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Executive Assistant

$76,590
median / year
$50,560 – $109,850
what most earn per year (10th–90th percentile)

What the job actually is

Manage a senior leader's schedule, correspondence, meetings, and travel, and handle information others don't see.

You may also see this posted as: Administrative Assistant, Administrative Secretary, Executive Secretary, Administrative Aide, Administrative Associate, Administrative Coordinator.

Where you work

Corporate and executive offices

The hours

Full-time, daytime

The day to day

What you'd actually spend time doing

  • Manage and maintain executives' schedules.
  • Make travel arrangements for executives.
  • Prepare invoices, reports, memos, letters, financial statements, and other documents, using word processing, spreadsheet, database, or presentation software.
  • Coordinate and direct office services, such as records, departmental finances, budget preparation, personnel issues, and housekeeping, to aid executives.
  • Answer phone calls and direct calls to appropriate parties or take messages.

Good fit if you like…

Conventional

organizing information, following systems, and getting details right

Enterprising

leading, persuading, selling, or turning an idea into action

Social

helping, teaching, caring for, or supporting other people

O*NET job zone 3 of 5

Medium preparation—often vocational training, an associate degree, or substantial experience—is usually needed.

Work styles that matter most

DependabilityAttention to DetailCooperationSocial Orientation

Software that shows up in the work

Examples employers report—not a checklist you must already know.

Google Workspace softwareMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft SharePoint

By the numbers

May 2025 BLS wage & employment data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$76,590
per year
Hourly median
$36.82
per hour
What most earn
$50,560–$109,850
yearly, 10th to 90th percentile
Openings a year
~50,000
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
-1.6%
Declining
Working in the U.S.
459,910
people, nationwide

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

BLS estimates 0.2% of workers in this occupation are self-employed.

What it pays in your state

Statewide medians are a better starting point than the national number. Your city and experience still matter.

BLS state wage tables

How you get in

Typical starting education

High school / no degree

Training path: Learn on the job.

Related work experience: Less than 5 years.

On-the-job training: None.

License or certification

No license required to start in most places.

You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.

Check the path where you live

Licensing rules and available programs change by state. These federal tools take you to the current official listings.

What it takes

OrganizationDiscretionCommunicationScheduling

The honest take

The best-paid of the office-support jobs — but shrinking as leaders self-manage calendars and email.

Standard Occupational Classification 43-6011. Pay and employment from the BLS May 2025 OEWS survey; outlook and openings from the 2024–34 employment projections; job context from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; tasks, interests, work styles, software examples, and job zone from O*NET 30.3. See something off? Tell us.