For any professional you come across, there is a team of people helping them keep things organized and get things done. Whether it’s a doctor, lawyer, business executive, talent agent, or any number of other professional occupations, they need help. Fielding phone calls and taking messages, coordinating meetings and schedules, tracking inventory and invoices, even managing social media accounts in this digital age, are just some of the responsibilities that you might have as a business office administrator. With the Business Office Admin Field growing, getting a diploma in Business Office Administration can give you a competitive edge to rise to the top of the applicant pool.

What will I learn with a Business Office Administration Diploma program?

With FCC’s Business Office Administration Program, you will get a wide range of skills in a short amount of time (many graduate in as little as 10 months) to help you perform many tasks associated with office administration. Some of the topics covered in the program are:

• Business Communication
• Medical Billing/Collection and Terminology
• Human Resources
• Microsoft Office
• QuickBooks
• Marketing
• Accounting and Finance

Why are these skills important for an entry-level position?

Many office administration positions are considered entry-level, so it can be confusing as to why you would need so many skills for something that is supposed to be somewhat of a starting point for a career. If you think about places like a doctor’s office or hospital, the office staff are constantly multi-tasking, between answering phones, scheduling appointments, filing paperwork and patient files, greeting patients and checking them in, and doing the insurance paperwork after the appointment. All of these things need to be done, and done quickly and efficiently.

The tools used to do so aren’t necessarily complicated, but in such a fast-paced environment it can be hard to train people 100% on-the-job. Having knowledge of certain computer programs, office standards, and how to communicate in a business setting will make the training you receive once employed go smoothly and will help you jump right in and help with the workload instead of feeling lost and unsure. Also, studying such a wide range of subjects related to office administration can help you learn what you like, what you don’t like, and what you might be good at, and identifying those strengths and weaknesses can help you focus your job search to things that fit your strengths and your preferences.

What kind of jobs can I get with a Business Office Administration diploma?

As mentioned above, almost any professional occupation has the need for office staff. The largest and most obvious sector is health care; you can work for a doctor’s office, a hospital, a specialist’s office, an urgent care center, dentist’s office, orthodontist’s office, elderly care facility, counseling/therapy center, rehab facilities, physical therapy offices, and more.

If the medical field isn’t what you’re interested in, there are many other options available to you. Some other places that utilize a skilled office staff are:

• Community centers
• Schools
• Nonprofits
• Company Headquarters
• Agricultural operations/facilities
• Publication houses
• Entertainment venues
• Hospitality venues
• Service providers

Office administration is a growing job market with a wide range of options for office settings to work in, and taking the time to learn some basic office skills and programs will help you rise to the top of the applicant pool and really stand out against the competition. Having the right skills will open up a wider range of possibilities to pick a field that you will really love, and provides a great starting point to learn and grow within that field. Wherever you find an office, qualified administrative staff are needed, and where these individual fields grow, so will the opportunities for office administration jobs.