Secretary Job Description

Salary Range

$38,830 - $58,000

Experience

1-3 years office experience

Work Environment

Office setting

What Does a Secretary Do?

A secretary keeps an office's paper and phone traffic moving: answering the main line, greeting visitors, sorting mail, booking appointments and producing letters, minutes and forms. The role is common in schools, churches, local government offices, trade associations, contractors' offices and university departments, where one person often supports a whole team. Compared with an administrative associate on a project team, a secretary's day is tied more closely to the front desk and the filing cabinet, and accuracy with records and correspondence matters most.

Other Job Titles for This Work

Workers in this occupation report titles such as Administrative Assistant (Admin Assistant), Administrative Clerk, Administrative Secretary (Admin Secretary), Administrative Specialist (Admin Specialist), Administrative Support Assistant (ASA), Administrative Technician, Department Secretary, Office Assistant.

Secretary Duties and Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of a secretary include:

• Answer the main phone line, take accurate messages and route calls to the right person or department.
• Greet visitors, sign them in, and direct them onward or let staff know they have arrived.
• Type letters, memos and meeting minutes from notes or dictation equipment and send them out for signature.
• Open and date-stamp incoming mail, pull the related file and route it to whoever needs to reply.
• Keep paper and electronic files organized so attendance logs, contracts and correspondence can be found quickly.
• Book and confirm appointments and keep the office calendar current for meetings and room use.
• Proofread documents prepared by others for spelling, grammar and house format before they go out.
• Run the copier, scanner and fax, keep supplies stocked and call the vendor when equipment breaks down.
• Accept payments or fees at the counter in offices that handle them and record them for the bookkeeper.

Required Skills and Qualifications

To succeed as a secretary, you will need the following skills and qualifications:

• Fast, accurate typing and strong Microsoft Word formatting for letters, labels and mail merges
• Microsoft Outlook for shared calendars, meeting invites and routing email
• A tidy filing method, paper or digital, that others in the office can follow
• Taking clear minutes in meetings and turning them around the same day
• Basic Microsoft Excel for contact lists, sign-in logs and simple tallies
• A courteous phone manner that stays patient with repeat callers and complaints
• Discretion with personnel files, student records or member information
• Optional credentials such as the Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) or a Microsoft Office Specialist certification

Education and Training

Half of workers in this occupation report a high school diploma or GED as their highest level of education, and about 22 percent have an associate's degree. High school business and keyboarding classes, or a community college certificate in office administration, cover most of what employers screen for: typing speed, Microsoft Office and business writing. New secretaries usually learn the office's filing system, phone setup and forms on the job in their first few weeks. Some later earn the CAP from the International Association of Administrative Professionals, which can help when moving into an executive assistant role.

Salary and Job Outlook

BLS projects employment of secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive to decline about 6 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 163,900 openings a year. While the title has evolved in many organizations to "administrative assistant" or "office coordinator," the core functions of this role remain essential. Secretaries with technology skills and administrative expertise can advance to executive secretary, office manager, or administrative coordinator.

Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive.

Secretary Pay Range

Highest-Paying States for Secretarys

The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are District of Columbia ($59,910), Massachusetts ($57,940), Washington ($57,330), Connecticut ($57,210), California ($55,400). Pay is lowest in Louisiana ($38,790), Arkansas ($37,630), Mississippi ($37,340).

What the Work Is Like

O*NET surveys people who work as secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:

• 97% say teamwork is very or extremely important in their job
• 93% spend more than half the workday sitting
• 93% are on the phone every day
• 93% use email every day
• 91% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important
• 74% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
• 48% use their hands on tools, objects or controls for more than half the day

Education Workers Say the Job Needs

Tools and Software Secretarys Use

Tools and equipment

• Data input scanners
• Desktop computers
• Dictation equipment
• Digital cameras
• Handheld calculators
• Handheld computers
• Laptop computers
• Laser facsimile machines
• Mobile phones
• Multi-line telephone systems

Software

• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Office software
• Microsoft Outlook
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Word
• Adobe Acrobat
• Adobe Creative Cloud software
• Adobe Illustrator
• Adobe InDesign
• Adobe Photoshop
• Apache Cassandra
• Apache Hadoop

Is This Job a Good Fit for You?

People who do well in this job tend to enjoy organized work with data, records and clear procedures as well as leading, persuading and making business decisions.

Skills O*NET rates most important: Active Listening, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, Writing, Service Orientation, Time Management.

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

Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 2 of 5, which means some preparation.

Related Careers

These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:

• Administrative Associate job description
• Administrative Assistant job description
• Graduate Program Coordinator job description
• International Student Services Assistant job description
• Executive Assistant job description
• Office Specialist job description
• Center Coordinator job description
• Office Manager job description

Applying for a Secretary Job

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