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Executive Secretaries Job Overview

Executive secretaries administratively support an office and the top-level executives in a company. They perform jobs which are concerned with information management.

Executive Secretaries Schools and Degrees

Executive secretaries are required to have academic qualification beyond high school. A degree in office administration is preferred. These programs usually last for two years and are available in technical, business and professional schools. Short courses in computers can also be helpful.

Job Requirements

The International Association of Administrative Professionals grants certifications in this field. The Certified Administrative Professional and the Certified Professional Secretary are some of the important designations that can be earned by executive secretaries. In order to earn these designations, candidates need to pass an exam and fulfill certain academic and experience requirements.

Expertise and experience is important for executive secretaries. With maturity and experience they advance to administrative positions with greater responsibilities.

Executive secretaries need to be good with computers and have good written and verbal communication skills. They also need fine organizational, administrative and management skills. Discretion and good judgment are also important for a successful executive secretary.

Nature of Work

Executive secretaries prepare office documents such as financial statements and reports. They coordinate and manage the schedules of executives and screen incoming visitors and calls. They not only schedule and plan meetings but also take notes while it is in progress. They also research and gather data and meet visitors on the behalf of the executive. Besides all this, they carry out all the other functions of normal secretaries. For instance, they supply orders, do filing work and keep the office's books.

Executive secretaries generally work for forty hours in a week, and they seldom have to work in the evenings or on weekends. They need to work at the computer for long hours and may face problems of the back, eyes, wrists and hands.

Executive Secretaries Jobs and Outlook

According to research done in 2006, the demand of executive secretaries is likely to increase by fifteen percent in the next ten years in the US. Employment is the highest in the following industries:

• Colleges, Universities and Professional Schools
• Elementary and Secondary Schools
• Employment Services
• Local Government(OES Designation)
• Management of Companies and Enterprises

The median annual earnings of executive secretaries in the US was $37,240 in 2006.

Job Numbers and Growth

About 1,618,000 executive secretaries can be found working in the US. A low unemployment level has been the case recently. Employees without jobs were about 3%.

Area Job Conditions

Finding executive secretaries is easiest in College Station (Texas), Tallahassee (Florida), and Topeka (Kansas), and by comparison more challenging in Yakima (Washington), Anniston (Alabama), and Las Cruces (New Mexico).

The pay is best in Newark (New Jersey), Atlantic City (New Jersey), and San Francisco (California) and worst in Jonesboro (Arkansas), Great Falls (Montana), and Lawton (Oklahoma).

Training and Education

You'll generally want work experience in a related occupation for this career path. Of current executive secretaries, 18% graduated from college with degrees. Some 49% of workers attened college but did not go on to get a bachelor's degree. A high school education was sufficient for 33% of employees. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

Executive secretaries working part-time accounted for 19% of those employed in 2008. Self-employed workers represent an estimated 1% of the total.

Executive Secretaries by Metropolitan Area (city and its surroundings)

In the table below, a Job Density near 0% means the area has an average number of people in this occupation, for its population. A higher or lower Job Density (e.g., +22% or -45%) tells you there are that many more or fewer workers of that type there than in the average US metro area. So, the higher the number, the more common the occupation.

Alabama

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Anniston	$44,000	80	-78%
Auburn	$52,000	140	-60%
Birmingham	$47,000	2,380	-47%
Decatur	$42,000	100	-77%
Dothan	$44,000	150	-68%
Florence	$41,000	120	-71%
Gadsden	$39,000	50	-81%
Huntsville	$47,000	1,090	-41%
Mobile	$44,000	530	-66%
Montgomery	$45,000	750	-48%
Tuscaloosa	$47,000	260	-66%

Alaska

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Anchorage	$49,000	2,130	+45%
Fairbanks	$47,000	360	+46%

Arizona

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Flagstaff	$39,000	620	+36%
Kingman	$37,000	350	-7%
Phoenix	$42,000	18,750	+16%
Prescott	$36,000	630	+44%
Tucson	$41,000	2,990	-3%
Yuma	$38,000	290	-35%

Arkansas

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Fayetteville	$39,000	1,490	-18%
Fort Smith	$35,000	620	-42%
Hot Springs	$37,000	200	-29%
Jonesboro	$36,000	280	-25%
Little Rock	$40,000	2,760	-12%
Pine Bluff	$39,000	130	-44%

California

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bakersfield	$44,000	1,960	-16%
Chico	$39,000	530	-8%
El Centro	$45,000	320	-20%
Fresno	$42,000	2,310	-20%
Hanford	$39,000	160	-39%
Los Angeles	$49,000	50,330	+35%
Madera	$45,000	200	-18%
Merced	$40,000	330	-28%
Modesto	$45,000	1,190	-12%
Napa	$50,000	660	+29%
Oakland	$53,000	13,150	+43%
Oxnard	$49,000	3,570	+33%
Redding	$40,000	500	+2%
Riverside	$45,000	9,730	-12%
Sacramento	$47,000	8,960	+13%
Salinas	$48,000	1,220	-13%
San Diego	$47,000	16,180	+34%
San Francisco	$58,000	16,150	+77%
San Jose	$58,000	10,930	+33%
San Luis Obispo	$43,000	1,030	+31%
Santa Ana	$50,000	16,840	+26%
Santa Barbara	$47,000	1,890	+28%
Santa Cruz	$44,000	1,560	+113%
Santa Rosa	$48,000	2,080	+36%
Stockton	$45,000	1,490	-20%
Vallejo	$44,000	1,220	+18%
Visalia	$41,000	690	-41%
Yuba City	$43,000	320	+7%

Colorado

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Boulder	$51,000	2,240	+67%
Colorado Springs	$42,000	2,220	-2%
Denver	$49,000	13,640	+19%
Fort Collins	$44,000	1,200	+10%
Grand Junction	$41,000	400	-13%
Greeley	$47,000	580	-4%
Pueblo	$42,000	420	-9%

Connecticut

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bridgeport	$58,000	4,800	+24%
Danbury	$50,000	360	-36%
Hartford	$49,000	5,980	+14%
New Haven	$53,000	3,230	+32%
Norwich	$48,000	650	-39%
Waterbury	$45,000	370	-34%

Delaware

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Dover	$43,000	220	-47%
Wilmington	$50,000	2,360	-20%

District of Columbia

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Washington	$53,000	27,050	+21%

Florida

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Cape Coral	$42,000	1,770	+3%
Deltona	$36,000	1,210	-10%
Fort Lauderdale	$43,000	6,750	+6%
Fort Walton Beach	$40,000	410	-36%
Gainesville	$40,000	1,530	+46%
Jacksonville	$40,000	5,280	-4%
Lakeland	$40,000	1,310	-22%
Miami	$44,000	10,800	+20%
Naples	$46,000	920	-4%
Ocala	$38,000	580	-22%
Orlando	$40,000	8,990	-4%
Palm Bay	$41,000	1,680	-4%
Palm Coast	$39,000	130	+14%
Panama City	$37,000	610	+7%
Pensacola	$39,000	1,390	+7%
Port St Lucie	$42,000	960	-7%
Punta Gorda	$36,000	250	-18%
Sarasota	$41,000	2,260	+3%
Sebastian	$40,000	360	-4%
Tallahassee	$35,000	3,190	+125%
Tampa	$40,000	10,060	-4%
West Palm Beach	$43,000	5,610	+19%

Georgia

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Albany	$37,000	420	-17%
Athens	$39,000	640	+9%
Atlanta	$45,000	29,130	+37%
Augusta	$42,000	1,630	-11%
Brunswick	$36,000	270	-16%
Columbus	$37,000	1,090	+15%
Dalton	$37,000	520	-7%
Gainesville	$43,000	640	+11%
Hinesville	$40,000	130	+38%
Macon	$39,000	660	-14%
Rome	$35,000	250	-8%
Savannah	$39,000	1,590	+22%
Valdosta	$35,000	220	-45%
Warner Robins	$43,000	300	-31%

Hawaii

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Honolulu	$46,000	3,420	-14%

Idaho

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Boise	$38,000	1,840	-22%
Coeur Dalene	$35,000	470	+16%
Idaho Falls	$34,000	340	-9%
Lewiston	$39,000	100	-42%
Pocatello	$37,000	390	+70%

Illinois

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bloomington	$44,000	770	+32%
Champaign	$47,000	1,140	+31%
Chicago	$47,000	39,330	+13%
Danville	$41,000	190	-7%
Decatur	$38,000	500	+39%
Kankakee	$38,000	410	+27%
Peoria	$37,000	1,600	+7%
Rockford	$40,000	970	-21%
Springfield	$51,000	1,950	+111%

Indiana

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Anderson	$42,000	120	-59%
Bloomington	$35,000	610	+6%
Columbus	$41,000	210	-29%
Elkhart	$41,000	490	-47%
Evansville	$39,000	1,010	-33%
Fort Wayne	$40,000	1,100	-39%
Gary	$43,000	1,400	-42%
Indianapolis	$42,000	7,300	-11%
Kokomo	$42,000	280	-8%
Lafayette	$41,000	640	+2%
Michigan City	$38,000	260	-19%
Muncie	$37,000	500	+38%
South Bend	$42,000	1,120	+0%
Terre Haute	$41,000	330	-41%

Iowa

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Ames	$45,000	340	+17%
Cedar Rapids	$40,000	1,130	-7%
Davenport	$38,000	1,200	-27%
Des Moines	$45,000	3,400	+14%
Dubuque	$40,000	220	-49%
Iowa City	$42,000	800	+36%
Sioux City	$37,000	380	-37%
Waterloo	$38,000	580	-20%

Kansas

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Lawrence	$35,000	640	+87%
Manhattan	$37,000	630	+50%
Topeka	$34,000	2,160	+128%
Wichita	$42,000	2,380	-8%

Kentucky

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bowling Green	$36,000	500	+11%
Elizabethtown	$33,000	350	0%
Lexington	$37,000	2,190	+2%
Louisville	$37,000	4,890	-12%
Owensboro	$36,000	350	-7%

Louisiana

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Alexandria	$34,000	620	+18%
Baton Rouge	$36,000	4,480	+33%
Houma	$36,000	580	-28%
Lafayette	$35,000	1,200	-4%
Lake Charles	$35,000	640	-14%
Monroe	$34,000	600	-6%
New Orleans	$37,000	4,430	-8%
Shreveport	$36,000	1,840	+16%

Maine

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bangor	$40,000	270	-46%
Lewiston	$38,000	190	-53%
Portland	$42,000	1,010	-43%

Maryland

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Baltimore	$50,000	10,020	-17%
Bethesda	$54,000	6,910	+31%
Cumberland	$39,000	190	-34%
Hagerstown	$39,000	340	-59%
Salisbury	$43,000	150	-65%

Massachusetts

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Barnstable Town	$42,000	1,000	+18%
Boston	$53,000	24,310	+52%
Brockton	$51,000	590	-23%
Framingham	$56,000	1,460	+2%
Haverhill	$48,000	440	-36%
Lawrence	$47,000	200	-59%
Leominster	$43,000	310	-22%
Lowell	$52,000	1,210	+17%
New Bedford	$41,000	470	-12%
Peabody	$43,000	1,010	+16%
Pittsfield	$44,000	150	-40%
Springfield	$44,000	1,850	-31%
Taunton	$44,000	490	+38%
Worcester	$50,000	1,670	-26%

Michigan

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Ann Arbor	$44,000	2,780	+89%
Battle Creek	$41,000	240	-42%
Bay City	$39,000	230	-8%
Detroit	$47,000	4,940	-19%
Flint	$43,000	850	-25%
Grand Rapids	$41,000	2,010	-41%
Holland	$41,000	540	-34%
Jackson	$42,000	310	-20%
Kalamazoo	$42,000	940	-20%
Lansing	$46,000	2,430	+38%
Monroe	$37,000	170	-40%
Muskegon	$37,000	260	-43%
Niles	$40,000	380	-19%
Saginaw	$40,000	490	-29%
Warren	$45,000	9,210	-7%

Minnesota

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Duluth	$42,000	820	-27%
Mankato	$40,000	530	+16%
Minneapolis	$46,000	18,410	+12%
Rochester	$41,000	1,080	+23%
St Cloud	$40,000	700	-14%

Mississippi

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Gulfport	$39,000	440	-52%
Hattiesburg	$37,000	250	-46%
Jackson	$36,000	1,950	-14%
Pascagoula	$38,000	180	-51%

Missouri

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Cape Girardeau	$32,000	320	-9%
Columbia	$35,000	420	-37%
Jefferson City	$34,000	1,410	+129%
Joplin	$33,000	260	-61%
Kansas City	$43,000	7,610	-18%
Springfield	$35,000	900	-47%
St Joseph	$40,000	280	-32%
St Louis	$44,000	8,710	-29%

Montana

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Billings	$38,000	370	-48%
Great Falls	$36,000	130	-54%
Missoula	$36,000	370	-12%

Nebraska

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Lincoln	$37,000	1,880	+34%
Omaha	$40,000	3,210	-25%

Nevada

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Carson City	$50,000	100	-49%
Las Vegas	$51,000	2,920	-63%
Reno	$49,000	720	-57%

New Hampshire

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Manchester	$47,000	520	-41%
Nashua	$49,000	510	-57%
Portsmouth	$49,000	180	-62%
Rochester	$43,000	260	-40%

New Jersey

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Atlantic City	$54,000	400	-68%
Camden	$52,000	1,910	-60%
Edison	$55,000	4,970	-47%
Newark	$57,000	5,680	-38%
Ocean City	$51,000	120	-63%
Trenton	$53,000	2,090	+3%
Vineland	$53,000	80	-84%

New Mexico

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Albuquerque	$39,000	2,100	-40%
Farmington	$40,000	170	-57%
Las Cruces	$41,000	130	-75%
Santa Fe	$61,000	690	+35%

New York

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Albany	$49,000	5,450	+33%
Binghamton	$46,000	910	-6%
Buffalo	$44,000	3,920	-22%
Elmira	$40,000	240	-19%
Glens Falls	$41,000	260	-38%
Ithaca	$46,000	360	+12%
Kingston	$43,000	480	-3%
Nassau	$55,000	14,010	+20%
New York	$59,000	71,950	+50%
Poughkeepsie	$45,000	2,250	+2%
Rochester	$45,000	4,300	-7%
Syracuse	$46,000	2,760	-2%
Utica	$42,000	730	-33%

North Carolina

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Asheville	$38,000	1,510	-4%
Burlington	$40,000	340	-26%
Charlotte	$42,000	9,300	+18%
Durham	$43,000	5,640	+127%
Fayetteville	$35,000	720	-34%
Goldsboro	$34,000	290	-9%
Greensboro	$40,000	2,860	-11%
Greenville	$38,000	690	+23%
Hickory	$37,000	1,040	-19%
Jacksonville	$41,000	250	-26%
Raleigh	$40,000	6,150	+30%
Rocky Mount	$39,000	310	-34%
Wilmington	$39,000	1,210	+2%
Winston Salem	$41,000	2,330	+24%

North Dakota

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bismarck	$35,000	820	+52%
Fargo	$41,000	1,080	+2%
Grand Forks	$38,000	430	+12%

Ohio

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Akron	$42,000	2,350	-19%
Canton	$38,000	750	-49%
Cincinnati	$42,000	8,230	-12%
Cleveland	$43,000	7,640	-19%
Columbus	$45,000	8,090	-4%
Dayton	$41,000	2,490	-28%
Lima	$38,000	210	-50%
Mansfield	$39,000	240	-43%
Sandusky	$44,000	160	-40%
Springfield	$37,000	270	-30%
Steubenville	$36,000	170	-48%
Toledo	$42,000	1,950	-27%
Youngstown	$38,000	1,100	-46%

Oklahoma

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Lawton	$33,000	220	-31%
Oklahoma City	$39,000	5,280	0%
Tulsa	$37,000	3,430	-12%

Oregon

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bend	$47,000	280	-46%
Corvallis	$45,000	170	-16%
Eugene	$43,000	630	-49%
Medford	$43,000	270	-58%
Portland	$46,000	5,790	-38%
Salem	$42,000	850	-35%

Pennsylvania

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Allentown	$42,000	1,950	-38%
Altoona	$33,000	180	-64%
Erie	$41,000	620	-44%
Harrisburg	$45,000	2,280	-21%
Johnstown	$38,000	270	-41%
Lancaster	$42,000	1,250	-41%
Philadelphia	$50,000	15,310	-13%
Pittsburgh	$41,000	7,520	-29%
Reading	$45,000	720	-51%
Scranton	$40,000	970	-59%
State College	$46,000	730	+42%
Williamsport	$34,000	220	-47%
York	$42,000	880	-44%

Rhode Island

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Providence	$47,000	3,010	-41%

South Carolina

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Anderson	$41,000	180	-61%
Charleston	$43,000	1,510	-42%
Columbia	$45,000	2,300	-28%
Florence	$44,000	250	-62%
Greenville	$39,000	2,830	+5%
Myrtle Beach	$38,000	350	-63%
Spartanburg	$42,000	470	-53%
Sumter	$37,000	150	-40%

South Dakota

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Rapid City	$34,000	290	-45%
Sioux Falls	$34,000	980	-19%

Tennessee

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Chattanooga	$37,000	2,030	0%
Clarksville	$33,000	580	-12%
Cleveland	$35,000	200	-24%
Jackson	$36,000	350	-27%
Johnson City	$35,000	480	-20%
Kingsport	$37,000	570	-46%
Knoxville	$38,000	2,080	-31%
Memphis	$41,000	3,870	-31%
Morristown	$33,000	150	-59%
Nashville	$40,000	7,380	+9%

Texas

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Abilene	$41,000	580	+12%
Amarillo	$42,000	810	-11%
Austin	$49,000	12,180	+69%
Beaumont	$41,000	1,290	-9%
Brownsville	$39,000	710	-37%
College Station	$46,000	850	+9%
Corpus Christi	$40,000	1,560	-1%
Dallas	$47,000	19,410	+0%
El Paso	$40,000	2,140	-13%
Fort Worth	$44,000	6,830	-14%
Houston	$47,000	25,180	+4%
Killeen	$36,000	870	-22%
Laredo	$41,000	450	-32%
Longview	$41,000	570	-30%
Lubbock	$40,000	970	-11%
Mcallen	$40,000	1,090	-47%
Midland	$45,000	620	+20%
Odessa	$40,000	400	-13%
San Angelo	$44,000	270	-17%
San Antonio	$43,000	7,030	-12%
Sherman	$43,000	250	-23%
Texarkana	$37,000	240	-45%
Tyler	$40,000	720	-6%
Victoria	$40,000	310	-19%
Waco	$42,000	1,100	+29%
Wichita Falls	$40,000	360	-20%

Utah

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Logan	$38,000	200	-47%
Ogden	$40,000	1,080	-39%
Provo	$39,000	1,110	-26%
Salt Lake City	$41,000	4,920	-12%
St George	$36,000	310	-15%

Vermont

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Burlington	$42,000	1,320	+37%

Virginia

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Blacksburg	$38,000	410	-18%
Charlottesville	$48,000	620	-15%
Danville	$39,000	180	-32%
Harrisonburg	$46,000	230	-49%
Lynchburg	$39,000	500	-41%
Richmond	$43,000	4,420	-21%
Roanoke	$39,000	700	-49%
Virginia Beach	$41,000	3,840	-45%
Winchester	$40,000	230	-42%

Washington

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Bellingham	$46,000	230	-63%
Bremerton	$47,000	250	-64%
Kennewick	$49,000	540	-37%
Longview	$46,000	110	-57%
Mount Vernon	$46,000	180	-49%
Olympia	$51,000	1,510	+79%
Seattle	$51,000	9,090	-30%
Spokane	$44,000	850	-53%
Tacoma	$47,000	1,230	-48%
Wenatchee	$48,000	140	-54%
Yakima	$43,000	230	-67%

West Virginia

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Charleston	$39,000	950	-25%
Huntington	$34,000	550	-44%
Morgantown	$36,000	670	+56%
Parkersburg	$37,000	280	-50%
Wheeling	$40,000	400	-25%

Wisconsin

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Appleton	$38,000	490	-51%
Eau Claire	$36,000	350	-43%
Fond	$38,000	190	-44%
Green Bay	$38,000	1,070	-28%
Janesville	$41,000	260	-50%
La Crosse	$35,000	470	-21%
Madison	$41,000	2,550	-17%
Milwaukee	$44,000	5,680	-26%
Oshkosh	$40,000	400	-46%
Racine	$41,000	370	-40%
Sheboygan	$38,000	270	-41%
Wausau	$38,000	350	-36%

Wyoming

City and Area	Median Salary	Employees	Job Density
Casper	$38,000	190	-33%
Cheyenne	$39,000	340	+2%