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How long does it take to become a Secretary?

By Zippia Team - Mar. 2, 2022

It takes 2 years of professional experience to become a secretary. That is the time it takes to learn specific secretary skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education. If you include the normal education requirements to complete a college degree, then it takes 5 to 7 years years to become a secretary.

There are certain skills that you need to obtain in order to become a successful secretary. Some of the most common skills are listed below. Along with each skill, we provide an actual example of how someone included the skill on their resume:

  1. Customer Service -- Scheduled appointments and provided quality customer service to customers, clients, inspectors, and effectively communicated with staff and management.

  2. Telephone Calls -- Performed secretarial duties including processing and filing of paperwork, responding to telephone calls and completing financial reports through electronic database.

  3. Scheduling Appointments -- Conducted clerical and administrative functions such as organizing paper and electronic files, generating correspondence, scheduling appointments and answering telephones.

  4. Payroll -- Provided support to management with budget preparation, supplying payroll information as requested.

  5. Office Supplies -- Maintain minimum necessary inventory of office supplies for administrative area; make all necessary administrative equipment repair arrangements.

Common Educational Background For A Secretary

The education needed to be a Secretary is normally a Bachelor's Degree. Secretaries usually study Business, Accounting or Psychology. 38.0% of Secretaries hold a Bachelor's Degree and 24.0% hold a Associate Degree. We found these by analyzing 212331 Secretary resumes to investigate the topic of Secretary education more precisely.

The most common colleges for students to pursue their goal of becoming a Secretary are University of Phoenix and Miami Dade College. We also broke down what colleges provide the best overall education for a Secretary. Students have a great path to earning their Secretary qualifications at the following schools:

  1. University of Pennsylvania
  2. Western Carolina University
  3. Ball State University

If you're interested in getting a college degree in an affordable college for Secretaries - SUNY Farmingdale is an excellent option for you. If your SAT or ACT score aren't as high as you'd like, you can look at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, as the admission requirements aren't too selective. On the other end of that spectrum are the University of Pennsylvania, Boston College and Stanford University.

For those who would rather stay in your pajamas during the day, we prepared some online courses that can help in Secretary education paths.

Common Certifications For A Secretary

The Word 2010 Certification certification is most common among Secretaries. This certification is awarded by the Microsoft Corporation. This certification is great to have as it shows an improvement in your competency to perform your role. You can earn this certification at the beginning of your career, as it often doesn't require a minimum education level and work experience. To become a certified Secretary with Word 2010 Certification, You don't need to pass the exam. Lucky you - certification doesn't require more than two years of work experience. Renew certification every year.

How long does it take to become a Secretary?

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