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Administrative Assistant

Earn a Two-Year Administrative Assistant Associate Degree at Aims

Do you enjoy working with and helping people? Are you detail-oriented and organized, and do you enjoy problem-solving? Put your strengths to work by helping offices run in an efficient and organized manner. Earn a business technology administrative assistant associate degree at Aims and gain the skills to work in various general office environments. 

This degree program gives you the flexibility to choose a degree emphasis to concentrate your learning in a specific subject.

Choose an emphasis in one of the following areas:

  • Bookkeeping
  • Multimedia
  • Management basics
  • Supervisory management
  • Customer service and leadership

Each of these concentrations allows you to customize your coursework and take a deep dive into that subject area for a total of 12-13 credit hours.

This degree program emphasizes the role that business technology plays in every office, offering in-depth software training along with core business coursework. Whether you’re looking to start a career as an administrative assistant or brush up on your skills, this degree program can give you the tools you need to achieve your goals.

“As a long-term faculty member at Aims, I can tell you that I get calls on a weekly basis from people in the business community who are looking for current students or recent graduates who can come work for them.”
--Ellen Swieter, Business Department Chair

Turn Your Passion for Helping People Into an Administrative Assistant Career

Aims Degree Video - Business - Administrative Assistant

Ellen Swieter, business department chair, talks about the crucial role administrative assistants play in any office and how Aims can help you launch your administrative assistant career.

Gain Software and Office Skills with an Administrative Assistant Degree 

The Aims administrative assistant associate degree emphasizes the role that technology plays in today’s office environments. Typically working behind the scenes, an administrative assistant is often the “go-to” person who connects customers to people or resources to solve their problems. 

Gain the skills that help you perform a diverse array of tasks that help offices run smoothly, including: 

  • Writing and distributing documents
  • Scheduling appointments
  • Making travel arrangements
  • Managing files, records and databases
  • Creating presentations
  • Updating company web pages

Every semester combines software skills classes with coursework in your specific degree subject area, such as office management, presentations or bookkeeping. By the end of the degree program, you’ll be an expert in all Microsoft software applications, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access, with the option to earn certifications in other office software such as QuickBooks. 

At every phase of this degree program, you’ll learn soft skills employers want, such as team building, problem-solving and time management. The Aims business technology administrative assistant degree program also includes an internship class where you can gain experience working in an office in the community.

Learn Essential Office Management and Technology Skills With an Administrative Assistant Certificate

The Administrative Assistant certificate programs at Aims teach essential office and software skills. You can build upon existing skills and keep up to date with the latest office software. If the certificate classes appeal to you, you can apply those classes to a full degree program.

  • Office Professional (2 semesters)
  • Business Technology - Advanced Office Specialist Certificate
  • Business Technology - Multimedia Presentation Skill Enhancement Certificate
  • Word Processing Skill Enhancement Certificate

Launch Your Career as an Administrative Assistant

As an administrative assistant, you can help offices run smoothly by applying a combination of office software applications and people skills. Depending on the size and structure of a department or organization, you may also maintain web pages, create spreadsheets or databases and perform payroll tasks. 

If you’re already interested in a specific industry, you’ll have the opportunity to see how it works from behind the scenes, while also gaining a skill set you can apply across multiple industries.

Earn your administrative assistant associate degree and prepare for a career working in a variety of office settings, including:

  • Government
  • Small business
  • Banking
  • Real estate
  • Insurance
  • Law

If you’re interested in working in a medical office, read more about the Aims allied health professional associate degree program.

Administrative Assistant Faculty and Staff

Study with instructors with professional experience as administrative assistants who can offer practical insights into how their teachings apply in the workplace. At Aims, administrative assistant instructors are also department advisors. Beyond classroom learning, you’ll receive help selecting your degree program courses, building a portfolio, writing a resume and preparing for job interviews.

  • Headshot of Ellen Swieter

    Ellen Swieter

    Professor, Business Technology
  • Jennifer Markiewicz Headshot

    Jennifer Markiewicz

    Professor, Business Technology