Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant and Medical Secretary

Types of Degrees Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant and Medical Secretary Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many medical administrative/executive assistant & medical secretary graduations there were in 2021-2022 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Associate Degree	2,999
Basic Certificate	2,581
Undergraduate Certificate	2,001

What Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant and Medical Secretary Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, medical administrative/executive assistant and medical 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 Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant and Medical Secretary Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• 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.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant and Medical Secretary Majors

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

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• 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.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.

Abilities for Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant and Medical Secretary Majors

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

• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant and Medical Secretary Major?

People with a medical administrative/executive assistant and medical secretary degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Medical Assistants	29.0%	$33,610
Medical Secretaries	22.5%	$35,760

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant and Medical Secretary?

The major attracts more women than men. About 97% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	97
Black or African American	1,250
Hispanic or Latino	341
White	1,106
International Students	9
Other Races/Ethnicities	196

How Much Do Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant and Medical Secretary Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant and Medical Secretary majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $34,540 to $37,090 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

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 Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant and Medical Secretary

Some degrees associated with medical administrative/executive assistant and medical secretary may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

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

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	24.4%
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)	42.3%
Some College Courses	25.0%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	9.8%

Online Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant and Medical Secretary Programs

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)	179	30
Certificate (2-4 Years)	3	0
Associate’s Degree	190	46
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 Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant and Medical Secretary Worth It?

The median salary for a medical administrative/executive assistant and medical secretary grad is $34,540 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

Trades Related to Medical Administrative/Executive Assistant and Medical Secretary

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

Major	Number of Grads
Health Care Management	30,702
Medical Insurance Coding Specialist/Coder	10,541
Health Information/Medical Records Technology/Technician	10,010
Medical Insurance Specialist/Medical Biller	9,004
Medical Office Assistant/Specialist	4,981
Hospital & Health Care Facilities Administration/Management	3,981
Medical Office Management/Administration	3,470
Health Information Management	2,942
Other Health & Medical Administrative Services	2,251
Medical/Health Management & Clinical Assistant/Specialist	1,257
Medical Reception/Receptionist	730
Clinical Research Coordinator	291
Long Term Care Administration/Management	221
Healthcare Innovation	193
Medical Office Computer Specialist/Assistant	118
Health Unit Coordinator/Ward Clerk	109
Medical Transcription/Transcriptionist	83
Regulatory Science/Affairs	73
Medical Staff Services Technology/Technician	25
Disease Registry Data Management	15
Health Unit Manager/Ward Supervisor	11
Healthcare Information Privacy Assurance and Security	7
Health/Medical Claims Examiner	4

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.