Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive: Job Description
Perform routine administrative functions such as drafting correspondence, scheduling appointments, organizing and maintaining paper and electronic files, or providing information to callers.
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What Tasks Do Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Take On?
The core tasks performed by secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive include:
- Answer telephones and give information to callers, take messages, or transfer calls to appropriate individuals.
- Greet visitors or callers and handle their inquiries or direct them to the appropriate persons according to their needs.
- Create, maintain, and enter information into databases.
- Use computers for various applications, such as database management or word processing.
- Operate office equipment, such as fax machines, copiers, or phone systems and arrange for repairs when equipment malfunctions.
- Set up and manage paper or electronic filing systems, recording information, updating paperwork, or maintaining documents, such as attendance records, correspondence, or other material.
- Operate electronic mail systems and coordinate the flow of information, internally or with other organizations.
- Schedule and confirm appointments for clients, customers, or supervisors.
What Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Need to Know
Successful secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive rely on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Top Skills
The competencies most central to this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Knowledge Areas
Related Job Titles
This career also goes by job titles like:
- Administrative Assistant (Admin Assistant)
- Administrative Associate
- Administrative Clerk
- Administrative Coordinator
- Administrative Liaison
- Administrative Resources Associate
- Administrative Secretary (Admin Secretary)
- Administrative Specialist (Admin Specialist)
Employment and Demand
There are roughly 1,902,502 secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive working in the United States today. Employment is projected to decline by -3.9% over the projection horizon.
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Pay
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $42,498 |
| Hourly median | $20.43 |
| 10th percentile | $23,784 |
| 25th percentile | $33,141 |
| 75th percentile | $51,856 |
| 90th percentile | $61,213 |
Pay can vary substantially based on experience, location, and industry.
How Much Do Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Make in Different U.S. States?
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $55,800 |
| Connecticut | $55,690 |
| Washington | $54,560 |
| Massachusetts | $53,690 |
| California | $53,190 |
| Rhode Island | $51,500 |
| Hawaii | $50,580 |
| Oregon | $49,950 |
| Minnesota | $49,900 |
| New Jersey | $49,600 |
| New York | $49,200 |
| Illinois | $47,890 |
| Vermont | $47,590 |
| Colorado | $47,430 |
| Maine | $46,990 |
| Maryland | $46,800 |
| Delaware | $46,710 |
| Wisconsin | $46,540 |
| Alaska | $46,280 |
| New Hampshire | $46,150 |
| Virginia | $46,100 |
| Arizona | $46,020 |
| Nevada | $45,750 |
| North Dakota | $45,490 |
| Ohio | $45,420 |
| Utah | $45,150 |
| Michigan | $44,880 |
| Pennsylvania | $44,740 |
| Nebraska | $44,600 |
| Iowa | $44,000 |
| Florida | $43,650 |
| Wyoming | $43,480 |
| Virgin Islands | $43,390 |
| Tennessee | $43,370 |
| Texas | $43,350 |
| North Carolina | $43,010 |
| New Mexico | $42,960 |
| Montana | $41,720 |
| South Carolina | $41,720 |
| Kentucky | $41,600 |
| Indiana | $41,090 |
| Idaho | $40,850 |
| Missouri | $40,250 |
| Alabama | $40,200 |
| South Dakota | $39,710 |
| Georgia | $39,220 |
| Kansas | $39,000 |
| West Virginia | $38,730 |
| Oklahoma | $38,630 |
| Louisiana | $37,800 |
| Arkansas | $37,060 |
| Mississippi | $36,000 |
| Guam | $35,080 |
| Puerto Rico | $23,980 |
Where Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Earn the Most
Earnings for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive vary by region. These regions lead on median pay:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| New England | $52,438 | 4.6% | 1.00 |
| Far Western US | $52,397 | 14.5% | 0.88 |
| Middle Atlantic | $48,098 | 19.0% | 1.29 |
| Great Lakes | $45,911 | 12.9% | 0.94 |
| Rocky Mountains | $45,337 | 3.4% | 0.86 |
| Southwest | $43,248 | 12.9% | 1.13 |
| Plains States | $43,205 | 7.7% | 1.21 |
| Southeast | $41,704 | 23.7% | 1.03 |
Top Metro Areas
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Haven, CT | CT | $62,600 | 4,680 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $61,190 | 8,800 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $60,320 | 20,460 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $58,310 | 17,140 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | CT | $57,440 | 5,570 |
| Napa, CA | CA | $56,690 | 670 |
| Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | WA | $56,650 | 880 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | MA | $56,060 | 25,970 |
Which Industries Hire Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive
The largest employers of secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive work in these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Educational Services | 353,220 | $46,480 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 193,560 | $44,790 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 187,180 | $48,440 |
| Construction | 128,640 | $44,980 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 115,970 | $43,950 |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 98,010 | $44,500 |
| Finance and Insurance | 82,100 | $48,380 |
| Manufacturing | 70,220 | $47,740 |
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive work in the following industries:
Software Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Use
- Document management software: Adobe Acrobat (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Creative Cloud software (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Illustrator (hot technology)
- Desktop publishing software: Adobe InDesign (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Photoshop (hot technology)
- Data base management system software: Apache Cassandra (hot technology)
- Data base management system software: Apache Hadoop (hot technology)
- Data base management system software: Apache Hive (hot technology)
- Web platform development software: Apache Tomcat (hot technology)
- Operating system software: Apple macOS (hot technology)
- Project management software: Atlassian Confluence (hot technology)
- Content workflow software: Atlassian JIRA (hot technology)
What the Workplace Is Like
The work environment for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive is shaped by the following characteristics:
- Telephone Conversations
- Contact With Others
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team
Getting Started in This Career
Typical secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), reflecting the level of preparation typically expected.
Other Careers to Consider
Similar Occupations
- Human Resources Specialists (Supplemental)
- Management Analysts (Supplemental)
- Social Science Research Assistants (Supplemental)
- First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers (Supplemental)
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers (Primary-Long)
- Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service (Supplemental)
- Correspondence Clerks (Primary-Long)
- Court, Municipal, and License Clerks (Supplemental)
Top Programs to Study For This Career
Aspiring secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive commonly pursue programs in:
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services
2 programs across 1 majors
Sources
Statistics shown above are sourced from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 43-6014.00 (Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive).
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