How To Become A Firm Administrator: What It Is and Career Path

What is a firm administrator and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Virginia Wilcox

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a firm administrator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $33.92 an hour? That's $70,547 a year! 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 a firm administrator?

Virginia Wilcox

Associate Professor of Education, Wesleyan College

Go into this knowing every single person you encounter was once in your shoes...new, confused, anxious, worried, etc.
The quickest way to make a friend is to ask for help. Everyone (even the most hardened) likes feeling needed and/or appreciated.
So...even if it's as minor as asking for advice on what color to use on the bulletin board or as major as asking for ideas on how to engage an unruly student...
ASK someone not only will you get the assistance you need, you will make their day...AND...you may find that you've made an invaluable step toward a new friendship.

ScoreFirm AdministratorUS Average

Salary

5.5

Avg. Salary $70,547

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.0

Growth rate -8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.63%

Asian 5.19%

Black or African American 10.97%

Hispanic or Latino 17.94%

Unknown 4.72%

White 60.55%

Gender

female 77.57%

male 22.43%

Age - 48

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 - 48

Stress level

8.0

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a firm administrator

Explore firm administrator education requirements

Most common firm administrator degrees

Bachelor's

64.2 %

Associate

17.7 %

Master's

10.7 %

Start to develop specific firm administrator skills

Skills	Percentages
Payroll Processing	16.20%
Law Firm	11.84%
Litigation	5.32%
Office Equipment	3.08%
General Ledger	2.99%

Complete relevant firm administrator training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New firm administrators 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 a firm administrator based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real firm administrator resumes.

Research firm administrator duties and responsibilities

Manage the purchase of supplies, A/R, A/P, general bookkeeping, trust account, and client billing.
Direct Medicaid health plan management division activities (manage care program operations, quality improvement, and contract administration).
Complete and review bi-monthly QuickBooks's journal entries.
Perform bank reconciliation and month-end close; submit to CPA for tax review.

Prepare your firm administrator resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your firm administrator 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 a firm administrator resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable firm administrator resume templates

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