What You Need to Know About Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

Job Description: Perform routine clerical and administrative functions such as drafting correspondence, scheduling appointments, organizing and maintaining paper and electronic files, or providing information to callers.

Life As a Secretary or Administrative Assistant

• Make copies of correspondence or other printed material.
• Provide services to customers, such as order placement or account information.
• Set up and manage paper or electronic filing systems, recording information, updating paperwork, or maintaining documents, such as attendance records, correspondence, or other material.
• Develop or maintain internal or external company Web sites.
• Train and assist staff with computer usage.
• Use computers for various applications, such as database management or word processing.

Secretary or Administrative Assistant Needed Skills

These are the skills Secretaries and Administrative Assistants say are the most useful in their careers:

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Time Management: Managing one’s own time and the time of others.

Types of Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

• Social Secretary
• Personal Assistant
• Typing Secretary
• Office Assistant
• Senior Administrator Support

Are There Job Opportunities for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants?

In 2016, there was an estimated number of 2,536,200 jobs in the United States for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive.

Secretary or Administrative Assistant jobs are decreasing by a rate of -6.5%. This means the total job opportunities are shrinking. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a loss of -164,900 jobs for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants by 2026. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 244,300 job openings in this field each year.

The states with the most job growth for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive are Colorado, Washington, and Maryland.

Watch out if you plan on working in California, Pennsylvania, or Illinois. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

Secretary or Administrative Assistant Average Salary

The salary for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive ranges between about $23,060 and $56,010 a year. The median salary for this occupation is $36,630.

Below is a list of the median annual salaries for jobs of this type in different U.S. states.

Annual Mean Salary by State

State	Annual Mean Salary
District of Columbia	$50,140
Massachusetts	$46,940
Connecticut	$46,470
California	$43,670
Washington	$43,260
Rhode Island	$43,120
New Jersey	$42,600
Alaska	$42,450
New York	$41,190
Maryland	$40,870
Minnesota	$40,580
Hawaii	$40,290
Nevada	$40,060
Delaware	$39,930
Oregon	$39,460
Virginia	$39,390
Colorado	$38,810
North Dakota	$38,580
Wyoming	$38,130
Illinois	$37,930
New Hampshire	$37,230
Maine	$37,150
Michigan	$36,980
Wisconsin	$36,840
Vermont	$36,780
North Carolina	$36,630
Ohio	$36,320
Pennsylvania	$36,080
Arizona	$36,050
Alabama	$35,670
Texas	$35,550
South Carolina	$35,510
Iowa	$35,210
Florida	$35,080
Missouri	$35,010
Tennessee	$35,000
New Mexico	$34,710
Georgia	$34,520
Utah	$34,400
Nebraska	$34,100
Kansas	$33,820
Montana	$33,380
Kentucky	$32,950
Indiana	$32,720
Idaho	$32,380
Mississippi	$32,160
Oklahoma	$32,090
West Virginia	$31,980
Louisiana	$31,880
Arkansas	$30,860
South Dakota	$29,300

Tools & Technologies Used by Secretaries and Administrative Assistants

Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Secretaries and Administrative Assistants:

• SAP
• Adobe Systems Adobe Creative Cloud
• Apache Solr
• Oracle Fusion Applications
• Intuit QuickBooks
• CA Erwin Data Modeler
• Adobe Systems Adobe Dreamweaver
• Microsoft SharePoint
• Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCS
• SAP Business Objects

How to Become a Secretary or Administrative Assistant

What education is needed to be a Secretary or Administrative Assistant?

How many years of work experience do I need?

Where Secretaries and Administrative Assistants Are Employed

Related Careers

Those who work as Secretaries and Administrative Assistants sometimes switch careers to one of these choices:

• Concierges
• Gaming Surveillance Officers and Gaming Investigators
• Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics

College Factual

O*NET Online

Image Credit: Via Wikimedia Commons