To ask any ex PA's or EA's what they do now and how they transitioned?

[Keke94LND]

Sorry to post here but .. I wanted traffic 😬 also FYI PA stands for personal assistant and EA stands for executive assistant.

I'm an EA and have been for 6 years and I want OUT.. but how and to what?

Any ex PA's/EA's able to share their experiences? Please 😁

I found it really hard to transition anywhere, and I got pigeon holed because of my EA background. Was like people couldn't believe I could do anything else.

Therefore I changed changed career completely to something I'm passionate about. I first become a soft tissue therapist, and now I'm a student osteopath (whilst still working as a therapist).

What do you want to do? I was an EA in the city for about 8 years and then started private tutoring in the evenings as I wanted to use my degree for something... Was earning enough within a couple of months to quit the day job. I've been doing it for around ten years now!

It can be a bit tricky to move on from being a PA as they're isn't a clear career progression apart from working for higher and higher up people, but if I was in this situation now I'd probably try and get a similar role working for a company that did something I was really interested in and see if I could transition out of a support role that way... Only problem is that if you move sideways into a more entry - level role it normally involves a pay cut which is why I never did it! The other way is to get a good boss who can see your potential and is happy to mentor you - at various points people wanted to train me up as an account manager, project manager etc but for various reasons it never worked out.

I retrained as a lawyer, for what it’s worth I absolutely excelled at the trainee level due to the transferable office/ admin skills. I think it’s a really good grounding for all sorts of jobs but I do agree it can be hard to move.

I was an EA in a large corporate. I took a sideways move into an admin based role and moved upwards from there. It wasn't difficult to transition as most EAs are typically good at admin and have a lot of transferrable skills.

What sort of role are you interested in OP?

I was an EA in London for about 15 years and hated it. Great industries (TV advertising and 5 star hotels), but always being someones assistant was awful in the end. If i had to make a tray of tea or coffee for men in grey suits ever again I will kill myself.

After maternity leave, i found i was too experienced in what i did to do anything else. I couldn't even get a retail job as i'd never done it before.

DH as disillusioned with his job (a trade in construction industry) and so we set up our own company. My business experience and efficiency and his trade experience and contacts was absolutely perfect. We now turn over just over £1m a year and its been 10 years this year.

I was only talking about this last night with my other half. The role does come with its own glass ceiling and I wish I’d never fallen into EA work - it’s human nature to want to progress. I finally got a job as secretariat/committee officer in the civil service - I minute lots of meetings but there is a lot less diary wrangling. It’s a move across rather than up, but there is the opportunity to study for company secretary qualifications and do more work that way.

@WhatDidISayAlan

I was only talking about this last night with my other half. The role does come with its own glass ceiling and I wish I’d never fallen into EA work - it’s human nature to want to progress. I finally got a job as secretariat/committee officer in the civil service - I minute lots of meetings but there is a lot less diary wrangling. It’s a move across rather than up, but there is the opportunity to study for company secretary qualifications and do more work that way.

Yeah, I kind of fell into this work after uni because I needed a job, Iv only worked in 2 companies since graduating 6 years ago, both as an EA, and both very small companies where there isn't the opportunity to transition into other roles or departments. I just find the lack of progression so incredibly demotivating, it is the definition of a dead end job.. no where to go, no where to move and nothing to work towards, I often feel like an extra in someone else's movie! Lol

@Nowisthemonthofmaying

What do you want to do? I was an EA in the city for about 8 years and then started private tutoring in the evenings as I wanted to use my degree for something... Was earning enough within a couple of months to quit the day job. I've been doing it for around ten years now!

It can be a bit tricky to move on from being a PA as they're isn't a clear career progression apart from working for higher and higher up people, but if I was in this situation now I'd probably try and get a similar role working for a company that did something I was really interested in and see if I could transition out of a support role that way... Only problem is that if you move sideways into a more entry - level role it normally involves a pay cut which is why I never did it! The other way is to get a good boss who can see your potential and is happy to mentor you - at various points people wanted to train me up as an account manager, project manager etc but for various reasons it never worked out.

Hmm I think I'd like to work in a charity or something that makes a difference .. or in terms of roles, I did a module at uni that was corporate social responsibility and I really loved it and found it so interesting, I think I'd like something like that.. but it's not easy to get into, an alternative route I think could be HR, and I am also interested in HR and modules in that at uni too (I did a business degree) so I think HR could be a realistic move, but I don't have any CIPD qualification.. I am looking to do this, but I'm in the process of buying a flat that needs renovating so I don't know if I realistically will have any time to do it! 😩

Ex-PA - I now drive forklifts; possibly not the answer you were expecting but there we are...

Ex-pa, now in HR via office management then project management.

I work in city / finance and a lot of our EAs have:

• taken a junior role in to the team they’re in
• moved in to junior marketing roles
• gone for general office management roles
• done additional qualifications in things like project management, company secretarial etc then moved there

I think there’s a quite a lot of opportunity for an EA but IMO the ones who stay where they are just do their immediate duties whereas those who progress in to other areas don’t just take minutes / organise meetings, they actually get involved in the work too, more like team project managers

It’s also good to speak to HR to see what additional training and development they offer, my company has a set budget for each employee per year. Also speak to them about career development and progression. Also good to speak to someone senior who you like and trust about opportunities too / some advice on where they think you could fit in.

This all assumes you’re working for a large organisation so if not, perhaps that’s a step change in to an industry you’re interested in to start with

@bookgirl1982

Ex-pa, now in HR via office management then project management.

Ah my job title is EA and office manager.. so maybe the office management side could help me transition to HR? Did you have a CIPD before your transitioned?

I worked for many years as a Secretary and PA, latterly as EA to the MD of a large Insurance Company, but yes, there was nowhere to go. I moved into Quality Management (this was a while ago and is not as popular now!), where the goal was to gain ISO 9001 certification for the Company. Although a completely different sphere of business, it did require some of the PA/EA skills, such as great attention to detail, planning, keeping accurate records and a lot of face to face interaction with members of staff.

I've done a few EA/PA roles which are also part HR Admin. If I had felt inclined I'm sure I could have pursued the HR side more, so that might be a way of getting into something else - a dual role.

I have well over ten plus year's experience of being PA and EA. I hate it, not least because the last three roles I've worked in have been for hideous bosses, and am thankful for the pandemic as my last role was terminated.

There's no real progression, and one can only really move to working for more senior people. Try as I might, I am finding it impossible to transition to something else, and why I've been stuck in this status quo for so long. I am currently not working and find myself preferring unemployment/trying to survive on UC than returning to being an EA. And that in itself is a problem, the longer I am out of work, the more unemployable I become.

Recruiters are no help in this situation, they see my experience and pigeon hole me, incapable of understanding my transferable experience and many skills. It's infuriating and frustrating.

I would add, that if you are in a smaller organisation, it’s sometimes a more varied role. I had this (until I was bullied out of my role by a new CEO). Moving to bigger organisations and more important people sometimes means a day that is 100% diary bashing and expenses. Swings and roundabouts I suppose.

Maybe you could look at voluntary roles to gain experience, such as a Clerk to school governors or a Secretary for a charity? That will utilise some of your current skills whilst opening up governance knowledge & possible contacts.

@sansucre

I have well over ten plus year's experience of being PA and EA. I hate it, not least because the last three roles I've worked in have been for hideous bosses, and am thankful for the pandemic as my last role was terminated.

There's no real progression, and one can only really move to working for more senior people. Try as I might, I am finding it impossible to transition to something else, and why I've been stuck in this status quo for so long. I am currently not working and find myself preferring unemployment/trying to survive on UC than returning to being an EA. And that in itself is a problem, the longer I am out of work, the more unemployable I become.

Recruiters are no help in this situation, they see my experience and pigeon hole me, incapable of understanding my transferable experience and many skills. It's infuriating and frustrating.

I have nothing to add other than I'm with you! I totally understand, feel free to message me if you want to vent some more! I know I love a good vent!! I genuinely think it is such a shit job, we get lumped with all the shit no one wants to do and also get blamed for anything that goes wrong even if we had absolutely nothing to do with it lol

I resonate so much with this.
I only work 2 days per week atm and want to transition to being a SAHM but it's so hard as it's easy money really. Eventually I want to retrain into something more compliance related. I work at s v old fashioned, big law firm/fund/something like that and the structure is very fixed. You can't really step sideways. It's just so easy to drift along esp as the role in in Now is a bit more self sufficient but it's so frustrating being stuck!

Could you take a receptionist job, like in a doctors or something and look for a managerial role? Then youd have mamagement and organisation/multitasking skills on your cv for other manager jobs...managing offices, facilities, venues?

@WhatDidISayAlan

I would add, that if you are in a smaller organisation, it’s sometimes a more varied role. I had this (until I was bullied out of my role by a new CEO). Moving to bigger organisations and more important people sometimes means a day that is 100% diary bashing and expenses. Swings and roundabouts I suppose.

Yeah my role is definitely more varied than if I was doing it in a bigger company, I have a lot of my own projects, because of this I do think it will be easier for me to transition, but that depends on whether people will look past my job title..

@APurpleSquirrel

Maybe you could look at voluntary roles to gain experience, such as a Clerk to school governors or a Secretary for a charity? That will utilise some of your current skills whilst opening up governance knowledge & possible contacts.

This is definitely an option, I just don't know when I'll ever have time 😩 working 40 hours a week 9-6 Monday to Friday :( I also volunteer for a crisis hotline, why is life so busy! Haha

@Buttons294749

I resonate so much with this. I only work 2 days per week atm and want to transition to being a SAHM but it's so hard as it's easy money really. Eventually I want to retrain into something more compliance related. I work at s v old fashioned, big law firm/fund/something like that and the structure is very fixed. You can't really step sideways. It's just so easy to drift along esp as the role in in Now is a bit more self sufficient but it's so frustrating being stuck!

Yeah totally, I feel completely stuck and like I am not living up to my potential :( (not that there's anything wrong with being an EA, some people excel at it and enjoy it but I just don't :( )

@RealBecca

Could you take a receptionist job, like in a doctors or something and look for a managerial role? Then youd have mamagement and organisation/multitasking skills on your cv for other manager jobs...managing offices, facilities, venues?

I should have mentioned that my job role is also office manager so I do have that aswel which could help me transition

I switched to office manager after being an EA got a few years - then moved on to operations manager overseeing a team

Have now side tracked over to payroll side of things

I think the skills you have are very transferable tbh