is anyone else stuck doing admin jobs?

[SweetSleep]

After uni I ended up doing admin jobs and haven't progressed at all. I've had a big chunk of time off to raise kids and now back to work in a low paid admin job again!

I guess I didn't have the confidence to apply for better jobs so have only moved sideways. Now I want to get into something else but feel stuck and wondered how others have done it.

I don't mind training on the job but I cannot go to university to retrain.

I have been thinking about specialising in an admin role like finance or hr but tbh I don't enjoy those areas. I think I want to step away from admin altogether! But don't know how.

You don’t need to speak to other people in the same situation if you want to change the situation. What subject is your degree in and what sort of areas have you done admin in? Did any of those appeal to you? Whereabouts in the country do you live? I might have some ideas, but it depends what you’d like to do..

Best to try something you think you will enjoy. At least some of the time.

Have you thought perhaps that if it's difficult to step away then you could step up? I'm a PA and you can move from an admin role to that fairly easily, and it's quite well paid too!

Admin lover here! I was lucky enough to get an admin role in a tiny organisation which meant I was exposed to so many different tasks and get a flavour for the company as a whole.

The office management side was ok, governance and Board stuff v interesting but way more responsibility, project management admin really interesting, and the finance admin was repetitive so a bit dull but easy to pick up.

Thankfully the organisation was also happy to fund distance learning in one of those areas so I am slowly improving with a view to make management in a couple of years (I'm taking it slow as I have young dc).

Could you look for admin in a small organisation in an industry you are interested in? Then immerse yourself into as much of it as possible

Okay, so you don’t enjoy finance. That’s a shame, as I was going to suggest seeing if you could apply to one of the Big 4 accountancy programmes that take graduates but that aren’t new graduates who have had jobs but not necessarily related jobs. It may still be worth looking into and attending an open day as you might find it more interesting than finance admin. You could then get a professional qualification on the job. I think they call them academy programmes or similar.

Why not look at something where you can use your admin skills and then work up? You may be able to study on the job.

Maybe a conveyancing assistant and then study for qualifications as you progress.

why cant you go back to uni to retrain? Is a part time post grad possible with part time work? Thats what i did, and now in a much better job.

I honestly don't have the money of motivation or time to go back to uni!

I'm in the nw living in a grin town with not many job prospects.

Retrain evenings and weekends in something vocational.

Do some online training to at least show interest in learning.
Move area.
Change to a very large organisation with good opportunities for people who have talent and ambition.
Start acting a step up from current role. Choose additional responsibility, show initiative, suggest improvements, ask for wider experience, ask for support for learning. Ask for a mentor.

Loads of opportunities to learn on the job. Maybe something like paralegal or in HR?

I'm mid 40s, I've done admin work (I'm now a PA) for years. To be honest I love it. I like the fact I don't have the stress of a management role or have to make big decisions. I just go in, do my job and then forget about it when I leave. I know I'm lucky that my husband earns well so the low pay isn't the problem for us. Obviously if my husband left me I might have to rethink my career and get a higher paid job.

I forgot the whole point of my post! I did an admin role in an HR team. I was given the opportunity to undertake HR training and become an HR professional but we ended up moving, having kids and it didn't happen. I imagine if you got an admin job in an HR, Finance, Comms (etc) team you could make a good impression on the managers and they'd help you develop your skills. If you show enthusiasm and prove to be an asset to the team most mangers will want you to progress your career. This was my experience in HR. My manager was actually more keen than I was for me to become an HR professional. He said I was wasted in admin.

I've done admin in various forms all my life, and I'm good at it - so I'm not going to change. When I get bored, I find a different kind of admin to do; next month I move from a shared service centre role to a document control role. Experience has increased my salary slightly but not greatly, we live within our means and don't have grand plans. My life exists OUTSIDE of work, not within work.

I've got an admin / PA / project assistent job.
My excuse: after uni I was young and needed the money. I am good at what I do and badly stored information makes me uncomfortable. That's why I do not go into DH's office.
On the other hand - the jobs always left my mind free to learn more languages and other fascinating things, do voluntary (admin) work and bring up DC with ADHS / AS relatively successfully. So I am content - but oldish now, anyway .

I've worked my way up in local government - started as an admin assistant moved to be an admin officer, bit of PA work and now after 15 years taking on new roles I am a senior officer in commissioning. Admin is a great start as you learn organisational skills, people skills, influencing skills, problem solving etc... You could basically do anything you wanted if you look into it?

Also adding within those 15 years I have had two kids so spent time on maternity leave.

God, I hate admin. I fell into it. Became a PA. Then moved into Health and Safety. Big organisations like the civil service and banking often will move you internally into non-admin roles. Or “business support” as they seem to be called now.

Oh and where I live, everybody applies for admin roles. They get a hundred applications for one role paying 18k as it’s seen as better than working retail. Admin pays around 17-22k here. Admin roles will reduce in number as more tasks become automated.

I was a City PA and earned around 40k but those kind of PA jobs don’t really exist outside of London. It’s either receptionist, administrator or medical/legal secretary roles here.