1. Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC • Private
In-State Tuition
$3,926
Enrollment
9,835
Executive assistants are the high-level support a lot of companies need to expand and grow. They conduct research, analyze statistical reports, and are in charge of any information request that comes across their desk.
But that's not all executive assistants do. In fact, they often take on routine administrative roles, such as welcoming visitors, setting up conference calls, organizing meetings, and preparing correspondence. Executive assistants may also be relied on to train and oversee other clerical staff.
A lot of executive assistants work in colleges or universities but there are many other industries that rely on executive assistants. So really you have your pick of professions to work in, you can choose to go in whichever direction you want with this career.
There are certain skills that many executive assistants 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, organizational skills and writing skills.
If you're interested in becoming an executive assistant, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 60.9% of executive assistants have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 6.4% of executive assistants have master's degrees. Even though most executive assistants have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
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 executive assistant can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as assistant manager, progress to a title such as office manager and then eventually end up with the title office manager of human resources.
What Am I Worth?
Mouse over a state to see the number of active executive assistant jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where executive assistants earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Cullowhee, NC • Private
In-State Tuition
$3,926
Enrollment
9,835
Stanford, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
Muncie, IN • Private
In-State Tuition
$9,896
Enrollment
15,529
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
Bowling Green, OH • Private
In-State Tuition
$11,105
Enrollment
13,729
Allentown, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$39,216
Enrollment
1,303
Baltimore, MD • Private
In-State Tuition
$7,900
Enrollment
6,404
Evanston, IL • Private
In-State Tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
Adrian, MI • Private
In-State Tuition
$27,124
Enrollment
2,035
Akron, OH • Private
In-State Tuition
$11,463
Enrollment
13,676
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, 12.8% of executive assistants listed powerpoint on their resume, but soft skills such as interpersonal skills and organizational skills are important as well.
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Executive Assistant templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Executive Assistant resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
1. Project Execution
Project Execution has many challenges and a good project must learn how to execute projects and adjust to changes that may derail your project plans in the traditional and agile project management environments. In this course, the student will define direct and manage project work and knowledge. By the end of this course, you will be able to: - Direct and manage project work by preparing proactively for changes that lead to adjusting and re-planning your projects to success. - Conduct project...
See More on Coursera2. Executive Assistants: Manage Client's GCal (Beginners)
Google Calendar (2018) Setup, Strategies and Scripts...
See More on Udemy3. Executive Travel Planning for Assistants in 2023
Manage flights, hotels, and car services for corporate travel like a pro! PLUS travel changes during a global crisis...
See More on UdemySome places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an executive assistant. The best states for people in this position are New York, Alaska, North Dakota, and Washington. Executive assistants make the most in New York with an average salary of $64,314. Whereas in Alaska and North Dakota, they would average $60,362 and $59,840, respectively. While executive assistants would only make an average of $59,785 in Washington, 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
$59,785
Avg. Salary
2. Massachusetts
$59,185
Avg. Salary
3. New Jersey
$59,177
Avg. Salary
3.0
3.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
5.0
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ executive assistants and discovered their number of executive assistant opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Robert Half was the best, especially with an average salary of $49,357. PricewaterhouseCoopers follows up with an average salary of $60,746, and then comes Bank of America with an average of $59,436. 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 executive assistant. The employers include Intuit, Liberty Mutual Insurance, and Cigna
Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | $91,503 | $43.99 | 214 |
2 | American Express | $88,960 | $42.77 | 206 |
3 | Citi | $88,214 | $42.41 | 304 |
4 | Ernst & Young | $84,992 | $40.86 | 345 |
5 | IBM | $79,140 | $38.05 | 319 |
6 | McKinsey & Company Inc | $78,348 | $37.67 | 192 |
7 | Morgan Stanley | $76,056 | $36.57 | 305 |
8 | Merrill Lynch | $67,278 | $32.35 | 163 |
9 | Booz Allen Hamilton | $65,343 | $31.41 | 195 |
10 | Pwc | $60,746 | $29.20 | 440 |
It takes 5 years of professional experience to become an executive assistant. That is the time it takes to learn specific executive assistant 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 8 to 10 years years to become an executive assistant.
An executive assistant to a CEO makes between $50,000 and $95,000 per year. To attain a salary on the higher end of this range, several factors may be involved.
Although no degree is strictly necessary to become an executive assistant to a CEO, a degree in a field related to business, communications, or technology may be helpful.
No, executive assistant is not a dead end job. It is fairly common for executive assistants to earn salaries that exceed $70,000 per year in the right position. It is certainly possible, in many cases, to pursue a long-term career as an executive assistant.
Yes, being an executive assistant can be a great career. Executive assistants are usually paid between $50,000 per year and $95,000 per year. It is possible that, in the right position, an executive assistant may earn upwards of $100,000 per year.
Yes, a career as an executive assistant to a CEO can be a great career. Executive assistants are usually paid between $50,000 per year and $95,000 per year. This salary can be much higher for executive assistants who work under CEOs, especially in prospering companies and organizations.
No, it is not too hard to get an executive assistant job. This is, however, highly dependent on how competitive the individual position is. While a job as an executive assistant is usually not terribly difficult to land, there are a number of qualifications that may be expected of a candidate.
No amount of schooling is needed to be an executive assistant. Despite this, it is common for employers to seek executive assistant candidates with experience in the industry or some level of education that indicates their competence for the position.
An executive administrator is responsible for handling the daily administrative tasks for a group of executive professionals, while an executive assistant typically takes on the day-to-day administrative tasks of one executive professional.