How To Become An Executive Secretary, Administrative Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is an executive secretary, administrative assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Anne McConnell Ph.D.

The average executive secretary, administrative assistant salary is $55,653. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an business major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become an executive secretary, administrative assistant. Executive secretaries, administrative assistant with a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -8% and produce -286,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to an executive secretary, administrative assistant?

Anne McConnell Ph.D.

Professor, West Virginia State University

I would say it's important to be very attentive to the way you communicate with your employers, managers, and co-workers. Even sending an e-mail can be an opportunity to demonstrate your professionalism and communication skills. Some people think that no one knows how to write anymore, or how to communicate in a professional way. I don't think that's true. But we don't always think about how our writing can be a tool to communicate our competence and seriousness. If you know how to write and communicate professionally-which college grads do-then make sure to demonstrate that in the workplace.

ScoreExecutive Secretary, Administrative AssistantUS Average

Salary

4.3

Avg. Salary $55,653

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

3.6

Growth rate -8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.40%

Asian 5.00%

Black or African American 7.62%

Hispanic or Latino 11.22%

Unknown 4.80%

White 70.97%

Gender

female 92.43%

male 7.57%

Age - 51

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 51

Stress level

3.6

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.7

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.9

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an executive secretary, administrative assistant

Explore executive secretary, administrative assistant education requirements

Most common executive secretary, administrative assistant degrees

Bachelor's

34.3 %

Associate

32.8 %

High School Diploma

20.8 %

Start to develop specific executive secretary, administrative assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Payroll	8.93%
Financial Statements	8.24%
Word Processing	8.19%
Conference Calls	8.18%
Purchase Orders	4.45%

Complete relevant executive secretary, administrative assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New executive secretaries, administrative assistant learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an executive secretary, administrative assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real executive secretary, administrative assistant resumes.

Research executive secretary, administrative assistant duties and responsibilities

Orchestrate special events and reservations; manage customer relations and provide exemplary service to all customers.
Disseminate pertinent data to executives and staff, prepare bi-weekly meeting minutes and PowerPoint presentations for monthly meetings.
General office tasks include handling mail, payroll, filing, maintaining portfolio inventory, contact with family members, etc.
Submit electronic payroll, via PeopleSoft application.

Get executive secretary, administrative assistant experience

Generally, it takes 2-4 years to become an executive secretary, administrative assistant. The most common roles before becoming an executive secretary, administrative assistant include administrative assistant, secretary team lead and office manager.

Prepare your executive secretary, administrative assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your executive secretary, administrative assistant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an executive secretary, administrative assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable executive secretary, administrative assistant resume templates

Build a professional executive secretary, administrative assistant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your executive secretary, administrative assistant resume.

Apply for executive secretary, administrative assistant jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an executive secretary, administrative assistant job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

Average executive secretary, administrative assistant salary

The average executive secretary, administrative assistant salary in the United States is $55,653 per year or $27 per hour. Executive secretary, administrative assistant salaries range between $38,000 and $79,000 per year.

Average executive secretary, administrative assistant salary

$55,653 Yearly

$26.76 hourly

How do executive secretaries, administrative assistant rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Executive secretary, administrative assistant reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2022

Pros

Writing a message,Organizing receipts and expenses and sending them out when needed

Cons

Failure to comply with working hours, theft and fraud,

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2020

Pros

It my passion to help people in need. It makes me feel good to see people the Youth do well in the life

Cons

I don't like to see anyone stuck in between and not being helped.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2020

Pros

everything except phones : Meeting,greeting, customer service, interviewing, on boarding, recruiting, presenting, etc.

Cons

phones - because of my accent

What is an executive secretary, administrative assistant and how to become one

What general advice would you give to an executive secretary, administrative assistant?

Executive secretary, administrative assistant career paths

Key steps to become an executive secretary, administrative assistant

Explore executive secretary, administrative assistant education requirements

Most common executive secretary, administrative assistant degrees

Start to develop specific executive secretary, administrative assistant skills

Complete relevant executive secretary, administrative assistant training and internships

Research executive secretary, administrative assistant duties and responsibilities

Get executive secretary, administrative assistant experience

Prepare your executive secretary, administrative assistant resume

Choose from 10+ customizable executive secretary, administrative assistant resume templates

Apply for executive secretary, administrative assistant jobs

How did you land your first executive secretary, administrative assistant job

Average executive secretary, administrative assistant salary

How do executive secretaries, administrative assistant rate their job?

Executive secretary, administrative assistant reviews