---

General Office & Clerical Services

Types of Degrees General Office & Clerical Services Majors Are Earning

Those studying General Office & Clerical Services may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	854
Associate’s Degree	86
Master’s Degree	586

What General Office & Clerical Services Majors Need to Know

Coursework for General Office & Clerical Services emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that General Office & Clerical Services graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing General Office & Clerical Services emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Administrative — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.4 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

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

Skills

The skill set built by a General Office & Clerical Services program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 3.2 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to General Office & Clerical Services careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Near Vision — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.3 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, General Office & Clerical Services graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.3 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.0 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.0 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	3.9 / 7
Processing Information	3.9 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.8 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	3.7 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	3.7 / 7
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings	3.7 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by General Office & Clerical Services professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
SAP software	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Windows	Operating system software	—
Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne	Enterprise resource planning ERP software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for General Office & Clerical Services graduates include:

• Export Coordinator
• Freight Forwarder
• Air Export Coordinator
• Freight Specialist
• Transportation Clerk
• Cargo Agent
• Freight Router
• Shipping Coordinator
• Receiver
• Import Export Clerk
• Route Clerk
• Freight Coordinator
• Cargo Router
• Ocean Import Agent
• Logistics Service Representative

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
High school diploma or equivalent	36.1%
Bachelor’s degree	20.4%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	19.3%
Some college courses	12.5%
Postsecondary certificate	8.7%
Master’s degree	2.5%
Less than a high school diploma	0.6%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in General Office & Clerical Services?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 71.2% of General Office & Clerical Services degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1,099	71.2%
Men	444	28.8%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of General Office & Clerical Services graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	453	29.4%
Asian	27	1.7%
Hispanic or Latino	484	31.4%
Black or African American	238	15.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native	18	1.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	5	0.3%
Two or More Races	48	3.1%
Race Unknown	265	17.2%
International Students	5	0.3%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do General Office & Clerical Services Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of General Office & Clerical Services graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise 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 General Office & Clerical Services Programs

Fully online options is tracked by IPEDS for General Office & Clerical Services. 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	5	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 General Office & Clerical Services Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, General Office & Clerical Services 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	CIP Code
Business Operations Support and Assistant Services	52.04
Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, General	52.0401
Business Operations Support and Secretarial Services, Other	52.0499
Business/Office Automation/Technology/Data Entry	52.0407
Customer Service Support/Call Center/Teleservice Operation	52.0411
Executive Assistant/Executive Secretary	52.0402
Parts, Warehousing, and Inventory Management Operations	52.0409
Receptionist	52.0406
Traffic, Customs, and Transportation Clerk/Technician	52.0410

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.