Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Assistant education requirements
Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
There are several educational requirements to become an assistant. Assistants usually study business, psychology, or criminal justice. 49% of assistants hold a bachelor's degree, and 19% hold an high school diploma. We analyzed 347,272 real assistant resumes to see exactly what assistant education sections show.
The most common colleges for assistants are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.
There are also many online assistant courses to help get the education required to be an assistant.
There are certain assistant certifications that you should consider. These assistant certifications include Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) and Medical Assistant.
What education do you need to become an assistant?
What degree do you need to be an assistant?
- Bachelor's, 49%
- High School Diploma, 19%
- Associate, 17%
- Master's, 5%
- Other Degrees, 10%
What should I major in to become an assistant?
- Business, 21%
- Psychology, 9%
- Criminal Justice, 6%
- Communication, 6%
- Other Majors, 58%
Most common colleges for assistants
| Assistant common college | Percentages |
|---|---|
| University of Phoenix | 14.70% |
| New York University | 6.57% |
| University of California - Davis | 5.91% |
| Pennsylvania State University | 5.61% |
| University of California, Santa Barbara | 5.58% |
Best majors for assistants
| Rank | Major | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business | 20.8% |
| 2 | Psychology | 9.1% |
| 3 | Criminal Justice | 6.0% |
| 4 | Communication | 5.8% |
| 5 | General Studies | 5.5% |
Best colleges for assistants
The best colleges for assistants are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Boston College.
An assistant with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for assistants. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become assistants.
1. Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC • Private
In-state tuition
$3,926
Enrollment
9,835
2. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
3. Ball State University
Muncie, IN • Private
In-state tuition
$9,896
Enrollment
15,529
4. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
5. Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH • Private
In-state tuition
$11,105
Enrollment
13,729
6. Cedar Crest College
Allentown, PA • Private
In-state tuition
$39,216
Enrollment
1,303
7. Morgan State University
Baltimore, MD • Private
In-state tuition
$7,900
Enrollment
6,404
8. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-state tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
9. Siena Heights University
Adrian, MI • Private
In-state tuition
$27,124
Enrollment
2,035
10. University of Akron
Akron, OH • Private
In-state tuition
$11,463
Enrollment
13,676
20 best online courses for assistants
Advertising disclosure
1. Palliative Care Always Capstone Course
The Palliative Care Always Capstone course is designed to let you test your knowledge about palliative and help others understand the value of palliative care, while showing your creative side. In this course, you will impact community awareness about palliative care, promote self-care and wellness, show-off your communication skills in a virtual environment, and finish the course off by proving your thoughts on ways to offer psychosocial support to a patient and family...
2. Patient Safety
Preventable patient harms, including medical errors and healthcare-associated complications, are a global public health threat. Moreover, patients frequently do not receive treatments and interventions known to improve their outcomes. These shortcomings typically result not from individual clinicians’ mistakes, but from systemic problems -- communication breakdowns, poor teamwork, and poorly designed care processes, to name a few.\n\nThe Patient Safety & Quality Leadership Specialization covers...
3. Becoming an Executive Personal Assistant
Learn how to be an effective personal assistant, and find out how to develop the skills for the role...
4. Fun food safety and sanitation course
The food safety course will help prepare you for safely working in a kitchen and food handler tests like Servesafe...
5. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative
Please join us for an exciting and innovative journey, examining one of the most important and often overlooked aspects of the oncology setting: Traditional Herbal Medicine in Supportive Cancer Care. This course is presented with short lectures offering a wide range of issues related to the principles and practice of herbal medicine in cancer care. The course includes interviews with leading world experts from the field of Integrative Oncology, from the U.S. and Canada, as well as Europe, the...
6. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes
COURSE 3 of 7. This course is designed to introduce you to critical office-based processes that a value-based practice must manage in the drive towards improved patient outcomes. In Module 2, we’ll focus on office-based and clinical patient-based supporting functions. At every level in healthcare, guidelines, processes, and functions exist to improve outcomes, and following a consistent process will return the best effect. Refine your understanding of value and learn strategies to provide real...
7. ISO 22000:2018. Food Safety Management System
Understand the requirements for a food safety management system applicable for any organization in the food chain...
8. Customer Service Mastery: Delight Every Customer
Master Customer Service using this practical customer care course...
9. Emergency Care: Pregnancy, Infants, and Children
Welcome to the final course of lectures in your quest to master EMT basics. In this course, we will cover some of the highest-stress patient populations: pregnant patients and kids, also known as pediatrics. To wrap up your EMT knowledge we will end this course with information about hazmat situations, extricating patients from tight spots and finally how you write a note about your patient care. You will learn to ensure it communicates what your assessment of the patient was, what...
10. Health After Cancer: Cancer Survivorship for Primary Care
This course presents basic principles of cancer survivorship to primary-care physicians. Developed by a team of experts in caring for cancer survivors, and narrated by a primary-care physician, this course provides practical tips and tools that can be easily integrated into medical practice. You will learn about the complex physical and psychosocial needs and concerns of the growing number of cancer survivors, along with the key role that primary care physicians have in guiding these patients...
11. Food Safety for Managers and Supervisors
The Highfield Food Safety Level 3 syllabus presented in two hours of video tutorials. Boost your food safety knowledge...
12. Data Entry Course for Beginners
Learn from a Successful Data Entry Professional!...
13. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff
Now that you've been introduced to the world of Health IT and the important role played by electronic health records (EHRs), we'll focus on other technologies that play a role in maintaining ongoing operations in healthcare. Telemedicine, patient portals, barcode scanners, printers, and medical devices are just some of the technologies that impact providers and patients. As an IT support specialist, you’ll be asked to troubleshoot issues with a wide variety of tools. You'll see a scenario with...
14. Trauma Emergencies and Care
Welcome to Trauma Emergencies and Care. In this course, you will learn about some of the mechanics and physics of trauma on the human body, and how this can cause injury. You will continue to expand your new vocabulary with medical terminology, and learn how to describe the different injuries you may see. You will also learn about the trauma system itself- and when it is important to transport patients to a trauma center. Then we will dive into specific injuries based on what part of the body...
15. Fundamentals of Logistics, Supply Chain & Customer Service
Learn Logistics, Supply Chain and Customer Service. 3 Courses in 1...
16. Virtual Assistant Training, a Complete Guide: Work From Home
Rock Star Virtual Assistant Training: Create an online business + become a freelancing virtual professional in any field...
17. Palliative Care Always
Palliative Care Always is a specialization for health care practitioners, patients and caregivers. We’ve designed this specialization to demonstrate how palliative medicine integrates with patient care, and to help you develop primary palliative care skills. Over the next five courses, you will develop skills in symptom management, goals of care and effective communication to improve the quality of life for patients and families suffering with serious illness. Our hope is that you feel...
18. Prehospital care of acute stroke and patient selection for endovascular treatment using the RACE scale
Acute stroke is a time-dependent medical emergency. In acute ischemic stroke, the first objective is to restore brain flow using sistemic thrombolytic treatment and, in patients with large vessel occlusion, by endovascular treatment. In hemorrhagic stroke there are also specific treatments that can improve the clinical outcome. The sooner the initiation of all these therapies the higher the clinical benefit. Thus, the organization of Stroke Code systems coordinated between emergency medical...
19. Become a Virtual Assistant
Live Free. Work Virtually. Virtual Assistant Training...
20. Complete Data Entry Skills Course - Learn Data Entry Skills
Learn Essential Data Entry Skills Now To Enhance Your Career -Word - Excel - Database - Data Entry Jobs...
Top 10 most affordable universities for assistants
The most affordable schools for assistants are Baruch College of the City University of New York, suny farmingdale, and california state university - bakersfield.
If the best universities for assistants are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for assistants.
1. Baruch College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,262
Cost of attendance
14,046
2. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,306
Cost of attendance
16,091
3. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$7,309
Cost of attendance
16,714
4. University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez
Mayaguez, PR • Private
In-state tuition
$4,094
Cost of attendance
14,302
5. Minot State University
Minot, ND • Private
In-state tuition
$7,064
Cost of attendance
15,576
6. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
In-state tuition
$6,942
Cost of attendance
14,469
7. Clayton State University
Morrow, GA • Private
In-state tuition
$5,419
Cost of attendance
17,697
8. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Brooklyn, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$7,240
Cost of attendance
13,991
9. Dickinson State University
Dickinson, ND • Private
In-state tuition
$6,768
Cost of attendance
15,506
10. SUNY Polytechnic Institute
Utica, NY • Private
In-state tuition
$8,238
Cost of attendance
21,567
Top 10 hardest universities to get into for assistants
The hardest universities for assistants to get into are Stanford University, Northwestern University, and Boston College.
Some great schools for assistants are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for assistants based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
Admissions rate
4%
SAT average
1,497
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,508
3. Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA • Private
Admissions rate
28%
SAT average
1,429
4. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Admissions rate
22%
SAT average
1,420
5. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
Admissions rate
8%
SAT average
1,492
6. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
Admissions rate
40%
SAT average
1,376
7. New York University
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
20%
SAT average
1,419
8. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
Admissions rate
43%
SAT average
1,338
9. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
Admissions rate
13%
SAT average
1,445
10. Brandeis University
Waltham, MA • Private
Admissions rate
31%
SAT average
1,398
Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for assistants
The easiest schools for assistants to get into are Oklahoma Wesleyan University, notre dame college, and lim college.
Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as an assistant without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for assistants.
1. Oklahoma Wesleyan University
Bartlesville, OK • Private
Admissions rate
68%
SAT average
964
2. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
Admissions rate
90%
SAT average
994
3. LIM College
New York, NY • Private
Admissions rate
83%
SAT average
1,061
4. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
Admissions rate
82%
SAT average
983
5. Holy Names University
Oakland, CA • Private
Admissions rate
70%
SAT average
849
6. Oregon Institute of Technology
Klamath Falls, OR • Private
Admissions rate
96%
SAT average
1,139
7. D'Youville College
Buffalo, NY • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,072
8. Presentation College
Aberdeen, SD • Private
Admissions rate
97%
SAT average
1,050
9. Lewis-Clark State College
Lewiston, ID • Private
Admissions rate
100%
SAT average
1,009
10. Fresno Pacific University
Fresno, CA • Private
Admissions rate
85%
SAT average
1,053
Average assistant salary by education level
| Assistant education level | Assistant salary |
|---|---|
| Master's Degree | $57,301 |
| High School Diploma or Less | $43,461 |
| Bachelor's Degree | $51,262 |
| Some College/ Associate Degree | $45,080 |
Assistant education FAQs
Have more questions? See all answers to common office and administrative questions.
Search for assistant jobs
Updated January 8, 2025
Updated January 8, 2025