Your executive assistant salary may be different than that of someone else, but it is still nice to know the averages around the country at the moment. The average executive assistant in the US at the moment earns between $30,088 and $68,342 a year after bonuses and profit shares. You may not fall into the upper tier of that range until you have 10+ years of experience in the field, but all you have to do is work your way up the financial ladder to see substantial salaries in the future. The information below offers a breakdown of executive assistant salaries based on an array of factors. You can use this information to get a rough idea about what you may earn in the future.
Executive Assistant Salary by Employer
The employer you work for will have a major impact on the executive assistant salary you earn. You will inevitably make more money at a large corporation than you will at a small office building. Here are five of the top employers in the country, along with a list of the amount of money they pay their employees annually:
- Ernst and Young LLP: $37,095 – $74,188
- Hewlett-Packard Company: $43,172 – $62,275
- J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.: $30,639 – $76,340
- Morgan Stanley: $45,781 – $76,194
- PricewaterhouseCoopers: $36,766 – $71,935
Executive Assistant Salary by Degree
The degree you earn to become an executive assistant will not influence your earning potential too much. Nevertheless, there are some slight fluctuations in salary levels that you need to keep in mind. Those include:
- Associate’s Degree: $32,566 – $63,973
- Bachelor of Arts in Communications: $30,572 – $59,962
- Bachelor of Arts in English: $29,755 – $67,986
- Bachelor’s Degree: $30,453 – $66,121
- Master of Business Administration: $33,693 – $67,370
Executive Assistant Salary by Industry
The job duties for executive assistants change from one industry to another, as do the salaries levels employees earn. If you want to specialize in a certain sector of the job market, you might see some of these salary levels in your line of work:
- Education: $30,417 – $60,592
- Financial Services: $32,583 – $65,741
- Healthcare: $32,394 – $65,293
- Information Technology Services: $31,429 – $65,201
- Insurance: $32,933 – $65,616
Executive Assistant Salary by Gender
Women make up 95% of employed executive assistants, and as a whole, they earn more money than their male counterparts. However, that difference may be due to the fact that women make up a larger sampling of the population. Salary differences between men and women in this field include:
- Male: $35,415 – $53,119
- Female: $38,474 – $56,287
Executive Assistant Salary by Location
Some areas of the country offer better paying jobs than others. This often has to do with the standard of living for an area, but it also has to do with the amount of job opportunities available in a location. Listed below are the top ten paying cities for executive assistants, along with information about how much professionals earn there:
- (1) Menlo Park, California: $51,620 – $90,913
- (2) San Jose, California: $46,159 – $89,244
- (3) Santa Clara, California: $46,000 – $78,629
- (4) Stamford, Connecticut: $36,621 – $88,442
- (5) Palo Alto, California: $34,797 – $73,648
- (6) White Plains, New York: $35,874 – $83,153
- (7) San Francisco, California: $39,822 – $81,129
- (8) McLean, Virginia: $40,479 – $71,493
- (9) Princeton, New Jersey: $34,877 – $69,779
- (10) Cambridge, Massachusetts: $32,493 – $76,512
Calculating Your Future Salary
It is impossible to pinpoint the exact amount of money you will make when you become an executive assistant. Expect to earn $30,000 to $40,000 a year at first, but that number could reach $70,000+ over time. You just have to take the right job opportunities at the right times. Every executive assistant has a different salary based on his or her duties and experience. Thus the executive assistant salary waiting for you is virtually unpredictable. Figure out if this is the career for you, and you should be able to look forward to a high salary in the future.
Note that the information above is sourced from PayScale.com as of December 12, 2011. It may not reflect current salary ranges.
