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.
Also called: Administrative Assistant (Admin Assistant) · Administrative Clerk · Administrative Secretary (Admin Secretary) · Administrative Specialist (Admin Specialist) · Administrative Support Assistant (ASA) · Administrative Technician
Median pay (national)
$46,290
$31,600–$64,150 (10th–90th)
Employed (US)
1,737,820
BLS OEWS, May 2024
Outlook 2024–34
-1.6%
~202,800 openings/yr
Typical entry
High school diploma or equivalent
What the numbers say
Refit analysis ·Pay for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive shows a broad range: the top 10% earn $64,150 versus $31,600 at the bottom 10% — 2.0x. The median of $46,290 leaves roughly 39% of headroom to the 90th percentile, which is where seniority, specialization, and the skills below tend to pay off.
Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change -1.6% from 2024 to 2034 — a projected decline, against +3% across all occupations. Even so, BLS projects about 202,800 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·Where you work moves the number a lot. Across the 54 states with released data, District of Columbia pays the most for this role (median $55,800, +21% vs the national median), while Puerto Rico sits lowest at $23,980 — a 133% spread for the same job title.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list. On the tools side, O*NET flags Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint as in-demand technologies for this role.
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Top skills employers ask for
Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
- Learning Strategies
- Mathematics
- Science
What they actually do
Core O*NET tasks for this role.
- Review work done by others to check for correct spelling and grammar, ensure that company format policies are followed, and recommend revisions.
- Order and dispense supplies.
- 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.
- Operate office equipment, such as fax machines, copiers, or phone systems and arrange for repairs when equipment malfunctions.
- Operate electronic mail systems and coordinate the flow of information, internally or with other organizations.
- Schedule and confirm appointments for clients, customers, or supervisors.
- Maintain scheduling and event calendars.
- Compose, type, and distribute meeting notes, routine correspondence, or reports, such as presentations or expense, statistical, or monthly reports.
Tools & technology
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
- Microsoft Outlook
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Word
- Adobe Creative Cloud software
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Photoshop
- Apache Cassandra
- Apache Hadoop
- Apache Hive
- Apache Tomcat
- Apple macOS
- Atlassian Confluence
- Atlassian JIRA
Knowledge areas
- Administrative
- English Language
- Computers and Electronics
- Customer and Personal Service
- Administration and Management
- Mathematics
- Communications and Media
- Economics and Accounting