Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive
Also called Administrative Assistant (Admin Assistant), Administrative Secretary (Admin Secretary), Office Assistant, or Secretary
Updated · Source: O*NET 31.0
What Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive do
You are the person who keeps an office running: answering calls, booking meetings, and knowing where everything is filed.
Administrative assistants (also called secretaries or office assistants) handle the daily work that keeps a workplace organized. You answer phones and route calls, greet visitors, schedule appointments, keep calendars accurate, and type up letters, meeting notes, and reports. A lot of your time goes into records: setting up paper and computer filing systems, entering information into databases (organized digital lists of names, orders, or records), and keeping it all current.
The job mixes time with people and quiet time working on your own at a desk. You are part of a team and often the first face or voice someone meets, so you talk with visitors, coworkers, and callers all day. Between those moments you sit alone, sorting email, fixing paperwork, and chasing details before a deadline. Most work happens indoors, sitting, at a computer.
A day in the life
You get to your desk and open your email while the first calls start coming in. You take a message for one person, transfer another, and answer a question yourself. A visitor arrives for a meeting, so you sign them in and walk them back. Then you sit down and enter yesterday's forms into the database, checking each name and date. Your supervisor asks you to move three appointments and confirm them with the people involved. The copier jams, so you clear it, and when it jams again you call for a repair. Late in the day you type up notes from a meeting and send them out before the deadline. You tidy the files, check tomorrow's calendar, and go home.
This could fit you if you…
- ✓Like keeping things orderly, accurate, and on schedule
- ✓Enjoy being the person others come to with questions
- ✓Write and speak clearly, even when a message is messy
- ✓Stay calm when a phone rings while you are mid-task
- ✓Are comfortable learning new computer programs quickly
You might not like it if you…
- –Want to be on your feet or outdoors instead of sitting at a desk
- –Get frustrated by interruptions that break your concentration
- –Dislike routine tasks like filing and data entry
- –Worry about competition, since this job is projected to shrink 6% from 2025 to 2035 while all jobs grow 3.5%
How people get in
- 1Finish high school or an equivalent diploma, which is the typical entry education for this work.
- 2Build solid computer skills: word processing (writing and formatting documents in programs like Word or Google Docs), spreadsheets, email systems, and entering data carefully.
- 3Practice the people side too, since answering calls and greeting visitors takes patience and clear speaking.
- 4Get any office experience you can, such as a front desk job, school office help, or volunteer scheduling work.
- 5Consider a college program in Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science or Executive Assistant if you want more training, though it is not required.
- 6Apply widely, including temporary roles. Employers usually provide short-term on-the-job training to teach you their systems, and about 163,900 openings appear each year as people leave or retire.
Who tends to enjoy it
Organizing
People who like keeping things accurate, orderly, and running on schedule.
Leading
People who like persuading, selling, starting things, and taking charge.
Helping
People who like teaching, caring for, and working closely with people.
Official task list
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive perform routine administrative functions such as drafting correspondence, scheduling appointments, organizing and maintaining paper and electronic files, or providing information to callers. (O*NET)
- 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.
A typical day involves
Skills that matter most
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Service Orientation
- Time Management
What you'll need to know
- Administrative
- English Language
- Computers and Electronics
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administration and Management
How much Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive make
The median pay for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in the U.S. is $47,540 a year ($22.86 an hour). Most earn between $33,280 and $66,350. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025)
Pay depends a lot on where you live: the median is highest in District of Columbia ($59,910) and lowest in Puerto Rico ($25,730).
Pay by state and territory
| State | Median pay | Jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $41,630 | 45,050 |
| Alaska | $48,530 | 5,390 |
| Arizona | $47,940 | 31,220 |
| Arkansas | $37,630 | 8,590 |
| California | $55,400 | 158,630 |
| Colorado | $48,690 | 29,120 |
| Connecticut | $57,210 | 22,650 |
| Delaware | $47,970 | 6,320 |
| District of Columbia | $59,910 | 11,800 |
| Florida | $45,900 | 104,000 |
| Georgia | $41,600 | 44,430 |
| Guam | $36,030 | 1,610 |
| Hawaii | $50,830 | 7,020 |
| Idaho | $43,710 | 7,570 |
| Illinois | $48,310 | 74,280 |
| Indiana | $44,270 | 20,100 |
| Iowa | $45,150 | 12,830 |
| Kansas | $42,270 | 32,120 |
| Kentucky | $44,200 | 18,420 |
| Louisiana | $38,790 | 28,040 |
| Maine | $49,820 | 6,740 |
| Maryland | $48,680 | 54,890 |
| Massachusetts | $57,940 | 37,750 |
| Michigan | $46,020 | 40,830 |
| Minnesota | $51,400 | 31,330 |
| Mississippi | $37,340 | 14,720 |
| Missouri | $43,540 | 33,180 |
| Montana | $43,940 | 4,520 |
| Nebraska | $46,760 | 16,240 |
| Nevada | $46,570 | 16,790 |
| New Hampshire | $48,080 | 9,050 |
| New Jersey | $50,260 | 65,960 |
| New Mexico | $46,450 | 25,430 |
| New York | $49,600 | 122,490 |
| North Carolina | $45,790 | 43,690 |
| North Dakota | $47,480 | 5,800 |
| Ohio | $46,230 | 54,790 |
| Oklahoma | $39,660 | 20,120 |
| Oregon | $51,740 | 23,150 |
| Pennsylvania | $46,270 | 65,310 |
| Puerto Rico | $25,730 | 17,810 |
| Rhode Island | $52,140 | 5,200 |
| South Carolina | $44,880 | 30,180 |
| South Dakota | $41,700 | 6,120 |
| Tennessee | $45,810 | 34,580 |
| Texas | $45,140 | 149,650 |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | $44,040 | 530 |
| Utah | $47,050 | 14,870 |
| Vermont | $48,920 | 3,360 |
| Virginia | $47,620 | 31,580 |
| Washington | $57,330 | 31,710 |
| West Virginia | $40,370 | 8,820 |
| Wisconsin | $47,710 | 28,100 |
| Wyoming | $45,450 | 2,250 |
Where to study for this
College programs that commonly lead to this career, and how many US colleges offer each.
- Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science 638 colleges
- Executive Assistant 114 colleges
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Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA), occupation 43-6014.00, used under CC BY 4.0 and modified by Whittle. Pay: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), SOC 43-6014. Outlook and entry education: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35. Program links: NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. How we build these pages.