Office Administration: A Set of Skills with Opportunities for Advancement

Are you thinking about going back to school? Are you looking for a career that can offer more opportunities than your current occupation? Have you considered getting a diploma or certification in office administration?

“Office administration” or “Administrative Assistant” may not sound like a glamorous name for a career, but if you have office administration skills you will find that job opportunities can be wide-reaching.

Let’s look at some of the benefits and opportunities available for someone with office administration skills:

1. Skills that are Always in Demand

Having skills in typing, filing, office procedures, spreadsheets, word processing, business communications and telephone etiquette make you highly marketable. Businesses large and small need documents created and filed, emails sent, and telephone calls answered. Even as technology advances and some day-to-day tasks might change, the need for Administrative Assistants will be great.

2. Versatility and Mobility

Office administration skills can be useful in a small business in your hometown, or in a big company in a large city. If you’re working in the office of a manufacturing company and you get laid off, then just take your skill set and certificate to a hotel, agribusiness, or non-profit organization down the street, because they also have an office. If you move to a new town, you will probably find a company or business in need of someone with office administration skills.

3. Add to Your Resume

Performing these office administration tasks on a job will look good on your resume. Even if you’re wanting to one day advance your career beyond the role of Administrative Assistant, many employers want to know that you have typing skills, you’re organized, and are good on the phone.

4. Follow Your Passion

If you’re qualified to be an Administrative Assistant, you can likely find work in a variety of industries. You can even combine making money with following your passions and dreams! Do you love to travel? Airlines, cruise ships, and hotel chains employ people with office administration skills. Do you have a passion for helping people through ministries or charities? Nonprofit organizations need skilled office workers. Do you love film, theater, or art? Movie theaters, film companies, and museums hire admin assistants, too.

5. A Growing Occupation

Even with changes in office procedures and some secretarial tasks made unnecessary by technology, the need for admin assistants continues to be strong.  Especially as much of the U.S. workforce reaches retirement age, this creates a need as many companies are looking to fill positions when their employees leave or retire. According to O-Net, there is a “Bright Outlook” for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants–there will be 324,100 projected job openings nationwide and 46,300 in California during the decade from 2014 to 2024.

6. Variety of Tasks

Not every admin assistant job is just typing memos and answering the phone. While those are important tasks, many businesses rely on employees with office administration skills to do things like making business purchases or communicating with vendors, managing the company’s social media, working with payroll or recruiting, training other employees, and more.

7. Room for Advancement

A skilled admin assistant is a valuable asset to a growing company, and someone with these skills might find themselves being given greater responsibilities. Project Managers, Executive Assistants, and Office Managers all use skills that a trained admin assistant learns. Office administration training can get your foot in the door to a long-term and growing career.

8. Competitive Pay

O-Net indicates that in 2016 the median wage for secretaries and admin assistants was $34,820 per year nationwide, and $39,470 per year in California. Of course this varies by industry and by specific employer; but if you’re looking to rise above minimum wage jobs, then getting a diploma or certificate to qualify you for an admin assistant job might help.

9. Job Satisfaction

Of course no one can guarantee that you will love your job or your employer, but many Administrative Assistants find their jobs very satisfying. You may find some job satisfaction being an admin assistant if you like being organized, are creative and like to see people or projects grow, and enjoy challenges or a wide variety of tasks and responsibilities.

10. Easy to Get Started

What are you waiting for? Central Coast College offers two programs to prepare you for office administration careers: Business Administrative Specialist and Computer Specialist Accounting, and both of these programs can be completed in less than one year. Talk to one of our Admissions Advisors today to find out how easy it is to get started in your new career!

To view Central Coast College’s full disclosures, click here.