Career
Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive
Keep an office organized and running.
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Answer telephones and give information to callers, take messages, or transfer calls to appropriate individuals.
- Greet visitors or callers and handle their inquiries or direct them to the appropriate persons according to their needs.
- Create, maintain, and enter information into databases.
- Use computers for various applications, such as database management or word processing.
- Operate office equipment, such as fax machines, copiers, or phone systems and arrange for repairs when equipment malfunctions.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
AI
BLS now cites artificial intelligence in this occupation's outlook: “share decreases as technology, including artificial intelligence (AI) systems, assists workers with routine back office functions, such as preparing documents, scheduling, and notetaking.”
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on information & systems, then persuasion & leadership?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Answer telephones and give information to callers, take messages, or transfer calls to appropriate individuals.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Writing.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though short-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $47,540 a year and 163,900 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Administrative Assistant and Secretarial Science, GeneralCIP 52.0401
- Executive Assistant/Executive SecretaryCIP 52.0402
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants$76,590 · +0.0%
- Office Clerks, General$45,010 · -6.0%
- Administrative Services Managers$114,130 · +5.2%
- Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants$55,570 · -5.2%
- Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants$45,930 · +4.8%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.