Administrative support workers, sometimes called administrative support specialists, take care of clerical tasks in an office that helps their employer serve the public. Most administrative support workers work for government offices, although they can also work for private companies. They handle tasks that help organize the office such as storing files and inputting data into the payroll system. Administrative support workers need to be strong communicators because they handle internal communications, for example by scheduling meetings, and communicate with the public via phone and email. Administrative support workers are often highly knowledgeable about procedures in the office they work for so they can help customers and coworkers with their questions.
There are a few different ways to become an administrative support worker. About half have a bachelor's degree in business or administration. However, many do this job with only a high school diploma.
Administrative support workers usually need a few years of administrative experience, for example as assistants. Only then can they apply for an administrative support position, which usually pays around $33,023 a year.
Administrative Support Overview
Administrative Support Careers
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an administrative support. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.05 an hour? That's $33,388 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -7% and produce -276,700 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does an Administrative Support Do
There are certain skills that many administrative supports have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed interpersonal skills, writing skills and organizational skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be an administrative support, we found that a lot of resumes listed 15.3% of administrative supports included customer service, while 10.3% of resumes included procedures, and 6.8% of resumes included administrative tasks. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the administrative support job title. But what industry to start with? Most administrative supports actually find jobs in the professional and health care industries.
How To Become an Administrative Support
If you're interested in becoming an administrative support, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 40.3% of administrative supports have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 8.6% of administrative supports have master's degrees. Even though some administrative supports have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an administrative support. When we researched the most common majors for an administrative support, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on administrative support resumes include high school diploma degrees or master's degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an administrative support. In fact, many administrative support jobs require experience in a role such as administrative assistant. Meanwhile, many administrative supports also have previous career experience in roles such as customer service representative or cashier.
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Administrative Support Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, an administrative support can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as executive assistant, progress to a title such as office manager and then eventually end up with the title senior account manager.
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Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for an Administrative Support
Best Paying Cities
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Inter-Connect Employment Services Administrative Support Administrative Support | Inter-Connect Employment Services Inter-Connect Employment Services | 03/30/2021 03/30/2021 | $31,30503/30/2021 $31,305 |
Aerotek Administrative Support Administrative Support | Aerotek Aerotek | 03/30/2021 03/30/2021 | $33,39203/30/2021 $33,392 |
State of Georgia Dhs/Dfcs Administrative Support Dhs/Dfcs Administrative Support | State of Georgia State of Georgia | 03/27/2021 03/27/2021 | $18,61103/27/2021 $18,611 |
Georgia Department of Revenue Admin Support 1 Admin Support 1 | Georgia Department of Revenue Georgia Department of Revenue | 03/24/2021 03/24/2021 | $20,57103/24/2021 $20,571 |
YMCA of Greater Seattle Administrative Support III, Eviction Prevention Program Administrative Support III, Eviction Prevention Program | YMCA of Greater Seattle YMCA of Greater Seattle | 03/22/2021 03/22/2021 | $39,65303/22/2021 $39,653 |
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Administrative Support Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming an Administrative Support. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write an Administrative Support Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Administrative Support resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationTop Colleges for Administrative Supports
1. Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC • Public
2. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
3. Ball State University
Muncie, IN • Public
4. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
5. Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH • Public
6. Cedar Crest College
Allentown, PA • Private
7. Morgan State University
Baltimore, MD • Public
8. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
9. Siena Heights University
Adrian, MI • Private
10. University of Akron
Akron, OH • Public
Top Skills For an Administrative Support
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 15.3% of administrative supports listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as interpersonal skills and writing skills are important as well.
- Customer Service, 15.3%
- Procedures, 10.3%
- Administrative Tasks, 6.8%
- Communication, 6.8%
- Data Entry, 5.3%
- Other Skills, 55.5% See All Administrative Support Skills
Best States For an Administrative Support
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an administrative support. The best states for people in this position are Rhode Island, Maryland, Washington, and California. Administrative supports make the most in Rhode Island with an average salary of $42,741. Whereas in Maryland and Washington, they would average $41,767 and $40,328, respectively. While administrative supports would only make an average of $38,805 in California, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Washington
$40,328
Avg. Salary
2. New Mexico
$36,860
Avg. Salary
3. Maryland
$41,767
Avg. Salary
How Do Administrative Support Rate Their Jobs?
Top Administrative Support Employers
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ administrative supports and discovered their number of administrative support opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Macy's was the best, especially with an average salary of $38,947. Kelly Services follows up with an average salary of $34,085, and then comes ManpowerGroup with an average of $33,539. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as an administrative support. The employers include Kforce, Randstad USA, and Dizzion