Desire Phillips
English 10
Mrs. Bateman
February 28, 2010
A Secretarial Career
An interesting career to have one day is that of a clerical secretary, which has good pay and wonderful benefits. A secretarial occupation requires technological knowledge and requires, at the least, a high school diploma. Secretaries must have excellent communication and computer skills. Such skills can be obtained in high school and through a community or vocational college. On a daily basis, secretaries will perform clerical duties and tasks relevant to the functioning of a company. More secretaries will be needed as the years progress.
The minimum education required for a job as a secretary is a high school diploma. At the maximum, a degree of secretarial training would be required (“Secretary Job Description, Career as a Secretary” 2). To obtain secretarial training, a degree in office administration would have to be obtained. This degree can be acquired through a community college or a vocational school (“Secretaries and Administrative Assistants” 2). Two years of study are required for the office administration degree. The degree will demand a total of sixty-eight hours, which can be taken at seventeen hours per semester (“Office Administration”). It can be obtained at Faulkner State, a community college, for $1,904 per semester. $7,616 is the total cost for the degree (“Tuition”). There are no entrance requirements to attend Faulkner State for an office administration degree. The school has an “open door” admissions policy, which means that anyone can attend (“Admissions”).
Special skills that are needed to have a career as a secretary include being able to manage time, being able to pay attention to details, and being able to plan and organize. Traits needed for this job would be the abilities of confidentially, reliability, and interpersonal communication skills. Being able to tolerate stress is a must-have, too. Secretaries must also possess excellent skills in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Proficiency in creating spreadsheets and managing databases is also required. Knowledge of administrative procedures, clerical procedures, and business principles is also needed (“Secretary Job Description” 2-3). Most of these skills will be learned with the office administration courses. Word processing skills are needed as well. Most jobs will require a secretary to be able to type sixty-five words per minute (“Secretary Job Description, Career as a Secretary” 2). Besides obtaining an office administration degree, one could take office courses offered in high school. These courses could qualify a high school graduate for an entry-level secretarial job (“Secretaries and Administrative Assistants” 2). I am suited for this career because I have already taken office courses while in high school, which have taught me desktop publishing skills. I also currently possess the personality characteristic of good communication skills, which will definitely benefit me as a secretary.
The beginning salary for a secretary is hard to determine because it can range greatly due to the variety of factors that affect salary. On average, beginning secretaries received between $23,750 to $29,000 in their first years. Factors that influenced their salaries were education, training, and experience. Another factor is that if a secretary is certified as a Microsoft Office Specialist, his or her salary might have an eleven percent advantage. Salary may also depend on other factors such as the type and size of the organization that hired the secretary, the economy, and the location of the organization (“What is the Average Salary” 1). The last recorded median annual salary of secretaries was $29,050. The middle fifty-percent of secretaries earned a range of $23,160 to $36,020. The maximum salary that can be expected as a secretary is $43,240 and up, which is what the highest paid ten-percent of secretaries received (“Secretaries and Administrative Assistants” 3).
Health benefits are usually available to secretaries who work full-time. Full-time secretaries also receive fringe benefits such as life insurance and retirement plans. They also have paid holidays and vacation time (“Secretary Job Description, Career as a Secretary” 3). Secretarial positions do encounter health risks. If a secretary spends much of his or her time in front of a computer screen while typing, the secretary could encounter issues such as eyestrain and stress. A secretary could also develop carpal tunnel syndrome, which is a repetitive motion disorder (“Secretaries and Administrative Assistants” 2).
The employment prospect for a secretary is good. This is due to the fact that many job opportunities ascend from the need to replace secretaries who have transferred to another occupation. These opportunities increase for secretaries who have experience along with extended computer software knowledge and superior communication skills. The growth potential for secretarial jobs are also good. Employment of secretaries is anticipated to rise by eleven percent between now and 2018. Factors that influence the availability of secretarial jobs are growing industries, which will generate more new jobs (“Secretaries and Administrative Assistants” 3).
A typical day for a secretary includes utilizing office equipment such as fax machines, copy machines, and scanners. A secretary's day also includes using a computer to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations using desktop publishing software. Tasks performed will be duties that are critical to running an proficient organization. Usual hours for a secretary are forty hours per week. This means that a secretary will work eight hours per day. The part of a secretary's day that would be most challenging is trying to not develop carpal tunnel syndrome from staring at a computer screen too long (“Secretaries and Administrative Assistants” 2-3). The best part of a secretary's day would be the lunch break.
I possess many personality traits that would make me suitable for this job. One trait is my ability to handle many tasks at once. I also have excellent communication skills because I am a very outgoing person. The skills I have in Microsoft Office, which include creating spreadsheets, word documents, and other publications, are relevant and useful. One real life experience that has prepared me for a secretarial job is that when I was younger, my mother hired me as her secretary. I kept records, performed tasks, and ran errands for her.
I learned that the job of a clerical secretary may seem like an easy job, but it requires many skills. A secretary must have excellent computer skills. Exceptional communication skills are also needed. Secretaries must complete many tasks and perform duties that are necessary to running an efficient company. To prepare themselves for what will come, a person will usually obtain an office administration degree to become a secretary. Secretaries receive good salary pay and have many benefits if they work full-time. I still believe that a secretarial job is a good career for me even though it will require numerous skills and many tasks to be completed.

Works Cited
"Faulkner State Community College: Admissions." Faulkner State Community College. Web. 27 Feb. 2011.
"Faulkner State Community College: Tuition." Faulkner State Community College. Web. 27 Feb. 2011.
Office Administration. Bay Minette: Faulkner State Community College, 2010. PDF.
"Secretaries and Administrative Assistants." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 17 Dec. 2009. Web. 27 Feb. 2011.
"Secretary Job Description, Career as a Secretary, Salary, Employment." StateUniversity.com. Net Industries, 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2011.
"Secretary Job Description." Job Interviews. Free Interview Questions and Answers and Job Interview Tips. Site Build It!, 2010. Web. 25 Feb. 2011.
"What Is the Average Salary for a Beginning Administrative Assistant?" Premier Online Directory of Degree Programs & Career Planning Articles and Videos from Top Colleges and Universities. Web. 27 Feb. 2011.