Do you think my job will still exist in 10 years?

[OrangeLavenders]

A few people have warned me or said something to make me think otherwise!

I'm a PA. Paid very very well considering I don't have any qualifications

Do you think the job of a PA will disappear within the next decade or so? I'm worried.

I have thought of retraining but as what I just don't know. I have a child with additional needs so any sort of extra workload that has me studying all hours just won't work for now

I'm not usually so panicky... Probably because I can't tell if I'm being rational or not

I don't see why not. Some people will still need their lives organising!

If you’re in a position of strength expand your skill set (gain qualifications) now so that you are ready for change down the line. Everyone needs to retrain at some point.

Who has told you this? People at work (in which case maybe worry a bit!) or friends and family? I don't think most people know what a PA actually does and assumes it's the same as a secretary, which is a job that has largely disappeared or been greatly reduced with shared admin teams. In general they say that creative, soft skill jobs are safer than anything that could be automated and for PAs who have a very wide range of functions (which I'm guessing is the case for you if you're well paid) I think much of the job falls into that category.

Trust A lot of people's comments seem to revolve around the increase in technologies. For example you already have your diary right in front of you on a phone.

Trouble is a lot of very clever people don't seem to know how to use it

Nobody at work has said anything along those lines. It's friends and family... Who aren't being unkind, I think they at least think they have a very good point

@OrangeLavenders

Trust A lot of people's comments seem to revolve around the increase in technologies. For example you already have your diary right in front of you on a phone.

Trouble is a lot of very clever people don't seem to know how to use it

Exactly a small part of my job is secretarial and I manage diary's for people who just.... Don't / can't / are too busy. I don't think that will ever change. And it's younger people too. They know how to do it they just don't!

A lot of people's comments seem to revolve around the increase in technologies. For example you already have your diary right in front of you on a phone.

This is a good example of people not getting the actual job. Diary management isn't the physical entering of appointments into a system - no one needs someone else to do that, it's true - it's managing the time itself, knowing how to protect time without ruffling feathers, knowing when to be flexible and when to be rigid. Google calendar is never going to do that.

No one can predict the future, and panicking isn't going to change anything so please stop worrying. A PA is a very broad job. So whilst it might not exist in the way it does now, the skills and experiences that you have gained will have made you adaptable to change.

I think it's quite possible there will be the same need as now, but more working 'remotely'.

I can see what they're thinking - more people WFH & technology making certain tasks easier, but many well paid people will still want someone to manage their diary/book their meeting venues/flights/restaurants arrange client logistics, stationery, gifts and all those other things.

Can you honestly see the person/people you work for now doing everything you do for them themselves? I can't.

Diary management isn’t just telling someone what they have on that day, it’s arranging a meeting and co-ordinating with everyone in that meeting, making sure the meeting space is available, working out how long to get to a meeting if no in the office, it’s entering travel arrangements that you have booked, being aware of who else in on annual leave, eg making sure that not all senior managers are off at the same time, keeping diary entries updated eg if anything changes, etc etc. All something that only takes a few min each entry but is head space that a senior person doesn’t want to have to think about!!

There are already far fewer PA jobs around than there were pre Covid19. I know some City firms are outsourcing secretarial services abroad, Eastern Europe seems to be a popular choice.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-34066941 This has a tool for predicting automation, it also shows how PA jobs have dropped by around 50% since 2001.

I imagine business travel will also drop and not return to previous levels too.

There has been a seismic shift in office work due to the pandemic, and I don’t think that offices will ever return to their old ways of working.
Companies have seen how they can function with much reduced physical office space, and I think that trend will increase.

So the PA’s job will also change, meetings will be via Zoom type links or company networks, saving on travelling time and costs. The PA’s job will become much more technology based.

Yes

The same senior MDs and CEOs that use PAs today will use them in 10 years time. They won’t magically become self sufficient in that time, successful people will continue to delegate minor admin tasks elsewhere to better prioritise their time

Think about it, if they wanted to they could already personally carry out your job alongside their own now. The tech is already here. They have instead chosen not to.

My PA’s job was cut. I’ve been told to share my boss’s PA (who resents working for me as a) I am a woman and b) she doesn’t think she should work for more than one person. The alternative is to ask one of our interns to act as my PA, but that’s not what they are there for. So I have ended up doing most of the work myself.

With what I have seen of good PAs you could do their job far more easily than they can do yours.

The only thing stopping you doing their job is confidence and self esteem. I bet you.