Sales Associate Education Requirements And Courses

Sales associate education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Usually, sales associates don't need a college education. The most common degree for sales associates is bachelor's degree with 38% graduates, with only 32% sales associate graduates earning high school diploma. Sales associates who decided to graduate from college often finish University of Phoenix or Miami Dade College. Some good skills to have in this position include customer service, sales floor and cash handling.

Popular sales associate certifications include Certified Sales Professional (CSP), Certified Medical Office Manager (CMOM), or Automotive Sales Professional. To improve sales associate qualification and skills, we prepared some online courses to help in sales associate education paths.

What education do you need to become a sales associate?

What degree do you need to be a sales associate?

The most common degree for sales associates is bachelor's degree, with 38% of sales associates earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are high school diploma degree at 32% and high school diploma degree at 18%.

Bachelor's, 38%

High School Diploma, 32%

Associate, 18%

Diploma, 6%

Other Degrees, 6%

What should I major in to become a sales associate?

You should major in business to become a sales associate. 23% of sales associates major in business. Other common majors for a sales associate include psychology and general studies.

Business, 23%

Psychology, 9%

General Studies, 8%

Criminal Justice, 7%

Other Majors, 53%

Best majors for sales associates

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Business	22.6%
2	Psychology	8.6%
3	General Studies	7.6%
4	Criminal Justice	6.6%
5	Communication	6.0%

Show more common sales associate majors

20 best online courses for sales associates

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1. The Complete B2B Sales Masterclass: 6 Courses in 1

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1. Generate Leads, 2. Pitch, 3. Close & Handle Any Objection: Get Certified in Cutting Edge, Non-Pushy B2B Sales System...

2. Create POS System - Inventory & sales with PHP 7 & adminLTE

4.5

(282)

Learn how to create a POS system with inventory management and billing using PHP 7 and Admin LTE...

3. Sales Training: Practical Sales Techniques

4.6

(23,968)

Sales Hacking: Essential sales skills, sales strategies and sales techniques to sell just about anything!...

4. PHP for Beginners to Inventory POS Sales Project - AdminLTE

4.2

(392)

Create Inventory POS System Project With Billing by use of Bootstrap Responsive Admin LTE Dashboard With PHP PHP7 MYSQL...

5. Sales Skills: 9 Sales Training Courses In 1

4.4

(994)

Develop Extraordinary Sales Skills With The Ultimate Sales Training (Taught By 5 Top Sales Experts)...

6. Sales Fire: B2B Sales & Business Development for Startups

4.6

(584)

The Ultimate Sales Methodology for Business Development & B2B Sales to Learn Sales Strategy, Sales Skills & Deal Closing...

7. Sales Training: How To Close More Sales

4.5

(1,734)

Closing Sales: Sales Training Course: Sales Skills; Selling Techniques; Sales Strategies for B2B, B2C Direct Sales...

8. Sales Machine: The Sales Training B2B Master Course

4.6

(4,040)

Learn Sales Strategies & Sales Techniques to Sell ANYTHING for Entrepreneurs, Startup, B2B Sales, & Business Development...

9. Sales Training: Become A Sales Superstar

4.7

(262)

Develop Advanced Sales Skills To Sell Anything Like A Champ (Taught By A World-class Salesman)...

10. Sales Training Pro: The Complete Sales Presentation Course

4.6

(346)

Practical, Hands-on Sales Techniques and Tools to Effortlessly Engage your Customers In Your Sales Presentations...

11. B2B Sales Skills: LinkedIn Lead Generation, Cold Email Sales

4.5

(327)

High-ticket B2B sales and marketing. Generate leads, sell to big companies, and win large deals. Learn sales skills!...

12. Sales Funnels Masterclass: Increase Sales With Sales Funnels

4.5

(599)

Learn to create highly converting sales, conduct professional email marketing & 10X your sales with sales funnel fast!...

13. SAP S/4HANA Sales (SD - Sales and Distribution)

4.5

(348)

The course covers both configuration and end-user processes for SAP S/4HANA Sales (Sales and Distribution)...

14. LinkedIn Sales Navigator: LinkedIn's tool for B2B Sales

4.1

(393)

Linked In Sales Navigator best remote practices for the Linked In premium service for business development and B2B sales...

15. Cold Calling for B2B Sales: How to Prospect over the Phone

4.5

(2,576)

B2B Sales Skill: How to Cold Call over the Phone with Purpose, Navigate through Gatekeepers and Set Client Meetings...

16. Sales Skills Mastery 1: Sales Training For Beginners

4.4

(817)

Selling Techniques and Sales Strategy that Every Salesperson Ought to Know - Sales Training For the Modern World...

17. Sales Methodologies: Best Practices for Enterprise Selling

4.4

(884)

Apply sales methodology and sales process best practices to the modern enterprise selling organization...

18. B2B Sales Objections Simplified

4.6

(1,641)

B2B Sales Skill: Learn How to Handle the Most Common Sales Objections, Over the Phone and in Person!...

19. The Complete Sales Skills Master Class - Sales Marketing B2B

4.5

(741)

Master Sales Skills, Marketing Strategy, B2B Sales, Business Development, Lead Generation Using Top Social Skills...

20. Sales Analysis for Management Consultants

4.6

(251)

A practical guide on how to improve sales and marketing of your customers during consulting projects like Mc Kinsey, BCG,...

Average sales associate salary by education level

Sales associates with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $37,077 annually. With a Bachelor's degree, sales associates earn a median annual income of $36,695 compared to $32,784 for sales associates with an Associate degree.

Sales associate education level	Sales associate salary
Master's Degree	$37,077
High School Diploma or Less	$31,772
Bachelor's Degree	$36,695
Some College/ Associate Degree	$32,784