What are some of the the worst careers you can think of?
Ditch digger? No. You get to be outside.
Guard at a prison for the criminally insane? Maybe. At least the pay is pretty good.
Assembly line worker? Definitely possible. Long hours of doing the same thing over and over again. That’s pretty bad.
But I can think of one career that is extremely common, that millions toil at every day suffering silently, the only ones truly able to read this article and think, “damn right!”
What is the position? The Administrative Assistant. (Or Secretary/Data-Entry Processor/Office Coordinator)
Why Being an Administrative Assistant is so Awful
1. Independent Thought is Frowned Upon
If slavery existed today, this is as close as it gets in it’s present-day format. You have no power. You have to do exactly what your superiors tell you. You sit for hours while your body begs you to stop, developing carpal tunnel syndrome, back problems, a bad neck, bad posture and tiredness and have to take it all smiling.
Any hint of insubordination is grounds for dismissal. This is not the case with other positions where people actually have a skill-set which is more difficult to replace. If a web designer who is an independent contractor disagrees with the way their company wants to display their logo, the company may listen to them and take their advice. If an Administrative Assistant disagrees with the way his manager writes a memo, he is told (essentially) that he isn’t paid to think. If he protests further, he can be easily replaced. And this is because office drones are easy to find. There is no special talent required, except for a streak of masochism.
2. The Pay is Really, Really Bad
Honestly, who can live on $9 an hour these days? True, many assistants make more than this (some make a good deal more) but it is rare to find one who makes more than $32,000 per year or so. And there is little chance of any kind of bonus, except for the laughable 2% annual “raise” which doesn’t even keep pace with inflation. And I’m not saying that money is the be-all end-all important factor in job selection. But there are so many other problems with this line of “work” that the pay certainly doesn’t justify doing it.
It also suffers from the terrible, classic “pay by the hour” system which has many, many flaws and limitations.
3. It Isn’t a True Career
Go ahead. Find someone who said that they wanted to be a secretary or assistant when they grew up. Having trouble? That’s because there is nobody. I can’t think of anyone who would actually want to be an office drone. It’s the anti-dream of most young people who are looking ahead to their futures. They’d rather be a physician, attorney, surfer, astronaut, congressman, travel writer, professional boxer… whatever. These are actually real professions that have “personality” and help fuel purpose. Most people want purpose. Most people want to make a difference.
An Administrative Assistant’s purpose is to do what they are told. It isn’t unreasonable to think that assistants may be replaced some day by computers. Anything that doesn’t require independent thought of any kind can, in theory, be replaced by technology. But until that day, we’ll require human beings to be doing the same job that the relatives of your home computer will one day perform.
And every time I hear about the wonders of one of these “Administrative Assistant” training programs at one of these vocational schools I feel like hanging myself.
4. Room for Growth is Non-existent
Foot in the door.
Right.
You might as well stick your foot into a blender. You won’t be needing it with the amount of sitting you’ll be doing. (Except for trips to the copy machine and your master’s office.) You’ll be doing this for years on end. Even if you DO switch offices, you’ll just be doing the same things in the next one. Because assistants get replaced all the time, this is likely. So while you are in transition from one drone job to another, you can see any hint of savings (ha!) disappear during these “down times” (between job periods.)
And you get to do this while watching other people advance in their careers and actually make a contribution to their field of choice.
There is no future for the Administrative Assistant. None whatsoever.
That is, unless they find something else to do with their professional life.
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I do not entirely agree with your stance on this post. Sure you would be hard pressed to find someone who strives to be an admin when they grow up – however, I personally can think of someone who worked this sort of position and seemed rather content.
No, she was no drone. She had worked more “prestigious” positions and wanted a flexible job that would allow her time to spend with her daughter and make some extra money. She worked in a college and did not have someone breathing down her back. She worked in a department filled with free thinking individuals and she too would fall into such a category.
I also can think of another younger woman who worked in a staffing agency in such a position and I’m sure it was not her dream job. However, she made it her own and did the job on her own terms. I think the trick is – if someone who works such a position is really needed (i.e. they are not easily replaceable and thus have more leverage) this sort of position may not be as bad as you make it to be.
So, are you an administrative assistant?
The only way I think this could be a fun job is if you worked for someone you really liked, like a favorite author.
lol – I am definitely not an administrative assistant – my job does not involve an office!
Actually, I think there are some studies out there that have found that this profession has some of the highest rates of depression.
That being said, I do think that job satisfaction is very much linked with “the right person for the right job” philosophy. I think that environmental factors such as where you work and who your boss is also play a big role. If someone does not enjoy multi-tasking in an office setting while serving as the glue in the know for others, of course they’ll hate their job.
However, in the two instances that came to my mind (admittedly a flawed availability heuristic), the admins had more autonomy in their position than what Mike described and also seemed to enjoy being needed.
Most assistants have very little room for growth, freedom or creativity within the field. Was the person you described (Annette) a true Administrative Assistant? I would argue that since they worked at a college their position was a bit different. I have not met one assistant who had the kind of freedoms you describe.
I do like your arguement about the “right person for the job” philosophy though – there are people who actually might do well in that environment (not that it was ever where they wanted to end up!)
Escapee – I actually have a true story related to what you just said, which I’ll save for a post at a later date!
A friend of a friend of mine is an admin assistant to Neil Gaiman. Now, what I wouldn’t do for that job! Can’t wait to read your story.
I don’t think it’s the worst job, but it definitely seems boring. The one where I work is a very nice woman, but half the time is just going to beanie baby website, because as she says, she can ask for more work, but there’s really no incentive for her to do so.
Thanks, Mike, for posting this and all your other posts. This one cracks me up, but it’s also really sad because it’s true and I can totally relate!
I think you can go ahead and throw in any title with the word “assistant” in it, for example, Executive Assistant. That’s what I do. And it is humiliating. It’s basically being an admin. assistant for a bunch of executive level jerks, rather than just average ones. I work in an office in NYC, having to listen to the maddening complaints of the entitled rich who often make ignorant, offensive comments about others–and they’re a bunch of self-proclaimed liberals! Watching my boss freak out when the servers go down because she was busy perusing match.com and playing solitaire while the rest of us were actually doing work. The laziness, the disrespect of management, and the mandatory compliance of staff, not allowed to say a word or it’s insubordination. If I ever say I have too much on my plate, it’s regarded as “not being a team player” rather than being assertive or sticking up for myself. Sometimes even when I’m not directly involved, just watching my co-workers run around for these people makes me sick. It is slavery. Yeah, we could leave. I know that. I’m not asking anyone to feel bad for me. But, someone else will replace me. And it’ll be the same hell for them. I have to let my bosses know when I need to use the bathroom because they apparently don’t know how to pick up their own phones, so I have to prepare them for that potentially life-altering experience every single time. I am almost 30 yrs old. Good times. I have been there for over 3 years, and while I make over $40k annually, I’ve gotten 2% raises for the last few years. That kind of income doesn’t really provide for much of a life for me and my husband in NYC. I recently snapped at someone for interrupting my lunch. There have been days I sit in Central Park under an umbrella eating my sandwich just so I can have some peace. No doubt about it, being an assistant makes you a bitter, resentful, paranoid person after a while. Anyway, I know I’ve got to get out soon before my heart turns black and I begin to feel hate, and I’m working on that now.
Whew! That felt good.
Sorry for the rant, but what I like so much about your site is the honesty you have about this kind of job and it’s always comforting knowing I’m not the only one who feels so miserable about it and KNOWS it’s because of the job, not because of something outside the office, as they have actually suggested to me. Yeah, that’s right–they know I’m miserable and they’ve tried to attribute my obvious unhappiness there to some external factor. The nerve.