With a college degree, will taking an administrative assistant position be damaging to my career?
Asked by clarissa.explainsitall
At 22, I have graduated and am about to take on a position as an administrative assistant with a company with great room for advancement. In my current organization, I've noticed that all the people with this title are those without degrees. However, entry-level (ish) opportunities are hard to come by in the field of marketing/PR (my field) and I feel like an administrative role is all I'm going to get for right now until I build more experience. If I spent a year or two doing this, would this look bad to potential employers down the road?

Best Answer:
If you decide to venture down this path, choose an administrative position in your field. Employers see unrelated job experience as indecisiveness and lack of confidence, so choosing a position in a totally unrelated field COULD hurt you. Being an Administrative Assistant is a good way to catapult into a field if you choose carefully. Try to work in this capacity for a company that can eventually hire you for the job you desire to have, since internal candidates often get preferential consideration for jobs. Take this time to network with other employees (in HR and the department you covet, especially) and get to know the inner workings of the company. Build as much experience and knowledge as you can as well so that you can become more of an asset to the organization.

try MBA
Answered by siva k

No. Starting out as an administrative assistant will show that you are a good worker. It will help to gain a few excellent references as well and perhaps, some valuable contacts. In the meantime, take evening courses to gain credits for a graduate degree in business administration. Good luck. amadeus
Answered by amadeus

There are different levels of admin assistants I've noticed. If your immediate boss is a high level excutive you may require a degree just to keep up with him/her. I'm going thru something similar. I've been in the job market for many years but I'm looking into graduate schools right now (not related to the admin assistant job I'm applying to) and would like to work full-time while I apply to school. This job pays really well (low 40's) so I'm going for it.
Answered by SparklingH2O

Depending on the organization, an administrative position may be a great opportunity to gain experience and get your foot in the door. You'll get insight into different departments and hopefully get to use some of your marketing/PR knowledge/skills on special projects that may be needed. In my organization, you need a bachelor degree to be an admin. So, go for it if you can afford to. Good luck.
Answered by j.o.y.

If you are working in a marketing/PR department then it shouldn't hurt, look for marketing asst. or PR asst. jobs. if the work you are doing is related then it won't hurt as long as you are gaining relevant work experience.
Answered by Forever_Young