Becoming a secretary after a degree....shameful?

[florida-again]

All during my degree I have temped as an investment banking secretary in central London. I have built up a lot of contacts and really flourished in the job and earned a lot of pay rises.

I'm due to graduate soon and could earn a huge amount (the equivelant of $100,000 a year!!!) just as a starting rate, if I went into this job full time. Living in central London and working in investment banking, even as a PA is extremely well paid.

Graduate jobs are crappy, badly paid and few and far between....plus I've yet to see any that I'm really drawn to.

But I don't want to be seen as someone who 'wasted' my degree by becoming a secretary (I know it is a job that requires intelligence-but others assume it is not)

Would you guys consider this move a waste of a degree?

 

[bsnyder]

All during my degree I have temped as an investment banking secretary in central London. I have built up a lot of contacts and really flourished in the job and earned a lot of pay rises.

I'm due to graduate soon and could earn a huge amount (the equivelant of $100,000 a year!!!) just as a starting rate, if I went into this job full time. Living in central London and working in investment banking, even as a PA is extremely well paid.

Graduate jobs are crappy, badly paid and few and far between....plus I've yet to see any that I'm really drawn to.

But I don't want to be seen as someone who 'wasted' my degree by becoming a secretary (I know it is a job that requires intelligence-but others assume it is not)

Would you guys consider this move a waste of a degree?

What is your degree in?

 

[pumba]

where a person feels comfortable and if it is enough to live on ........I say go for it.......life is to short to not do what YOU want.....if this doens't pan out .......you do have a degree......or you could go for a few more credits and then teach that type of course yourself........good luck in whatever it may be.....

 

[Hillbeans]

Well......

I was a secretary, when I started out after college. I liked the work (most of the time) but I do admit that after awhile, I got sick of being treated like a secretary - not from my boss, but from those around me. It was like I was expected to do a lot of things not in my job description for others in my department who just didn't feel like writing their own memos and the such.

I had always wanted to supervise, and I got my wish. I supervise a small staff and sometimes I long for the days as an Admin. Asst.

With that being said, if it's a good company, and you've got a nice boss, and the hours are decent and you like the job, I say go for it. The only way you'll know if you like it is if you try it out.

 

[florida-again]

What is your degree in?

I study history with Spanish - having an extra language adds more £££ to a PA's salary too!

 

[Chicago526]

Hell no! In case you didn't know, secretaries (or admin. assistants as they are more commonly known now) run the world! If it weren't for the people on the front lines of businesses and corporations, nothing would be done! Trust me, middle and upper management, for the most part, would be lost with our their assistants and they know it. Top AA's make really good money for a reason!

Edited to add: It would depend on the company, some still treat AA's poorly even though they are invaluable. But if the pay is THAT good, it sounds like a company that values it's support staff.

 

[SwedishMeatball]

My husband and I both have degrees in education. I went on to teach and he chose not to. He went into sales because he was more interested in earning a higher salary. Each choice was right for us. It just depends on what you want.

 

[missypie]

As someone who HAS a secretary, I would LOVE a sharp secretary with a degree!!!

You just have to answer a couple of questions for yourself:

1. Would you dislike "taking orders" from your "bosses" who might not be as bright as you? Would you enjoy making others look good, or would it make you resentful?

2. Does the company have a career path so that you could be promoted to a higher level position and if not, does that matter to you?

 

[Cindy B]

Well, I was a secretary for over 10 years and decided to go back to school to get my degree. I am now making less money but doing something more meaningful if that makes sense.

For that type of salary, I would have to wonder though. I could go back to it for that price, but I would hate it. I hated being the one behind the scenes and no glory. I got tired of being treated like crap from male chavinist pigs that acted like you were only there for thier coffee and dry cleaning.

If the boss was decent and the job itself isnt' terrible I could possibly think about it. The secretary job market around my area is interesting. They either want a degree or nothing. I interviewed at Microsoft and even the receptionist positions were requiring bachelors degreees. (that was the reason I didn't get the job)

There are fewer and fewer jobs for secretaries as well. I guess you also have to think about the long haul. Will you still be wanting to do this in 5 , 10 , 15 years?

 

[florida-again]

As someone who HAS a secretary, I would LOVE a sharp secretary with a degree!!!

You just have to answer a couple of questions for yourself:

1. Would you dislike "taking orders" from your "bosses" who might not be as bright as you? Would you enjoy others look good, or would it make you resentful?

2. Does the company have a career path so that you could be promoted to a higher level position and if not, does that matter to you?

The company is hugely dedicated to helping people progress in their careers. I know that after a year they would pay for me to do a masters degree while working and then promote me accordingly once I had it. I know of a few managing directors there who started as secretaries.

Of course in a graduate job you are fast tracked straight to the managerial jobs....

 

[caitycaity]

shameful? no.

however i have thought before that i idn't udnerstand why some of the people i knew in college opted for that career path when they had so much potential to do more (just admitting my honest feelings here).

yes, secretaries hold companies together and are very important (a good one is hard to find for sure!), but i personally could not handle little to no acknowledgement of the role i played and/or little to no career advancement. both are true of secretarial positions at every company i have worked at. plus, there are a lot of people who will look down on you and view you pretty much as their slave. (it's not right, but it happens. a lot.)

 

[jel0511]

I used to work for an US investment bank. Many of the investment banking assistants got promoted to full bankers. We used to joke that was the only way in, or knowing someone. You do know that investment bankers keep horrible hours and exepect their assistants to be at their beck and call? You have to really work in this industy to put up with all the crap the bankers can deal out.

 

[florida-again]

I used to work for an US investment bank. Many of the investment banking assistants got promoted to full bankers. We used to joke that was the only way in, or knowing someone. You do know that investment bankers keep horrible hours and exepect their assistants to be at their beck and call? You have to really work in this industy to put up with all the crap the bankers can deal out.

The bank I work for is also a US one...I wonder if we worked for the same one??? Of course there are lots of them...but still, it might have been!

 

[MrsNick]

The company is hugely dedicated to helping people progress in their careers. I know that after a year they would pay for me to do a masters degree while working and then promote me accordingly once I had it. I know of a few managing directors there who started as secretaries.

Of course in a graduate job you are fast tracked straight to the managerial jobs....

They would pay for you to get your degree, then promote you? And you're on this board asking if taking the job is a waste?!

You know your company promotes from within (managing directors started as secretaries).

Please, let me waste my degree there, too!

 

[bsnyder]

The company is hugely dedicated to helping people progress in their careers. I know that after a year they would pay for me to do a masters degree while working and then promote me accordingly once I had it. I know of a few managing directors there who started as secretaries.

Of course in a graduate job you are fast tracked straight to the managerial jobs....

When you say they'd pay for a masters, I assume you mean a master's in a banking related subject - finance, or something like that? Is that correct?

If this is the route you're interested in pursing, I think it would be a great idea - they'd pay for your additional schooling.

 

[jel0511]

I used to work at Morgan Stanley, DH is at Lehman, pretty much the same thing there.

 

[EthansMom]

Let's see, go full time for a company that has treated you well and where you've flourished. You would get paid exceedingly well and your company would pay for you to pursue a Graduate Degree in a year or so, after which, you would be promoted or could move on to another company.

Or, leave your current job for ??????????????

I think your current position sounds like a good opportunity. Who cares what title you have? If you like the work and it pays well, you're doubly blessed.

 

[BelleMcNally]

Would that my Admin. Assistant job paid 100,000!!!

As my father always told me, no honest work is shameful. I don't think there is such a thing as a "wasted" degree. If learning is simply a stepping-stone to a higher salary (not that getting a higher salary isn't a worthwhile goal), I think it loses some of its luster.

It sounds like you *do* want to take this secretary job...you've said nothing but good things about it. I, myself, want to eventually go back to graduate school, and I've always known that, but I see my current job as important and something to be proud of.

I lot of people have to go into jobs that might be perceived as "below" a degree or title they've earned simply because it's HARD to get a job!

I guess you could pose the same question--if a woman gets a degree (Bachelor's, Master's, Doctorate, MD, whatever) and then decides to stay at home and raise children instead of pursuing a career in her degree--is the degree wasted? I would say absolutely not. The more educated people we have in the world, at any level in any job, the better!

I know a ton of professors with multiple degrees who would LOVE to be making the kind of salary you're being offered...

 

[jel0511]

Let's see, go full time for a company that has treated you well and where you've flourished. You would get paid exceedingly well and your company would pay for you to pursue a Graduate Degree in a year or so, after which, you would be promoted or could move on to another company.

Usually if an investment house pays for your graduate degree you're usually beholdden to them for three years after program completion. If you leave prior to that you are required to pay back a pro-rata share of your tuition. So it's not a true free ride.

 

[florida-again]

Usually if an investment house pays for your graduate degree you're usually beholdden to them for three years after program completion. If you leave prior to that you are required to pay back a pro-rata share of your tuition. So it's not a true free ride.

That;s true. Furthermore I believe it is not a guaranteed thing, I think there is an application process first.