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Role hub · Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive

Administrative Assistant: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of administrative assistants earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$47,540
Hourly
$22.86
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Administrative Assistants perform routine administrative functions such as drafting correspondence, scheduling appointments, organizing and maintaining paper and electronic files, or providing information to callers. The median pay is $47,540 a year ($22.86 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a high school diploma or equivalent (50% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$47,540
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
1,706,790
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 2 of 5
some preparation
Most common education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
50% of workers

Data Government data groups this job as Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive (O*NET-SOC 43-6014.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

Explore the role

Every page for Administrative Assistants

SalaryAdministrative Assistant salary

Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.

Open →How to becomeAdministrative Assistant how to become

Education, training and the skills to build first.

Open →ResumeAdministrative Assistant resume

Keywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.

Open →Interview questionsAdministrative Assistant interview questions

Questions with what they test, plus practice mode.

Open →Career changeAdministrative Assistant career change

Where these skills transfer, with skill match and pay change.

Open →Free toolCheck your resume

Parsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.

Open →
The work

What administrative assistants do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Answer telephones and give information to callers, take messages, or transfer calls to appropriate individuals.
  2. Greet visitors or callers and handle their inquiries or direct them to the appropriate persons according to their needs.
  3. Create, maintain, and enter information into databases.
  4. Use computers for various applications, such as database management or word processing.
  5. Operate office equipment, such as fax machines, copiers, or phone systems and arrange for repairs when equipment malfunctions.
  6. Set up and manage paper or electronic filing systems, recording information, updating paperwork, or maintaining documents, such as attendance records, correspondence, or other material.
  7. Operate electronic mail systems and coordinate the flow of information, internally or with other organizations.
  8. Schedule and confirm appointments for clients, customers, or supervisors.
Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Active ListeningcoreSpeakingcoreReading ComprehensioncoreWritingService OrientationTime ManagementCoordinationMonitoringSocial Perceptiveness

Knowledge areas: Administrative, English Language, Computers and Electronics, Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management.

Tools and technology

Software administrative assistants use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Adobe Creative Cloud softwareGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
  • Adobe IllustratorGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
  • Adobe InDesignDesktop publishing softwareHot technology
  • Adobe PhotoshopGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
  • Apache CassandraData base management system softwareHot technology
  • Apache HadoopData base management system softwareHot technology
  • Apache HiveData base management system softwareHot technology
  • Atlassian JIRAContent workflow softwareHot technology
  • CanvaGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
  • FacebookWeb page creation and editing softwareHot technology
  • IBM SPSS StatisticsAnalytical or scientific softwareHot technology
  • Kronos Workforce TimekeeperTime accounting softwareHot technology

Also called: Secretary, Administrative Assistant (Admin Assistant), Administrative Clerk, Administrative Secretary (Admin Secretary), Administrative Specialist (Admin Specialist), Administrative Support Assistant (ASA), Administrative Technician.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).