Career Opportunities and Work Life

Skills You'll Need

Salary Ranges

The Classroom Experience

Certificate & Degree Options

Today's office setting is fast paced. Producing reports, coordinating face-to-face and virtual meetings, establishing and achieving timelines for projects and maintaining records are just some of the activities which administrative assistants are expected to do.

A typical day for an administrative assistant can include:

• Developing a sales report using spreadsheet software
• Working with customers and clients
• Scheduling meetings and appointments
• Preparing PowerPoint presentations incorporating graphs, charts, data, video, and audio
• Corresponding by phone, fax, or e-mail with clients all over the country and the world
• Researching topics on the Internet
• Coordinating video conferences
• Training coworkers
• Developing database systems for tracking customers

Because of increased workflow efficiency as a result of technology, many routine tasks that once were performed manually are now automated. Tasks that were performed by administrative assistants are being replaced by increasing levels of responsibility once reserved for managerial and professional staff.

Work Environment
The majority of administrative assistant positions are full-time positions but part-time opportunities do exist as nationally 1 in 7 administrative assistants work part-time. Nearly 60 percent of administrative assistants are employed in service industries ranging from education, banking, insurance, investment and real estate. Other important employers include manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail trade, as well as government agencies.

Most administrative assistants work a standard 40-hour week, Monday through Friday. Peak workload periods and deadlines may make it necessary to work overtime hours requiring some flexibility in scheduling.

It is also becoming more common for administrative assistants to work for several different individuals and/or departments. This is a result of increased office automation and company restructuring, making this type of position more and more productive and efficient.

Technology plays an increasing role in the typical office setting. Maintaining customer databases; knowing how to integrate information from different software packages; coordinating videoconferencing; and preparing charts, slides, and handouts for multimedia presentations are just a few of the daily activities that you might encounter as an administrative assistant.

Employment Outlook
Nationally, new job opportunities for administrative assistants are expected to grow by 11 percent by 2010. Within Michigan, jobs are expected to remain relatively constant with about 5 percent job growth during the same time period.

Career Advancement
According to LMC Administrative Office Systems instructor and advisor Lisa Augustiniak, becoming an administrative assistant can lead to office management positions with higher wages and greater responsibility.