Where an administrative assistant can go next
12 destinations recorded, ranked by how much of the target role an administrative assistant already meets. The closer to the top of Table 1, the less there is to learn.
Administrative assistants provide administrative and office support for supervisors. They perform a variety of tasks, such as answering telephone calls, receiving and directing visitors, ordering office supplies, maintaining the office facilities running smoothly, and ensuring that equipment and appliances work properly.
Also known as executive administrative assistant, general office clerk, administrative office worker, office clerk, clerical assistant, office administrator, communications assistant, administrative office assistant.
Technicians and associate professionals 41 skills on file 12 career moves 1 above 60% overlap Closest: secretary, 71%
- 70% and above · short step
- 50 to 70% · real move
- Below 50% · substantial retraining
Table 2 · A bigger jump
Possible, but expect real retraining rather than a sideways step.
- executive assistant 49% covered · difficulty 55.8
- file clerk 40% covered · difficulty 57.5
- receptionist 33% covered · difficulty 64.9
- supply chain assistant 32% covered · difficulty 62.8
- billing clerk 29% covered · difficulty 62.8
- investment clerk 27% covered · difficulty 69.7
- typist 27% covered · difficulty 67
- marketing assistant 23% covered · difficulty 77.6
Table 3 · What the job itself asks for
An administrative assistant needs 20 required skills and areas of knowledge. These 10 are the ones fewest other jobs share, so they say the most about the work.
- disseminate general corporate information communication, collaboration and creativity
- maintain statutory books information skills
- organise facilities for office personnel management skills
- draft corporate emails communication, collaboration and creativity
- file documents information skills
- fill out forms information skills
- disseminate internal communications communication, collaboration and creativity
- disseminate messages to people management skills
- handle mail management skills
- perform business research information skills
Table 4 · Jobs that lead here
The reverse view: occupations whose skills already cover much of what an administrative assistant does. The figure is how much of this job each one brings.
- secretary 69% covered · difficulty 35.1
- office clerk 68% covered · difficulty 36.1
- foreign language correspondence clerk 44% covered · difficulty 57.9
- executive assistant 38% covered · difficulty 63
- management assistant 38% covered · difficulty 63.1
- receptionist 34% covered · difficulty 65.8
- file clerk 27% covered · difficulty 72.4
- typist 27% covered · difficulty 72.5
- parliamentary assistant 25% covered · difficulty 74.4
- supply chain assistant 21% covered · difficulty 77.1
Look up another occupation
Administrative assistant is filed under Technicians and associate professionals, ISCO major group 3. The full index lists all ten groups.
How these figures were compiled
Overlap is how much of the target role is already part of an administrative assistant’s work. It is directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. Every entry above opens the full comparison for that move: what carries over, what is missing, and where to start. The full method.