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My official title is admin assistant, but I'm more of a data analyst and spend a good portion of my time deep in advanced Excel spreadsheets crunching numbers, then converting them to charts/graphs and presentations for the executive team.
Sounds to me like you're getting ripped off.
Learn SQL and get a better job.
You can download the developer edition of MS SQL Server for nothing or next to nothing. Any generic book about SQL will get you started.
I can believe that admin positions are hard to fill. The problem is a lot of people think "anyone" can do this job, but it does take skill. Both technical and personal.
For my position they received several hundred applicants and of those only two dozen looked good enough on paper to interview (including myself). I got the job out of 12 that they interviewed. And (at the time) it wasn't a huge skilled job, but did require some modicum of professionalism and know-how. In the 3.5 years I was in my initial role, I got that place out of the 1990s and solidly into the 21st century in how they functioned. 18 months ago I transitioned with my boss into a new role and handed over the reins to a new hire who has taken what I've done and gone even farther. It's a totally different (in a positive way) department now, from an administrative perspective.
In another admin role for which I was part of the interview team, they once again had hundreds of applicants and only a dozen or so looked good on paper. Out of the 8-9 we interviewed, only TWO had any sense of what it takes to be an effective admin. They became the frontrunners and we debated on who to hire for a long time because they each had strengths, but in different ways. One was a great technician (computer skills) but the other was a calm people person. We ended up hiring the people person because the department for which we hired her was experiencing low morale and we knew she'd be a good "face" for the department. She's still here three years later, and the department is now in a much better place thanks to her calming, comforting personality when dealing with highly-strung staff.
It's not just answering phones and typing up letters for a boss's signature. Admins nowadays do much, much more than that. My official title is admin assistant, but I'm more of a data analyst and spend a good portion of my time deep in advanced Excel spreadsheets crunching numbers, then converting them to charts/graphs and presentations for the executive team.
I agree. Admin/secretarial work is pretty tedious and requires the proper skill and individual to do it. As you alluded to, admin assistants are also often working with the budget and numbers otherwise, in addition to many other responsibilities. They need a new title to accommodate for what they actually do!
Agreed. You are getting ripped off. Your title is admin assistant but you are doing functions of a reporting analyst.
Nah, I enjoy what I do and I like the company I work for and have a great relationship with my boss and corporate leadership. I don't worry about my salary anymore. When I was younger I did - but once I stopped chasing the almighty dollar, my job enjoyment increased exponentially.
And don't get me wrong - I DO do the stuff admins typically do. I do calendaring, answer my boss's phone on occasion, schedule travel, process expense reports, blah blah blah. But I'm fortunate that I do much, much more than that, which keeps my job interesting. Another plus is that because of the nature of the work I do, I'm able to work from home when the need arises - something 99% of admins are NOT able to do.
So while some may think I'm getting ripped off, I don't feel I am. I get regular bonuses for the "out of the box" work that doesn't fit my job description, I work from home when necessary, I have a very flexible schedule, I can take PTO whenever I want without having to ask permission, and I have a boss that pretty much lets me do what I want because she knows I'll get the job done on time and get it done right. I got two promotions in my first two years here strictly as acknowledgement that I was better than the original position for which I was hired. My work/life balance is off the charts here.
All of that is worth much more than a couple bucks more an hour. Because if I left to go work elsewhere in an analyst position, you can bet that I would have all the perks I just listed.
Employers really need to take a huge part of the blame for hard to fill specialized skilled labor. Because of the lack of job security, why would anyone want to pigeonhole themselves into one of these trades if a factory closing would mean you can't find work unless you move? Employers want to dip into this pool of skilled labor but don't realize it's also their job to keep this pool trained and fresh.
No, it's not. It's their job to run a profitable business that provides the highest possible returns to the investors. If that means training the staff, great. But they're in no way required to.
Anyway, the article is talking about trades presumably like welding, carpentry, electricians, plumbing, etc. These are things you go to school for and apprentice for in some places, and young people in the U.S. don't seem that interested. Electricians and carpenters are coming in from South America and eastern Europe to fill the gap. It's the old story -- the locals get fat and lazy, so immigrants come in and fill the need.
Have you tried to hire a secretary? If they can speak and write proper English, use a computer (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and a browser), speak intelligently on the phone to a customer, take and forward messages - you know, *be a secretary*, not a warm body in a chair - they cost $80,000 a year.
And, at that price, some of them want to be the boss and think secretarial work is beneath them. If you hire someone who doesn't, you better hang onto them for dear life because they'll be in greater demand than LeBron James.
The secretary/admins/receptionists around here are lucky to get offered more than $10 an hour. My mother was a medical type receptionists/admin (patient care coordinator) and had to fight for a raise to $11 an hour.
The secretary/admins/receptionists around here are lucky to get offered more than $10 an hour. My mother was a medical type receptionists/admin (patient care coordinator) and had to fight for a raise to $11 an hour.
You must be in a different part of Chicago. Those aren't real numbers for skilled workers in any field. Teenage babysitters get $17, my house painter $50.
http://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/ch...167_KO8,27.htm (says executive assistant salaries in Chicago average $57,736). Add 40% for benefits and taxes and you're up to $81,000 employer cost before allocated overhead.
Or you could hire a "secretary" who, when asked "is so-and-so available, I need to talk to him about a contract we're working on," says "no" and hangs up.
You must be in a different part of Chicago. Those aren't real numbers for skilled workers in any field. Teenage babysitters get $17, my house painter $50.
I still get calls from Aerotek and Kelly for $15 an hour for Chemist jobs. I don't even answer nor call them back as it only p*sses me off. Seriously though a lot of the companies arround here are even using crapo staffing agencies not to pay benefits to admins the same as science. Being able to use MS Office and answer phones isn't a skill that commands big bucks.
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