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Front desk receptionist education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read
Usually, front desk receptionists don't need a college education. The most common degree for front desk receptionists is high school diploma with 33% graduates, with only 28% front desk receptionist graduates earning bachelor's degree. Front desk receptionists who decided to graduate from college often finish University of Phoenix or Miami Dade College. Some good skills to have in this position include patients, check-in and phone calls.

Popular front desk receptionist certifications include Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA), Certified Medical Office Manager (CMOM), or Nationally Certified Medical Office Assistant (NCMOA). To improve front desk receptionist qualification and skills, we prepared some online courses to help in front desk receptionist education paths.

What education do you need to become a front desk receptionist?

What degree do you need to be a front desk receptionist?

The most common degree for front desk receptionists is high school diploma, with 33% of front desk receptionists earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are bachelor's degree degree at 28% and bachelor's degree degree at 22%.
  • High School Diploma, 33%
  • Bachelor's, 28%
  • Associate, 22%
  • Diploma, 9%
  • Other Degrees, 8%

What should I major in to become a front desk receptionist?

You should major in business to become a front desk receptionist. 20% of front desk receptionists major in business. Other common majors for a front desk receptionist include health care administration and psychology.

Best majors for front desk receptionists

20 best online courses for front desk receptionists

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1. Operations and Patient Safety for Healthcare IT Staff

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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...

2. Patient Safety

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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...

6. Value-Based Care: Managing Processes to Improve Outcomes

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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...

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9. Motivational Enhancement Techniques: Working with Patients with Opioid & Substance Use Disorders or High Risk Use MAT Waiver Training S...

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WORKING WITH PATIENTS WITH SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS OR HIGH RISK This optional online course opportunity is made possible through a joint partnership with University of Virginia School of Medicine (UVASOM) and Nursing (SON) and the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP), DATA 2000 sponsor. This content was created by the AAAP and has been used with permission. The course consists of one 1-hour session for healthcare providers who wish to enhance their effectiveness in treating high-risk...

10. Front-End Developer

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This specialization is geared toward beginning users who would like to learn and build Front-End Developer Skills. The courses in this series cover SOAP Web Services with JAX-WS, RESTful Web Services with JAX-Rs, and HTML - Front-End Developer among others, to help learners build a solid foundational knowledge...

11. Service Desk Analyst Crash course for beginners.

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Get Hands-On Experience for following JOB roles - Service Desk Analyst IT Help Desk Professional L1 IT Support GSD...

12. Speak Medical Spanish to Your Patients and Clients

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Spanish essentials for healthcare; program teaches correct pronunciation, pain management and medication, among others...

13. Emergency Care: Pregnancy, Infants, and Children

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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...

14. Traditional herbal medicine in supportive cancer care: From alternative to integrative

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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...

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19. ComputerCavalry: IT Help Desk Training for IT Professionals!

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20. 100 Front End Interview Questions Challenge

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Average front desk receptionist salary by education level

Front desk receptionists with a Bachelor's degree earn more than those without, at $33,463 annually. With a Master's degree, front desk receptionists earn a median annual income of $32,935 compared to $32,474 for front desk receptionists with an Associate degree.
Front desk receptionist education levelFront desk receptionist salary
Master's Degree$32,935
High School Diploma or Less$31,668
Bachelor's Degree$33,463
Some College/ Associate Degree$32,474

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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