Photo: President (1981-1989 : Reagan). White House Photographic Office. 1981-1989 (Public domain)
Job description
The role shifts constantly: fielding calls and directing them to the right person, greeting visitors and handling their questions, and keeping paper and digital files current and easy to find. Assistants also serve as a quality check on outgoing documents, reviewing colleagues' work for spelling, grammar, and formatting, and they handle office logistics like ordering supplies and arranging repairs for equipment that breaks down. The role typically supports a whole team rather than one executive, and with additional training can lead into specialized tracks like medical, legal, or executive assistant work.
Pros
- Enormous number of openings nationwide (202,800) makes this one of the easiest office roles to enter
- Just a high school diploma and on-the-job training required, no specialized credential needed
- Team-based, people-facing work suits those who prefer variety over solitary desk tasks
Cons
- Employment projected to shrink slightly over the next decade (-1.6%) as software absorbs routine admin tasks
- Fast-paced, deadline-driven days combined with frequent frustrated callers or visitors add stress
- Pay growth is capped without moving into an executive-level or specialized assistant role
A typical day
The office's nervous system boots at 8am: the assistant clears the voicemail queue, triages the shared inbox, and updates the director's calendar around a meeting that just moved — then rebuilds the conference room booking that the move collided with. The morning holds visitor check-ins, a supply order, and the monthly report formatted and proofed before its deadline. After lunch a minor crisis: the projector's dead ahead of a 2pm presentation, and the assistant has a backup room secured in ten minutes — the quiet competence the whole office runs on. Filing, expense reports, and drafting routine correspondence fill the afternoon, plus training the new hire on the phone system. The job is a hundred small things done reliably, which is rarer than it sounds.
Tasks at the job
- Review work done by others to check for correct spelling and grammar, ensure that company format policies are followed, and recommend revisions.
- Order and dispense supplies.
- 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.
- Operate office equipment, such as fax machines, copiers, or phone systems and arrange for repairs when equipment malfunctions.
Workplace & working conditions
Work happens indoors in a climate-controlled setting, and most of the day is spent sitting at a desk.
The pace is often fast, with real time pressure to meet deadlines. The work is highly structured, following set procedures. You'll regularly deal with frustrated or upset people as part of the job, and almost all of the work is done as part of a team.
Education necessary or common
High school diploma; some on-the-job training or apprenticeship
Licenses & certifications
- Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS)
- CAP (Certified Administrative Professional, later)
Career path
Related fields
Courses to take
- Computer Applications — Office suite fluency is the toolkit
- English — professional writing and phone presence
- Business — office procedures and organizational sense
- Consumer Math — expense tracking and basic bookkeeping
- Keyboarding — speed and accuracy compound daily
Clubs, activities & competitions
- FBLA — administrative and office events
- Student office aide
- Club secretary role — real minutes, real correspondence
- Any organized volunteer coordination role
First steps you can take now
- Become a club secretary or student office aide this semester
- Master Word, Excel, and calendar tools well enough to teach them
- Build typing speed past 50 WPM
- Practice professional email writing — subject lines, tone, brevity
