Breaking out of admin roles

[Anonymous]

I graduated with a liberal arts degree and took an admin job. Throughout that job I got a lot of experience in the field that I now know I'm interested in (graduate degree is not at all a must in the field) but my job was on the chopping block so I jumped ship and went to another admin job in the industry. I'm only 25 but scared that I'm going to be an admin forever. Would love to hear from people who started in admin roles but moved up, and how long it took you.

[Anonymous]

Can you apply internally for positions above yours?

[Anonymous]

Try jobs like program assistants or analysts. Sometimes these can still be a bit entry level but are a step up in substance. Even a special assistant role could help you transition.

[Anonymous]

Never get a liberal arts degree to start. Let me guess, you are a woman? Men dont settle for that shit. You dont even need a degree to be an admin.

[Anonymous]

You need to move to a management role -- and realize you will probably need to start at the bottom. Without knowing your industry it's hard to suggest where you can start, but you need to find a management role fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never get a liberal arts degree to start. Let me guess, you are a woman? Men dont settle for that shit. You dont even need a degree to be an admin.

Please tell me where in DC they hire admins without Bachelor's degrees and typically at least a few years' experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try jobs like program assistants or analysts. Sometimes these can still be a bit entry level but are a step up in substance. Even a special assistant role could help you transition.

I agree with this. Maybe even "chief of staff" at a small company. (My last employer--a market research group--had a 26 yr old "chief of staff" who basically had just had admin experience but she was paid well--75K--and helped with all our special projects.)

FWIW, my mom started out as an admin with a BA at a family trust and moved up in the corporate finance sector, admin world made her way to exec assistant and is now chief of staff at a hedge fund making $300K per year (she is 52) .... so (1) the "admin" world is not so bad if you are skilled at it but (2) industry matters very much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to move to a management role -- and realize you will probably need to start at the bottom. Without knowing your industry it's hard to suggest where you can start, but you need to find a management role fast.

What do you mean start at the bottom? You literally can't be any closer to the bottom being an admin. The industry is construction development.

[Anonymous]

Started out as admin in Big 4 late 90s, ended up doing alot of financial/project control tasks so I shifted to a consultant role about 10 years ago as an analyst and made it to manager without a degree....completed finance degree couple years ago and last year joined the feds as a budget analyst. And yes, degrees are required for admins now, wasn't back then when I started out thankfully but times have changed...

[Anonymous]

OP, in this order, you need to network, update your resume to reflect what you know, and apply to non-admin roles. There is absolutely no way for you to advance from an admin role to a more substantive position if your current role is purely administrative. Anecdotally, it's similar to having janitor staff of a hotel becoming part of the front desk staff--different roles and different path of career progression. Networking is key in your case. See if you can attend any events in your industry to get your name out there. You're still young but you can't waste time since you already have several years of work experience under your belt and you'll become even more pigeon-holed the longer you stay in your current role. You might also need to bite the bullet and do an internship.

[Anonymous]

Volunteer. By that, I mean over and above your assigned tasks for your 40 hours, do the other kind of work. I got my break when my help was needed on an effort. I had been an admin at the company for about 18 months, but career-wise about 3 years. I stayed there for a long time, left, returned and made over $100k more than when I started as an admin there (8 years had passed). If you work hard and give to the 'greater good', it will happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never get a liberal arts degree to start. Let me guess, you are a woman? Men dont settle for that shit. You dont even need a degree to be an admin.

Please tell me where in DC they hire admins without Bachelor's degrees and typically at least a few years' experience.

No idea, but a goal of a BS or BA should not be an admin job making $50k.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I should add that my jobs have been administrative mostly in title. I do a fair amount of non-admin work working closely with non-admins, my titles have just both sounded very administrative. I don't know if that makes my situation a little less dire than people have been suggesting. I have real management experience on my resume, I just don't have the titles or the salary that usually go along with it.

[Anonymous]

I think you have to find a way to tweak your resume to highlight other things you've done. Also - volunteer to help with special projects in your office. You can add that to your resume.

I stared out as an admin after college, then moved into an analyst/research position - had a few of those with increasing responsibility then back to admin after kids (so I could leave on time everyday.). It was as an executive assistant - but my boss knew my background so 50 percent of the time I assistant with strategic memos and lots of editing! I volunteered to help other staff when they needed it. I was very very busy! I also made a ton of connections! It was pretty easy to move back to a substantive role after that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I should add that my jobs have been administrative mostly in title. I do a fair amount of non-admin work working closely with non-admins, my titles have just both sounded very administrative. I don't know if that makes my situation a little less dire than people have been suggesting. I have real management experience on my resume, I just don't have the titles or the salary that usually go along with it.

Project management*, not management.