How To Become A Secretary Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a secretary specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Anne McConnell Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a secretary specialist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $14.76 an hour? That's $30,701 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 secretary specialist?

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.

ScoreSecretary SpecialistUS Average

Salary

2.4

Avg. Salary $30,701

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.0

Growth rate -8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.73%

Asian 3.81%

Black or African American 9.18%

Hispanic or Latino 16.07%

Unknown 3.87%

White 66.34%

Gender

female 94.71%

male 5.29%

Age - 52

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 - 52

Stress level

6.0

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.4

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a secretary specialist

Explore secretary specialist education requirements

Most common secretary specialist degrees

Associate

30.5 %

Bachelor's

28.0 %

High School Diploma

23.4 %

Start to develop specific secretary specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Scheduling Appointments	11.47%
Office Equipment	10.57%
Secretarial Support	9.98%
Telephone Calls	9.17%
Travel Arrangements	8.25%

Complete relevant secretary specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New secretaries specialist 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 secretary specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real secretary specialist resumes.

Research secretary specialist duties and responsibilities

Manage financial bookkeeping efficiently for the company using QuickBooks.
Prepare PowerPoint manuals and make presentations as needed.
Prepare legal papers and correspondence of a legal nature, such as wills, complaints, motions and subpoenas.
Coordinate travel arrangements in DTS; schedule mode of transportation, prepare trip folders, arrange lodging reservations and develop itineraries.

Prepare your secretary specialist resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable secretary specialist resume templates

Build a professional secretary specialist 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 secretary specialist resume.