Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive vs Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
Side-by-side · O*NET · BLS · AI-exposure research · Anthropic Economic Index
A factual, source-backed comparison of Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive and Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants on the dimensions both occupations carry. Every figure is a position within an independent published dataset — not a verdict on which job is better, safer, or more “future-proof.”
At a glance
| Dimension | Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants |
|---|---|---|
| Median pay | $46,290 | $54,140 |
| Employment | 1,737,820 | 154,540 |
| Employment outlook (2024–34) · BLS projection | Declining (-1.6%) | Declining (-5.8%) |
| Annual openings · BLS projection | 202,800 | 19,600 |
| Typical education · O*NET | Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not. | Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. |
| AI exposure · published exposure studies | High · 82nd pct | High · 70th pct |
| Global GenAI gradient · ILO ISCO-08 · via crosswalk | 96th pct · 58% of tasks | 93rd pct · 55% of tasks |
| Observed AI use · Anthropic Economic Index | Automation-leaning (51.5%) | Automation-leaning (64.4%) |
| Mostly remote-capable · Dingel–Neiman | Yes | Yes |
Pay and employment are BLS OEWS estimates; outlook and openings are BLS 2024–2034 projections; AI exposure and observed-use figures come from separate research and reflect exposure and usage, not predictions that either job will disappear. Compare like with like.
Skills
Shared: Administrative, English Language, Active Listening, Speaking, Oral Comprehension, Written Comprehension, Oral Expression, Written Expression, Reading Comprehension, Near Vision, Computers and Electronics, Customer and Personal Service, Writing, Speech Recognition, Speech Clarity, Information Ordering, Service Orientation, Time Management, Administration and Management, Monitoring, Coordination, Problem Sensitivity, Critical Thinking, Social Perceptiveness, Judgment and Decision Making, Deductive Reasoning, Inductive Reasoning, Category Flexibility, Selective Attention, Active Learning, Complex Problem Solving, Communications and Media, Economics and Accounting, Personnel and Human Resources, Public Safety and Security, Education and Training, Fluency of Ideas.
Specific to Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive
- Mathematics
- Time Sharing
- Management of Personnel Resources
Specific to Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
- Law and Government
- Far Vision
- Originality
Knowledge, skills & abilities O*NET rates as important for each occupation. “Shared” are common to both; the columns list what is distinctive to each (top by the order O*NET surfaces).
Tools & technology
Shared: Spreadsheet software , Office suite software , Electronic mail software , Presentation software , Word processing software , Document management software , Project management software , Video conferencing software , Analytical or scientific software , Accounting software , Data base user interface and query software , Process mapping and design software , Internet browser software .
Specific to Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive
Specific to Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
Full profiles
This page is a summary. See the complete source-backed profile for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive or Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants — tasks, the full skill graph, tools, work context, preparation, wages by percentile, industries, AI exposure and the AI work map.
More comparisons
Related occupations you can place side by side on the same sourced scale.
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive vs Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive vs Office Clerks, General
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive vs Administrative Services Managers
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive vs Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive vs First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive vs Receptionists and Information Clerks
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive vs Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive vs Correspondence Clerks
Sources for this page
Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.
- O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Singulariki. "Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive vs Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/compare/secretaries-and-administrative-assistants-except-legal-medical-and-executive-vs-legal-secretaries-and-administrative-assistants
Singulariki. (2026). Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive vs Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/compare/secretaries-and-administrative-assistants-except-legal-medical-and-executive-vs-legal-secretaries-and-administrative-assistants
@misc{singulariki-secretaries-and-administrative-assistants-except-legal-medical-and-executive-vs-legal-secretaries-and-administrative-assistants,
title = {Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive vs Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/compare/secretaries-and-administrative-assistants-except-legal-medical-and-executive-vs-legal-secretaries-and-administrative-assistants}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.