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Forum
-> Working Women
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amother
OP
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 Tue, Aug 29 2023, 9:04 am
I've been in the administrative field for almost 10 years and I can safely say I'm pretty good at it. Very comfortable with Word, Excel, etc., as well as other various secretarial tasks. I'm a quick learner and really enjoy the challenge of picking up new skills.
BH I'll be taking a career break for maternity leave soon and leaving my current job. I feel that this is a natural fork in the road for me since I've generally become very burnt out in my current position, with the full intention of IYH looking for another job once baby is about 3 months or so.
The thing is that even when looking at theoretical job opportuities now (obviously not applyng to anything new at the moment), I get so nauseated when I see the words "office manager", "ability to multitask", etc. The problem is that these are pretty much the skill sets I have, and I'm good at them, if I do say so myself. However, the job I'm at right now came with IMO way too many expectations for a single person, which is probably why I never want to touch administration with a ten foot pole ever again.
Even the replacement I'm training remarked that it's too much for her and she has no idea how I do everything. That really got me thinking and made me realize that I have been taken advantage of until now, all the while gaslighting myself into thinking I'm doing a bad job when I couldn't get on top of everything.
Before you ask, I don't have a degree. I started something online in a relevant field about a year ago because it made sense to continue in this career after doing it for such a long time, but now I can't even handle the thought of sitting in an office again.
Where do I go from here?
TLDR: I'm burnt out as an administrative assistant but have all the right skills and feel like it's my only option going forward.
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amother
Tulip
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Tue, Aug 29 2023, 9:27 am
I hear you.
Since you wrote that you are quite experienced and capable I would think that when you start looking for a new job you can put out feelers to decide if they are asking too much from you.
At the same time I’m sure you realize that that administrative assistant is really a glorified secretary with lots of responsibilities.
Good luck!
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amother
OP
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Tue, Aug 29 2023, 9:31 am
| amother Tulip wrote: | I hear you.
Since you wrote that you are quite experienced and capable I would think that when you start looking for a new job you can put out feelers to decide if they are asking too much from you.
At the same time I’m sure you realize that that administrative assistant is really a glorified secretary with lots of responsibilities.
Good luck! |
I absolutely do! Which is why I'm looking for ideas of what other roles might be a good fit for me. I'm not afraid of hard work or of learning new skills, but ot seems that no one will hire me without a degree in a given field.
How would I be able to tell if they're asking too much from an interview?
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amother
Electricblue
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Tue, Aug 29 2023, 10:41 am
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For the right pay would you continue what you do? People are paying so much for this type of position now it could be it could be made worth it for you. Also totally makes sense if there's not a number in the world that would make you happy with your current position, I've certainly been there!
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amother
OP
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Tue, Aug 29 2023, 10:49 am
| amother Electricblue wrote: | | For the right pay would you continue what you do? People are paying so much for this type of position now it could be it could be made worth it for you. Also totally makes sense if there's not a number in the world that would make you happy with your current position, I've certainly been there! |
Possibly. It would have to be significantly more than I'm getting now.
On the other hand, I don't want to be a glorified secretary since it feels like a very basic entry level job. Maybe if there was a position out there a bit higher up the totem pole, I would consider it (besides an executive assistant because I'm not picking up anyone's dry cleaning except my own)
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amother
Coral
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Tue, Aug 29 2023, 10:55 am
OP, I could have written this post. I was working in the same field for the past 18 years. I was good at it, but did not like it. I left a well paying job and did a 360 degree change in careers. I needed something that was not behind a desk having all the pressures of an office admin had.
And while I am now making a bit less than I did before, I am loving what I am doing and that is well worth the switch.
You have to know what you are interested in and if you really and truly have had it with admin jobs.
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amf
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Tue, Aug 29 2023, 11:06 am
A lot of the skills of a good admin asst are soft skills- knowing how to prioritize, how to get things done, how to implement and maintain operational systems
Try to focus on where else you can use those skills
Off the top of my head (and with no knowledge of what you like to do, which is a huge factor that you should not underestimate):
-computer programming
-business coach
-logistics company
-legal/paralegal
- any managerial position
Dig in to what you actually enjoy doing
And degrees are over-rated!! Skill is more important in many fields (obviously not medical etc fields...) and there are courses/bootcamps that you can take to learn technical skills quickly
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amother
OP
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Tue, Aug 29 2023, 11:08 am
| amother Coral wrote: | OP, I could have written this post. I was working in the same field for the past 18 years. I was good at it, but did not like it. I left a well paying job and did a 360 degree change in careers. I needed something that was not behind a desk having all the pressures of an office admin had.
And while I am now making a bit less than I did before, I am loving what I am doing and that is well worth the switch.
You have to know what you are interested in and if you really and truly have had it with admin jobs. |
What do you do now? If you don't mind sharing?
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amother
OP
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Tue, Aug 29 2023, 11:09 am
| amf wrote: | A lot of the skills of a good admin asst are soft skills- knowing how to prioritize, how to get things done, how to implement and maintain operational systems
Try to focus on where else you can use those skills
Off the top of my head (and with no knowledge of what you like to do, which is a huge factor that you should not underestimate):
-computer programming
-business coach
-logistics company
-legal/paralegal
- any managerial position
Dig in to what you actually enjoy doing
And degrees are over-rated!! Skill is more important in many fields (obviously not medical etc fields...) and there are courses/bootcamps that you can take to learn technical skills quickly |
I actually just filled out a contact for for an ad here on imamother for a software developer course.
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amother
Coral
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Tue, Aug 29 2023, 11:38 am
| amother OP wrote: | | What do you do now? If you don't mind sharing? | I work in a private gan/maon in israel (kids from 9 months to 2 years of age) and I absolutely love it. Its so different than working at a desk. I didnt realize how miserable I was until I started working in this place. I am so happy now.
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amother
OP
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Tue, Aug 29 2023, 11:42 am
| amother Coral wrote: | | I work in a private gan/maon in israel (kids from 9 months to 2 years of age) and I absolutely love it. Its so different than working at a desk. I didnt realize how miserable I was until I started working in this place. I am so happy now. |
That's awesome! Working with kids is also something I've been thinking about a bit.
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meiravit
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Tue, Aug 29 2023, 1:20 pm
| amother OP wrote: | I've been in the administrative field for almost 10 years and I can safely say I'm pretty good at it. Very comfortable with Word, Excel, etc., as well as other various secretarial tasks. I'm a quick learner and really enjoy the challenge of picking up new skills.
BH I'll be taking a career break for maternity leave soon and leaving my current job. I feel that this is a natural fork in the road for me since I've generally become very burnt out in my current position, with the full intention of IYH looking for another job once baby is about 3 months or so.
The thing is that even when looking at theoretical job opportuities now (obviously not applyng to anything new at the moment), I get so nauseated when I see the words "office manager", "ability to multitask", etc. The problem is that these are pretty much the skill sets I have, and I'm good at them, if I do say so myself. However, the job I'm at right now came with IMO way too many expectations for a single person, which is probably why I never want to touch administration with a ten foot pole ever again.
Even the replacement I'm training remarked that it's too much for her and she has no idea how I do everything. That really got me thinking and made me realize that I have been taken advantage of until now, all the while gaslighting myself into thinking I'm doing a bad job when I couldn't get on top of everything.
Before you ask, I don't have a degree. I started something online in a relevant field about a year ago because it made sense to continue in this career after doing it for such a long time, but now I can't even handle the thought of sitting in an office again.
Where do I go from here?
TLDR: I'm burnt out as an administrative assistant but have all the right skills and feel like it's my only option going forward. |
A couple of thoughts:
The skills you have might be very useful in starting your own business. Have you ever thought of doing that? A major downside, of course, is no guaranteed income for a while. Can you swing that?
Are you able to work full time? You may want to upgrade from administrative assistant to something a bit more senior. Executive Assistant? Office Manager? I don't mean the title, I mean something that needs more from you - either leading a team, or being the executive's personal scheduler, etc. which uses your skills but requires less grunt work. But most of these need full time hours, which is hard as a mom.
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amother
OP
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Tue, Aug 29 2023, 2:07 pm
| meiravit wrote: | A couple of thoughts:
The skills you have might be very useful in starting your own business. Have you ever thought of doing that? A major downside, of course, is no guaranteed income for a while. Can you swing that?
Are you able to work full time? You may want to upgrade from administrative assistant to something a bit more senior. Executive Assistant? Office Manager? I don't mean the title, I mean something that needs more from you - either leading a team, or being the executive's personal scheduler, etc. which uses your skills but requires less grunt work. But most of these need full time hours, which is hard as a mom. |
What kind of business would I start? I'm too scared lol and we wouldn't be able to swing it.
I might consider doing full time if the pay is worth it.
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amother
Cyclamen
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Wed, Aug 30 2023, 12:07 am
| amother OP wrote: | What kind of business would I start? I'm too scared lol and we wouldn't be able to swing it.
I might consider doing full time if the pay is worth it. |
take VA or OBM courses online and you'll be in HIGH demand before you know it and can say no to anything that requires too much of you or anything above your skill set. If you become competent in podcast or video editing, and aweber management (and the like).... you'll have internet marketers banging on your door.
one place to start: https://tinaforsyth.com/store/
another: https://aubreemalick.com/work-with-me
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amother
Apple
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Wed, Aug 30 2023, 12:20 am
Definitely look into VA
How much right now are you making or would charge per hour?
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amother
OP
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Wed, Aug 30 2023, 6:17 am
| amother Apple wrote: | Definitely look into VA
How much right now are you making or would charge per hour? |
Very low 20s. I would charge at least $30 to start.
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bigbird
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Wed, Aug 30 2023, 6:36 am
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Look into project management
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amother
OP
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Wed, Aug 30 2023, 8:14 am
| amother Cyclamen wrote: | take VA or OBM courses online and you'll be in HIGH demand before you know it and can say no to anything that requires too much of you or anything above your skill set. If you become competent in podcast or video editing, and aweber management (and the like).... you'll have internet marketers banging on your door.
one place to start: https://tinaforsyth.com/store/
another: https://aubreemalick.com/work-with-me |
Thank you. I will check it out.
Do you know a ballpark of how much it costs? I couldn't find pricing anywhere for the first one.
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mushkamothers
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Wed, Aug 30 2023, 8:56 am
| amother OP wrote: | | Very low 20s. I would charge at least $30 to start. |
I'm looking for a project manager. Not full time but fully remote. For at least one specific project to start with right now. You can message me on IG @motheringmindset or email mushka@mymotheringmindset
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amother
OP
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Wed, Aug 30 2023, 9:10 am
| mushkamothers wrote: | | I'm looking for a project manager. Not full time but fully remote. For at least one specific project to start with right now. You can message me on IG @motheringmindset or email mushka@mymotheringmindset |
Thank you! I appreciate it. I'm still working for the next little bit, so not ready right now for anything new, but reach out if you're still looking for someone in the next few months.
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