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.

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!

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.

The only way I think this could be a fun job is if you worked for someone you really liked, like a favorite author.

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.