How To Become A Virtual Office Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a virtual office assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

If you want to work remotely, one of the best jobs you can pursue is that of a virtual office assistant. As a virtual office assistant, you are responsible for performing various administrative, technical, clerical, or creative tasks, depending on the needs of your employer. And since you are a virtual office assistant, you can work from anywhere as long as you have a stable Internet connection and an appropriate device.

In general, the duties of a virtual office assistant typically include managing calendars, generating leads, performing data entry tasks, making travel arrangements, handling correspondence on behalf of the client, and managing payments. Your duties may also include any other miscellaneous tasks that your client assigns.

There is no strict educational requirement to become a virtual office assistant. You can be a freelancer and find a client on your own, but you can also join an agency that connects freelancers to clients. Depending on the agency, you may be required to at least have a high school diploma or, in some cases, a bachelor's degree.

ScoreVirtual Office AssistantUS Average

Salary

2.4

Avg. Salary $30,761

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.0

Growth rate -8%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.73%

Asian 3.83%

Black or African American 9.27%

Hispanic or Latino 16.22%

Unknown 3.87%

White 66.09%

Gender

female 84.48%

male 15.52%

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 virtual office assistant

Explore virtual office assistant education requirements

Most common virtual office assistant degrees

Bachelor's

54.4 %

Associate

29.4 %

High School Diploma

8.8 %

Start to develop specific virtual office assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
PowerPoint	64.37%
Administrative Tasks	9.95%
Email ETC	6.99%
Website Content	4.87%
Payroll	2.87%

Complete relevant virtual office assistant training and internships

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

Research virtual office assistant duties and responsibilities

Evaluate websites using SEO ranking tools and Google page ranking toolbar to select suitable leads for clients.
Lead DoD team that assist Pakistan in gaining military capabilities to conduct counter-terrorism operations against the Taliban.
Assist in the preliminary hiring process, maintain payroll, all office accounting and customer follow-up
Assist office manager in accounting, payroll and bidding during periods of heavy workload or absence.

Prepare your virtual office assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your virtual office 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 a virtual office 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 virtual office assistant resume templates

Build a professional virtual office 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 virtual office assistant resume.