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Career roadmap

How to become Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive

$44,280 median/yr·Suits people who are strongly conventional

Median annual wage for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive (43-6014) — BLS OEWS, May 2023.

What you would actually do

The tasks that make up the work of Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive, weighted by how central each one is to the job.

  • Answer telephones to direct calls or provide information.
  • Discuss account status or activity with customers or patrons.
  • Refer customers to appropriate personnel.
  • Greet customers, patrons, or visitors.
  • Enter information into databases or software programs.
  • Operate computers or computerized equipment.
  • Collect deposits, payments or fees.
  • Report maintenance or equipment problems to appropriate personnel.

The skills that actually carry the job

Scored on how much the work depends on each one — not a wishlist, a measurement.

  • Active Listening4.0/5
  • Speaking4.0/5
  • Reading Comprehension3.9/5
  • Writing3.8/5
  • Service Orientation3.5/5
  • Time Management3.5/5
  • Monitoring3.1/5
  • Coordination3.1/5
  • Critical Thinking3.0/5
  • Social Perceptiveness3.0/5

Would this suit you?

Every occupation leans on a particular mix of interests. Here is the mix measured for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive — and our free 2-minute Career Match scores you on the same six.

  • Conventional7.0/7

    Ordering, checking, following a precise procedure accurately

  • Enterprising4.2/7

    Persuading, leading, selling, taking commercial risk

  • Social3.6/7

    Helping, teaching, caring for and working directly with people

  • Realistic2.0/7

    Hands-on, practical, working with tools, machines or the body

  • Investigative1.4/7

    Investigating, diagnosing, reasoning through problems with evidence

  • Artistic1.0/7

    Creating, expressing, working without a fixed procedure

See how you score — 2 min, free

Interest profiles from the O*NET 29.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Used under CC BY 4.0.

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