To ask how to improve my skills/ earning potential as an Administrator?

[Chocolateflapjack01]

If you are an administrator, earning an okay amount (£25k+) have you done any additional courses/ quals?

I'm an administrator, I earn £22k which I can get by on (only because I'm married so have a joint income) I have thought about going back to uni and retraining but NOTHING appeals to me anymore and quite frankly, as lazy as it sounds, the thought of having to go back to uni aged 35, or spend 5-6 years completely re-training just exhausts me.

I'm fairly well educated (GCSE's, A-levels and a degree) I've always worked in administrative roles, I actually quite enjoy them, but I do wish I could earn a bit more.

Are there any specialised administrators on here that earn a bit more than me that could share what additional quals they have and what, if any would be worth me looking into getting? If needed I could spend a couple of grand gaining extra qualifications.

Could you do a book keeping course?

What area are you administrating in? There is a wide range of qualifications specific to sectors eg insurance and finance.

I'm an administrator, on a bit less than you. I've seen colleagues progress by getting involved in project management or office management.

Also moving into a specialist business where you develop on the job and progress internally - manufacturing / Estate agent / stuff like that.

Project management, PowerPoint skills, basic marketing.

You could qualify as a data officer or a Gdpr practitioner.

Or languages. Anyone with a European language can command an extra £5,000-£10,000

Working for a big corporate, I was paid an extra £500 a year each for being a first aider and for being a fire Marshall.

Thanks for the replies. I was Oil and Gas, I’m now in a different sector, not Insurance or Finance.

I was wondering about PM and potentially doing my Prince 2 or similar? Or perhaps getting a database qual?

I guess just something that would potentially enable me to move into a non administrative role, but that I wouldn’t have to go back to uni or totally retrain for.

Become qualified in Information Security, HR or project management

Do a industry related course eg. Chartered institute of whatever you are working in
PAs seem to earn a lot
Check which industries pay a bit more, eg. higher education administrators are not badly paid
look for as ppl said office manager jobs

I'm an administrator on £26.5k under the age of 30.
I haven't been to university nor do I have any A-levels /Highers. I have a vocational qualification in Business Administration that took 9 months to complete around 4 years ago.

Best thing to do is find a niche, something that people will know you are capable using.

For me it's Sharepoint/Excel and Visio - most people I work with absolutely hate these products so that's where I decided to put my focus.

Using resources on the web/YouTube has helped a lot.

There are a lot of courses on here: www.reed.co.uk/courses/. Some are free, others have a small cost but very decent material.

What sector are you in? Pay can depend on that as well.

Being able to do payroll usually improves pay. NVQ in Business and admin may help?

I'm in Higher Education, and am a senior administrator/Academic Registrar. I earn about £55k, in my mid-40s. I have an UG degree, and PhD, but it's probably my Masters which has been of most use - in Management, Business, and Leadership. I worked my way up in three different Universities, over 20 years, starting on a current G3, at what was then £11.5k! That grade would now start at about £18k - but there's a lot of scope in Universities, to specialise in certain areas, move around an Institution, etc.

I would encourage you to look at local Unis. and see what roles they're advertising. A G4 and upwards would be on more than £20k. I usually look for skills in written and verbal communication, understanding and experience of databases and reporting, some initiative in managing workloads and problem solving, for example.
Some on-the-job training and qualifications in Microsoft packages never goes wrong, and skills in working with the public/client groups.

Jobs in HE are usually varied, and working with people who are driven and interesting/interested. It can be a good career, even if it never leads to earning big bucks!

I was an administrator and have now progressed to business management. I did this by doing a business administration course and a team leading qualification x

Could you look into moving into becoming a PA? Transferable skills and can make a decent salary.

I would move into PMO (Project Management Office). That's an easy jump from Admin and is well paid. From there you could move into Project Management.

Yes, another vote for PM. I often see PRINCE2 as a requirement.

PA or EA roles can pay extremely well.

It is how Denis O Brien and Michael O’Leary started out and they have done pretty well financially.

I moved up into System Support Officer and I'm now on £33k no further qualifications I guess I hit lucky with my employer who saw my potential and a need for their business (private heathcare).

Have a look at project officer type roles on charity job and jobs.ac.uk

I think a lot of it is down to the employer and whether they value the skill set of administrators. You could probably move into H&S and do additional qualifications on the job, such as NEBOSH, these are fairly well paying roles, especially in construction

Agile project management skills of some kind. Most project related jobs are asking for Agile these days.
Scrum Master might suit you.

PA / EAS are on 40-55, London

I know very good NHS administrators on up to 35k (band 6). They’ve specialised but training is available on the job. There’s actually a deal of good administrators in the NHS.

Lots of free courses need coursera, futurelearn, and Google to give you a taster- have a look at what jobs are available in hr/ project mgt etc and what quals they ask for

Project Management is a good idea
Another to consider is Procurement which has MCIPS qualification.

Thank you all, there are lots of ideas here :-) I actually like the idea of being a PA/EA and think I would really enjoy it. I ran my own business for 3 years and am super, super organised, in fact I LOVE organising. However, I've never gotten an interview for any PA jobs that I've applied for so don't really bother now. They all say they want previous PA experience and it's the old adage of how do you get experience if no one is willing to give you any!