Not a sin at all. I tell my boss and/or co-workers when I don't have enought to do. Don't complain, just say something along the lines of "I just wanted you to know that I have some free time (or I'm not that busy) and wanted to see if there is anything you wanted me to do? Reach out to other areas. I have found helping others to be a great way to learn, and to make connections that will help with other job opportunities.

Now the downside of course, is in a week, you could be wondering what you got yourself into - because you have too much work. But I think its better to be honest (after I give myself a few hours to relax and feel bored).

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I do admin work (actually I'm an EA) because for the most part, I enjoy this type of work. I just need to find a way to do it at an elevated level. The only other careers I would love are teaching (constant budget woes prevent me from taking this leap), paralegal (hard to get a position at a law firm and I also don't want to work long hours) or event planning/project management (this is my TRUE passion. Would love to work in a dept that handled the company's various Board/corporate events (Have been searching this route and almost all require experience). My degree is in English, so it's not exactly a concentration with an obvious career path.

If you want to get into event planning, look for volunteer opportunities to get involved. For example, for several years I was involved with a local folk dancing group that had a big annual dance weekend. That involved planning for several months, arranging for catering for volunteers, signing up vendors for the food area, signing up callers and bands, an operational crew to make sure that all supplies/vendors/etc got to the right place, were cleaned up afterwards. It took a team of about 8-9 committees each with a team of 5-20 to run this weekend event. There are many extracurricular groups that run big annual events that need to have a planning committee to run the event. I have been involved in maybe 5-6 groups over the last 20 years and have served in volunteer and board activities for most of them. I have assisted in organizing and/or running MANY events over the years. Even though I have no other background in event planning, I think my event planning skills compare favorably with someone with a few years of experience in corporate event planning. And I know of very few volunteer organizations that have too many volunteers to do the major planning. Almost all groups constantly need additional volunteers to help run their events.

Anonymous wrote:if OP had sex on the conference room table, that would take, what, 30 minutes and then clean-up, another 30. That's only 1 hour.

WE had the world's worst admin for awhile. I would have LOVED for her to ask me if there was anything she could do for me. She would often just tell me no when I asked. said that to other people too. good luck. SO, I"m looking to hire an admin right now and those who are employed are a bit more interesting than those who aren't. Consider that.

30 minutes to clean up from sex on the conference room table? THAT sparks the imagination!

Some of the jobs you are describing are pretty typically female (teaching, event planning), admin level, or just out of college jobs. I would say that the main problem with them is boredom in the long run, along with lower pay.

I think being an EA can be a good role for some if you can handle some of the boredom and the BS of it. But I don't understand why anyone with a college degree would want to do it, especially a woman. (This is coming from someone who's first job was as an EA for a year, the most I could stand.)

If you are interested in project management, one way to be more valuable is to start working on your PMP certification. That is more in demand that just "event planning" (not as cool as it sounds, often work long hours for low pay and often on weekends or evenings anyway). Also, if you are planning to stay in the DC area, working for the goverment or a defense contractor as a project manager might be more suited to your skill-set. Also, a LOT better paying.

Anonymous wrote:so may I ask, if you are a college graduate, why are you in an admin asst job? If there isn't enough to do, perhaps you ARE overqualified? Also, workloads can vary quite a bit depending on the industry, job and even management style.

I just ask this because, although I understand being thankful for being employed and having to start at the bottom, it sounds like you could be doing more in your career. Are you looking for something more in your field that's less administrative and something that really challenges you?

OP here. I do admin work (actually I'm an EA) because for the most part, I enjoy this type of work. I just need to find a way to do it at an elevated level. The only other careers I would love are teaching (constant budget woes prevent me from taking this leap), paralegal (hard to get a position at a law firm and I also don't want to work long hours) or event planning/project management (this is my TRUE passion. Would love to work in a dept that handled the company's various Board/corporate events (Have been searching this route and almost all require experience). My degree is in English, so it's not exactly a concentration with an obvious career path.

Since moving on to something else is not something I can bank on right now, my goal is to explore my current company. Perhaps exploring different departments will open up more opportunities for me. It's no doubt that I'm overqualified for what I'm doing now...I'm hoping that my current position can be redefined a bit.

I had the meeting with my boss and it went well. He was receptive and although he had no immediate answers, he did say that he would work on looking into more opportunities for me to do more. In the past, this has been an "empty promise", but now that I have his permission to go outside of my dept to see where I can be of help, I'm going to be a bit more proactive in seeking out additional (and hopefully challenging!) work.

Anonymous wrote:Don't do it. WHy not just offer to help people out on projects. Then, you will build a reputation and maybe get promoted, or create a body of work so that you can get a better job somewhere else.

+ 1000....if you can show you wear multiple hats and help out in different roles, you will gain a ton of experience.

so may I ask, if you are a college graduate, why are you in an admin asst job? If there isn't enough to do, perhaps you ARE overqualified? Also, workloads can vary quite a bit depending on the industry, job and even management style.

I just ask this because, although I understand being thankful for being employed and having to start at the bottom, it sounds like you could be doing more in your career. Are you looking for something more in your field that's less administrative and something that really challenges you?

I was you once upon a time. Paying my dues in an admin position in the HR department of a mid-size, highly siloed company. The only work I could do was within my department.

However, when I asked for more responsibility, my bosses found several regularly occuring projects that they tested me on and decided I could handle.

I still had a piece of paper on my desk listing every minute between 3pm and 5pm. I used to love when someone needed me to make a copy, because I could cross off TWO minutes when I got back fromt he copy room.

Hang in. It gets better.

I am also an admin. I had this problem a couple years ago, and it turned out that there were whole chunks of my boss's practice that could be moved completely onto my desk. I basically took over the money side of things - all the billing, all the collections, as well as all the regular travel expense stuff I was already doing.

You didn't say what industry you're in. I work in a law firm, so if you're smart and excited to do more work, there's a lot of paralegal-type stuff you can branch out into if you want to. It's not too much of a stretch and sure beats travel reports, answering the phone and celebrity gossip on the internet.

if OP had sex on the conference room table, that would take, what, 30 minutes and then clean-up, another 30. That's only 1 hour.

WE had the world's worst admin for awhile. I would have LOVED for her to ask me if there was anything she could do for me. She would often just tell me no when I asked. said that to other people too. good luck. SO, I"m looking to hire an admin right now and those who are employed are a bit more interesting than those who aren't. Consider that.