There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a principal secretary. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.2 an hour? That's $33,699 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -7% and produce -276,700 job opportunities across the U.S.

What Does a Principal Secretary Do

There are certain skills that many principal secretaries 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 a Principal Secretary does

How To Become a Principal Secretary

If you're interested in becoming a principal secretary, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 38.7% of principal secretaries have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 3.0% of principal secretaries have master's degrees. Even though some principal secretaries have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Principal Secretary Career Paths

Average Salary for a Principal Secretary

Principal Secretaries in America make an average salary of $33,699 per year or $16 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $41,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $27,000 per year.
Average Principal Secretary Salary
$33,699 Yearly
$16.20 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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States With The Most Principal Secretary Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active principal secretary jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where principal secretaries earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Principal Secretary Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1Florida1,361$27,628
2Texas1,299$30,969
3Massachusetts1,111$41,507
4New York1,007$38,857
5Washington961$41,238
6Pennsylvania948$32,403
7New Jersey941$32,956
8Virginia924$28,877
9Illinois815$32,876
10North Carolina605$30,761
11Arizona581$32,557
12Maryland544$32,364
13Minnesota511$40,767
14Colorado508$37,640
15Ohio497$30,001
16Georgia491$28,152
17Wisconsin383$31,429
18Oregon365$39,070
19Connecticut294$38,917
20Michigan293$31,552
21California262$44,589
22Missouri248$32,002
23New Hampshire215$31,809
24Alabama213$31,288
25Indiana211$26,946
26Tennessee206$29,734
27Rhode Island199$37,139
28Arkansas181$27,696
29South Carolina170$28,179
30Kentucky141$30,765
31Kansas137$33,380
32Nevada129$37,373
33Nebraska128$33,144
34Idaho122$32,154
35New Mexico120$29,397
36Vermont109$34,892
37Montana108$30,589
38Iowa98$29,745
39Louisiana89$27,708
40Oklahoma82$28,434
41West Virginia81$28,555
42Maine70$33,302
43Delaware64$32,487
44Mississippi53$29,884
45South Dakota46$29,612
46Hawaii37$46,998
47Wyoming34$37,195
48North Dakota33$38,272
49Alaska24$44,438
50Utah11$36,102

Principal Secretary Education

Principal Secretary Majors

34.2 %

Principal Secretary Degrees

Bachelors

38.7 %

Associate

27.3 %

High School Diploma

19.1 %

Top Colleges for Principal Secretarys

1. Western Carolina University

Cullowhee, NC • Private

In-State Tuition

$3,926

Enrollment

9,835

2. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

3. Ball State University

Muncie, IN • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,896

Enrollment

15,529

4. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

5. Bowling Green State University

Bowling Green, OH • Private

In-State Tuition

$11,105

Enrollment

13,729

6. Cedar Crest College

Allentown, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$39,216

Enrollment

1,303

7. Morgan State University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,900

Enrollment

6,404

8. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

9. Siena Heights University

Adrian, MI • Private

In-State Tuition

$27,124

Enrollment

2,035

10. University of Akron

Akron, OH • Private

In-State Tuition

$11,463

Enrollment

13,676

Top Skills For a Principal Secretary

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, 16.2% of principal secretaries listed purchase orders on their resume, but soft skills such as interpersonal skills and organizational skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Principal Secretary Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Principal Secretary templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Principal Secretary resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Principal Secretary diversity

Principal Secretary Gender Distribution

Female
Female
95%
Male
Male
5%

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

  • Among principal secretaries, 95.0% of them are women, while 5.0% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among principal secretaries is White, which makes up 66.1% of all principal secretaries.

  • The most common foreign language among principal secretaries is Spanish at 72.2%.

Online Courses For Principal Secretary That You May Like

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1. Health Information Technology Fundamentals

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In this course you will receive an overview of the health IT ecosystem with a specific focus on the role of electronic health records (EHRs). You’ll be introduced to the factors that contributed to the move from paper records to digitized records and who the most common vendors are. We’ll go over features of EHRs such as computerized provider order entry, clinical decision support, documentation capabilities, and medication reconciliation. Like a physician’s stethoscope, the EHR has become an...

2. Major and Principal Gifts

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This course will provide a comprehensive view of major and principal gift development work for students who seek to build upon their experiences gained in the introductory session. Participants will gain an understanding of the philosophy and strategies implemented in major gift development including prospect identification, how to initially engage a potential major gift donor, the process of cultivation and moves management, effective proposal writing, making a successful ask and on-going...

3. Financial Accounting Payroll

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4.5
(1,253)

Payroll calculations - federal income tax, social security, Medicare - Payroll journal entries posted to ledger accounts...

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Best States For a Principal Secretary

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a principal secretary. The best states for people in this position are Hawaii, California, Alaska, and Massachusetts. Principal secretaries make the most in Hawaii with an average salary of $46,998. Whereas in California and Alaska, they would average $44,589 and $44,438, respectively. While principal secretaries would only make an average of $41,507 in Massachusetts, 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 Principal Secretary Jobs: 961
Highest 10% Earn:
$49,000
Location Quotient:
2.08

2. Massachusetts

Total Principal Secretary Jobs: 1,111
Highest 10% Earn:
$51,000
Location Quotient:
1.91

3. Minnesota

Total Principal Secretary Jobs: 511
Highest 10% Earn:
$48,000
Location Quotient:
1.22
Full List Of Best States For Principal Secretaries

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Top Principal Secretary Employers

Most Common Employers For Principal Secretary

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Roswell Park$38,563$18.548
2Cleveland Metropolitan School District$36,122$17.374
3Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation$34,174$16.439
4University of Minnesota$33,841$16.2711
5Rutgers University$33,730$16.2213
6Aurora Public Schools$33,726$16.214
7Lodi Unified School District$33,156$15.946
8South Bend Community School$32,532$15.644
9Northern Michigan University$32,130$15.458
10Spring Isd$31,938$15.357

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