Administrative Professionals Working Harder, Making More Money

The past five years have brought with them increased job responsibilities for administrative professionals, a survey by the International Association of Administrative Professionals notes. On a 0 to 10 scale, general office management ranked the highest, meaning it has increased in importance the most. Following this was travel and meeting planning, as well as project management.

Salaries are also rising for this group of people, the survey shows. Forty-five percent are earning over $40,000 a year, up from 33% in 2002 and only 8% in 1997. Fifty-four percent are still paid by the hour, however.

Job Responsibility and Satisfaction

Forty-one percent are primarily interested in staying in their current position, the survey notes. Administrative assistants – or executive assistants, as 18% of them are called – aren’t all happy with their current position, however. Twenty percent are using the position to rise through the ranks in their company, while 8% are looking to move into management. Of those, 6% cite changing careers as their primary work goal.

Overall, people in these positions are happy, with an average 7.7 job satisfaction rating (on a scale of 1 to 10). Forty percent enjoy playing an important role in their organization, while 22% claim to enjoy working on and organizing projects. An additional 12% said that dealing with people was the most enjoyable part of their job.

What are the most significant issues facing this group? According to the survey, on a scale of 1 to 10, keeping up with technology changes rates an 8.9, while an increased workload rates a 7.9. Balancing work and family, a concern for all workers, received a rating of 7.8.