Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants
Provide high-level administrative support by conducting research, preparing statistical reports, and handling information requests, as well as performing routine administrative functions such as preparing correspondence, receiving visitors, arranging conference calls, and scheduling meetings. May also train and supervise lower-level clerical staff.
- Median pay
- $76,590
- Doing it now
- 489,300
- By 2035
- No change
- Usually needs
- High school diploma or equivalent
a year
across the country
43,300 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Manage and maintain executives' schedules.
- Prepare invoices, reports, memos, letters, financial statements, and other documents, using word processing, spreadsheet, database, or presentation software.
- Read and analyze incoming memos, submissions, and reports to determine their significance and plan their distribution.
- Open, sort, and distribute incoming correspondence, including faxes and email.
- File and retrieve corporate documents, records, and reports.
- Greet visitors and determine whether they should be given access to specific individuals.
- Prepare responses to correspondence containing routine inquiries.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Business Operations Support and Assistant ServicesSee 44 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Organised and precise
Leading and persuading
Helping and teaching
Careers like this one
- Customer Service Representatives$44,770
- Receptionists and Information Clerks$38,010
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers$69,500
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive$47,540
- Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping$50,610
- Loan Officers$76,690
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $76,590 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.