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Office Administration Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Office Administration 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	$62,537
4 years	$63,883
5 years	$71,749

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $71,749 — roughly 15% above the 1-year mark.

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

Online Office Administration Programs

Fully online options is reported by IPEDS for Office Administration. 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	54	19
Bachelor’s	3	9
Master’s	2	0

^{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 Office Administration Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Office Administration graduates earn a median of $63,883 four years after completion — roughly 68% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{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	CIP Code
Business Administration, Management and Operations	52.02
Business Administration and Management, General	52.0201
Business Administration, Management and Operations, Other	52.0299
Customer Service Management	52.0207
E-Commerce/Electronic Commerce	52.0208
Logistics, Materials, and Supply Chain Management	52.0203
Non-Profit/Public/Organizational Management	52.0206
Operations Management and Supervision	52.0205
Organizational Leadership	52.0213
Project Management	52.0211
Purchasing, Procurement/Acquisitions and Contracts Management	52.0202
Research Administration	52.0214

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.