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Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Anyone working as an executive assistant here?
I'm just curious what you would make working as an executive assitant? I've heard of someone making close to $100 000/year but she of course had to be available 24/7So what would a more realistic salary be and what are the basics you should know?
Re: Anyone working as an executive assistant here?
Salary is going to vary significantly by location. I worked as an Executive Assistant for about 4 years in Michigan, but obviously my salary was lower than someone in LA or New York and higher than lots of lower cost living areas. Its also going to depend on what exactly your job responsibilities are, how many Execs you are supporting, what type of company it is, and what the education requirements are. I can tell you that where I was located, for an Executive Admin, with a bachelors degree and at least a few years experience supporting an executive team, you could expect to make about 50K give or take.
On the other end of the scale I know some people with the 'Exec Assistant' title, but all they are really doing is administrative assistant work in small companies and just got the title because they worked for whoever the top boss was and they make maybe 25-30K.
Also, as far as being available 24/7, I was also expected to be reachable by phone or e-mail pretty much any time, not just office hours. I think that's pretty standard for an Exec Assistant, especially if your Executive travels extensively. It didn't mean I was working tons of extra hours, because I wasn't. It just meant that if my boss needed to reach me if something happened, I better pick up my phone.
It *really* varies depending on the company, job description, experience level, COL, etc. I can only imagine someone making 100K is more like an on-call personal assistant for someone very high profile, that obviously is not typical!
I would save average would be in the 30's-40's, obviously more in a HCOL area. I've also seen job postings for an EA for $10/hr.
The job description can really vary a lot. While that is my title, I'm nothing like your stereotypical "secretary". My boss is pretty self sufficient, and supporting him is less than half my time. I also double as a marketing assistant and a bunch of other things. I think that is becoming more common.
Basics you should know- obviously good computer skills - MS Office, Outlook. Good attention to detail, people skills, organized, etc. In my job being a good proofreader is vital, as well as being able to handle confidential information.
This. I don't know if this is a symptom of the economy, or people just trying to fancy up a title for a secretary, but no way would I take on a traditional Exec Admin positition for 10 bucks an hour.
I also agree about the dual-role situation, I think right now a lot of companies are looking for someone who can be flexible and do more than just answer the phone and make a spreadsheet. People are having to do more with less. I also stepped in on several marketing projects when time allowed, so I think its incredibly important for an Executive Assistant to be flexible.
I work as an Executive Assistant to the CEO and CFO of my company's European Operations and I don't make $100,000 a year. My job is really different every day and I do everything from get their cars washed to schedule meetings and travel to go buy them cigarettes to coordinate meetings for 200 people to dealing with the Dutch government because they took my boss's trash cans and didn't leave him new ones (those were all examples from this week). I never work a 9-5 schedule and they do call me at random hours and need help. I also get to travel Europe. Sounds exotic right? It's not but I like it very much
One thing that is tough on me with this job is I spent 9 hours a day taking care of someone's every business needs then I go home at night and have to take care of my (almost) 3 year old son and then when he gets home, my husband who has a very tasking job. Sometimes I wish someone would take care of me.
INTERNATIONAL NESTIE LIST
We have a good working relationship and I can tell them to do something themselves if I feel like they are giving me too much work that they should do. My job handles more marketing with the clients and acting as a liason between the execs and clients. I get paid a base of approx. 60k plus bonuses. I live in a hcol area, so that may not be the norm. I like my team and don't plan on being an EA forever. This was to get my foot in the door and move up. Plus I meet a lot of contacts and get to join in on the free dinners and drinks with clients.
As others have said, it truly depends on the area as well as your specific duties. I am an EA right now for the COO, President and Director of Media for our company in Indiana and I make about $22,000 working 31 hours a week. My hours are standard but I am available outside the office should they need me for something. They are also really flexible if I need to change my schedule for an appointment or something. I do everything from buying dog food, picking up dry cleaning, organizing meetings and events, arranging travel, expense reports, etc. Every day is different, which I love! It's definitely important to be fluent in office knowledge, including the MS Office Suite. It will also depend on the industry that you work in since you might be required to know knowledge specific to the industry.
I love my schedule, I love all the people I work with, it's a fabulous company but the pay is really a struggle right now, especially with my husband and I trying to start a family soon. Because my duties are quite small compared to what some EA's do, I can deal with the pay for now. However, as more is added to my workload I'm hoping that I can make more money. I have heard of some EA's around here (South Bend, IN area) who make around $40,000-$50,000/year but typically they have a lot of responsibility, have been with the company a long time and have a lot of experience. I even know one EA whose boss bought her and her husband a condo!! Now that's a nice perk.
What do you do now and what makes you interested in being an EA?