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Boston Career Explorer

Office and Administrative Support

Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive

Perform routine administrative functions such as drafting correspondence, scheduling appointments, organizing and maintaining paper and electronic files, or providing information to callers.

Also called: Administrative Assistant (Admin Assistant), Administrative Clerk, Administrative Secretary (Admin Secretary), Administrative Specialist (Admin Specialist), Administrative Support Assistant (ASA), Administrative Technician

Median pay in Greater Boston
$59,330
$28.53/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
28,540
Massachusetts 2024–2034
−1.6%
3,660 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
High school diploma or equivalent
plus Short-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$42,930$48,690$59,330$65,140$79,050

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Answer telephones and give information to callers, take messages, or transfer calls to appropriate individuals.
  • Greet visitors or callers and handle their inquiries or direct them to the appropriate persons according to their needs.
  • Create, maintain, and enter information into databases.
  • Use computers for various applications, such as database management or word processing.
  • Operate office equipment, such as fax machines, copiers, or phone systems and arrange for repairs when equipment malfunctions.
  • Set up and manage paper or electronic filing systems, recording information, updating paperwork, or maintaining documents, such as attendance records, correspondence, or other material.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Higher exposure83 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 76
  • Language-model AIOE 84
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 89

Observed AI use today: Substantial (Anthropic Economic Index)

This job has higher AI exposure, and AI tools are already in substantial use for it. Tools can help with drafting, scheduling, note-taking, and database entry. Federal projections expect fewer of these jobs as AI assists with routine back-office work, and Massachusetts is projected to shrink 1.6% from 2024 to 2034. Welcoming visitors and handling day-to-day needs in an office still rely on people.

Likely to change

  • Drafting correspondence and taking notes
  • Entering data and managing databases

Still relies on people

  • Welcoming visitors and handling their questions
  • Keeping the office running day to day

What federal projections say

“Productivity change - share decreases as technology, including artificial intelligence (AI) systems, assists workers with routine back office functions, such as preparing documents, scheduling, and notetaking.”
BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, factors affecting this job (U.S.)

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

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Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

1 program near Boston

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