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.

What Does an Executive Assistant Do

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.

Learn more about what an Executive Assistant does

How To Become an Executive Assistant

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.

Learn More About How To Become an Executive Assistant

Executive Assistant Job Description

Executive assistants are administrative professionals who are assigned to work with the company's top executives, completing a variety of tasks. These tasks include managing a schedule and calendar, managing emails and phone calls, coordinating with other departments, arranging meetings, and preparing reports.

Learn more about Executive Assistant Job Description

Executive Assistant Career Paths

Average Salary for an Executive Assistant

Executive Assistants in America make an average salary of $50,539 per year or $24 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $71,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $35,000 per year.
Average Executive Assistant Salary
$50,539 Yearly
$24.30 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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States With The Most Executive Assistant Jobs

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.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Executive Assistant Jobs By State

Executive Assistant Education

Executive Assistant Majors

34.5 %

Executive Assistant Degrees

Bachelors

60.9 %

Associate

20.3 %

High School Diploma

7.2 %

Top Colleges for Executive Assistants

1. Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$3,926

Enrollment

9,835

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Education
Business
Marketing
Criminal Justice
Psychology

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Education
Political Science
English
Communication

3. Ball State University

Muncie, IN • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,896

Enrollment

15,529

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Education
Liberal Arts
Psychology
Accounting
Public Relations

4. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Education
Finance
Business
Political Science
Health Care Administration

5. Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green, OH • Private

In-State Tuition

$11,105

Enrollment

13,729

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Education
Liberal Arts
Business
Psychology
Criminal Justice

6. Cedar Crest College

Allentown, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$39,216

Enrollment

1,303

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Education
Business
Criminal Justice
Psychology
Health Care Administration

7. Morgan State University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,900

Enrollment

6,404

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Liberal Arts
Business
Education
Psychology
Sociology

8. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Liberal Arts
Communication
Psychology
Education

9. Siena Heights University

Adrian, MI • Private

In-State Tuition

$27,124

Enrollment

2,035

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Criminal Justice
Liberal Arts
Accounting
Education

10. University of Akron

Akron, OH • Private

In-State Tuition

$11,463

Enrollment

13,676

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Liberal Arts
Education
Business
Marketing
Accounting

Top Skills For an Executive Assistant

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.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Executive Assistant Resume templates

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.

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Executive Assistant Demographics

Executive Assistant Gender Distribution

Female
Female
87%
Male
Male
13%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among executive assistants, 86.9% of them are women, while 13.1% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among executive assistants is White, which makes up 71.0% of all executive assistants.

  • The most common foreign language among executive assistants is Spanish at 53.1%.

Online Courses For Executive Assistant That You May Like

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1. Project Execution

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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...

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2. Executive Assistants: Manage Client's GCal (Beginners)

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4.5
(859)

Google Calendar (2018) Setup, Strategies and Scripts...

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3. Executive Travel Planning for Assistants in 2023

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4.8
(269)

Manage flights, hotels, and car services for corporate travel like a pro! PLUS travel changes during a global crisis...

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Best States For an Executive Assistant

Some 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

Total Executive Assistant Jobs: 1,399
Highest 10% Earn:
$88,000
Location Quotient:
1.25

2. Massachusetts

Total Executive Assistant Jobs: 1,990
Highest 10% Earn:
$83,000
Location Quotient:
1.41

3. New Jersey

Total Executive Assistant Jobs: 1,450
Highest 10% Earn:
$85,000
Location Quotient:
1.19
Full List Of Best States For Executive Assistants

How Do Executive Assistant Rate Their Jobs?

Zippia Official Logo

3.0

Executive Assistant • July 2020

3.0

Zippia Official LogoExecutive Assistant • July 2020

What do you like the most about working as Executive Assistant?

Working on special projects and data collection for division chief medical officer Show More

What do you NOT like?

Scheduling meetings Show More

Zippia Official Logo

5.0

Executive Assistant • July 2020

5.0

Zippia Official LogoExecutive Assistant • July 2020

What do you like the most about working as Executive Assistant?

I enjoy the diversity of assignments. Show More

What do you NOT like?

Micromanagement from our umbrella agency. Show More

Zippia Official Logo

5.0

Executive Assistant • May 2020

5.0

Zippia Official LogoExecutive Assistant • May 2020

What do you like the most about working as Executive Assistant?

The challenge, being busy all the time. I don't like to be bore. The diversity of the job. Show More

What do you NOT like?

The company i've been for 10 years I can't grow any more. Other than that nothing. Show More

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Top Executive Assistant 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 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

Most Common Employers For Executive Assistant

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1JPMorgan Chase & Co.$91,503$43.99214
2American Express$88,960$42.77206
3Citi$88,214$42.41304
4Ernst & Young$84,992$40.86345
5IBM$79,140$38.05319
6McKinsey & Company Inc$78,348$37.67192
7Morgan Stanley$76,056$36.57305
8Merrill Lynch$67,278$32.35163
9Booz Allen Hamilton$65,343$31.41195
10Pwc$60,746$29.20440

Becoming an Executive Assistant FAQs

How Long Does It Take To Become An Executive Assistant?

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.

How Much Does An Executive Assistant To A Ceo Make?

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.

Is Executive Assistant A Dead End Job?

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.

Is Executive Assistant A Good Career?

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.

Is Executive Assistant To Ceo A Good Job?

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.

Is It Hard To Get An Executive Assistant Job?

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.

What Schooling Do You Need To Be An Executive Assistant?

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.

Executive Administrator Vs. Executive Assistant

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.

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