Executive assistants in the United States earn a median salary of $52,150. The mean is C$51,717 ($37,711 USD) for those in Canada, and £31,233 ($40,249 USD) for these professionals working in the United Kingdom. While in Australia the executive assistant salary stands at AU$60,098 ($44,458 USD).
In Switzerland, the mean stands at CHF85,185 ($85,050 USD), while the figure rests at NOK510,000 ($59,457 USD) in Norway.
Executive Assistant Salary Influencers
As executive assistants work for officers, executives and other managers, pay turns significantly upon whether the organization is profit or nonprofit and its size. Experience can increase pay, especially in the early years of work. Median salaries tend to level in later career stages.
1. Industry
Executive assistants work in various types of companies and organizations, especially larger ones with multiple executive-level managers or clerical staffs. These professionals may review or even draft documents, prepare reports and schedule appointments, meetings and tasks for the executives. In the United Kingdom, executive assistants with travel administration skills make ten percent above the mean pay.
Bilingual skills also influence pay as many executive assistants work for multinational corporations. For example, according to PayScale, executive assistants with French language skills earn 15 percent above average.
2. Geographical Area
| Executive Assistant Salary | US | Canada | UK | Australia | Switzerland | Norway |
| Hourly Wage | $20.12 | C$20.48 | £14.90 | AU$30.63 | CHF40.24 | NOK245.19 |
| Annual Wage | $52,150 | C$52,241 | £30,814 | AU$68,386 | CHF83,715 | NOK510,000 |
Executive Assistant Salary in the US
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, executive assistants in the United States earn a median salary of $57,910 as of May 2016. While Payscale reports the median salary for March 2017 as $52,150 per year.
Executive Assistant Salary in Canada
For executive assistants in Canada, the mean pay as reported by PayScale stands at C$52,241 per year. While total pay runs from C$36,238 to C$69,234.
Executive Assistant Salary in the UK
The mean pay for executive assistants in the United Kingdom is £30,814 per year. Those in London make 13 percent above the mean pay.
Executive Assistant Salary in Australia
The median pay for executive assistants in Australia is AU$68,386 yearly. While total pay runs from AU$50,132 to AU$86,706.
Executive Assistant Salary in Switzerland
According to PayScale, the median salary stands at CHF83,715 for executive assistants in Switzerland. While total compensation ranges from AU$51,821 to CHF119,231.
Executive Assistant Salary in Norway
Statistics Norway does not have a separate category solely for “executive assistants,” they have reports salary information for “Administrative and Executive Secretaries.” These professionals earn a median salary of NOK42,500 per month or NOK510,000 per year.
3. Experience
PayScale reports a median pay of $42,000 for entry-level executive assistants in the United States. The median climbs to $50,000 for those with five years of experience and $56,000 for those who reach ten years of experience. Beyond 20 years, the median is $57,000.
Entry-level executive assistants in Canada earn a median pay of C$45,000 yearly. At five years experience, the median ascends to C$52,000, then to C$56,000 at ten years. Executive assistants with more than 20 years experience have a median salary of C$60,000.
In the United Kingdom, the entry-level median pay is ₤27,000. For executive assistants with five years of experience, the median stands at ₤33,000. The median peaks at 35,000 for those with ten years. After 20 years of experience, executive assistants earn a median pay of more than ₤34,000 yearly.
For entry-level executive assistants in Australia, the median pay stands at AU$61,000. At five years of experience, the median rises to AU$69,000. Executive assistants with ten years of experience earn a median pay of AU$74,000 per year. Median pay thereafter plateaus at that figure.
Median salaries for executive assistants in Switzerland do not rise appreciably with experience, especially beyond ten years. Entry-level executive assistants in Switzerland earn a median of CHF73,000. At five years of experience, the median climbs to CHF92,000 per year, then remains generally level thereafter. Executive assistants with more than 20 years of experience earn a median pay of CHF97,000. However, pay for those in the late-career stages earn 13 percent above average.
Working Hours
Generally, executive assistants hold full-time hours. In Australia three out of four personal assistants who perform functions similar to that of executive assistants, log full-time hours. Among these workers, the normal workweek lasts 36.7 hours. For full-time workers in all occupations, the workweek runs 40.2 hours.
According to the Canadian Government’s “Job Bank,” approximately 93 percent of executive assistants work full-time. This rate exceeds the 81 percent of workers overall in Canada who are full-time.
Bonuses & Benefit Packages
PayScale says that executive assistants in the United States receive bonuses between $831 and $9,716 and profit-sharing benefits ranging from $490.21 to $7,137. In Canada, these professionals fetch bonuses between C$513 and C$7,645. While compensation from profit-sharing runs from C$977 to C$7,493.
In Australia, bonuses run from AU$1,490 to AU$11,175. Executive assistants earn a mean of AU$8,100 from profit-sharing. While for executive assistants in Switzerland, bonuses run from CHF1,532 to CHF 20,226, while profit-sharing benefits go up to CHF2,584. In Norway, bonuses are of NOK800 per month, or NOK9,600 per year, for “Administrative and Executive Secretaries.”
Job Outlook
Overall, executive assistant jobs will have dwindling job prospects. Smartphones, laptops, desktops and their applications allow executives to prepare their own documents, deliver messages and schedule appointments, presentations and other activities. As a result, executives can perform functions once undertaken primarily by administrative assistants and executive assistants.
As a result, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of executive assistants should decline by six percent by 2024. This translates to 44,600 fewer positions. Job Bank projects that, by 2024, Canada will have 15,300 job openings for 14,600 job seekers.
According to Job Outlook, Australia had 51,000 personal assistants. By 2019, the country could have between 25,001 and 50,000 personal assistants. In the “Secretaries” field, job openings in Australia could range from 5,001 to 10,000. Job Outlook projects a decline in employment of secretaries by November 2020.
Conclusion
Executive assistants can find higher salaries with expertise with bilingual, administration and other skills. Working in larger corporations can yield for executive assistants bonuses and profit sharing benefits.
Job prospects for executive assistants may dwindle as technology allows executives and managers to perform many functions once the domain of executive assistants and administrative assistants.
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