Gift shopping, errand running, letter writing and coffee making. Sounds like an all nighter during the holidays, right? Wrong. This is my job. I’m two months removed from the 1958 graduating class of Dumont High School and I’m already a slave to the grind. As a secretary for Shell Corporation in New York, I rise before the sun, don my white gloves, grab my purse and hop the train into the city for work. My department is filled with women like me: Gloves, long skirts and forced smiles alike. We look like a gaggle of debutantes invading the 25th floor. Every day, I buy gifts for my boss’s wife, serve as his confidante and make him lots of coffee. It has to get better than this.

Much as they are today, these were the duties of a professional secretary 40 years ago. Forty years is ancient history to most of us. Some of us haven’t even lived that long. And while the basic premise of the job remains the same, the past 40 years have brought significant changes. For example, secretaries in the 50s typed letters using carbon paper on a manual typewriter. Mistakes were corrected by white out, those cement-like erasers with brushes on the other end, or the trash can. Copies of completed (perfect) documents were cranked out by hand on a mimeograph. So what qualifications did one need to take the challenge? A high school diploma and good typing skills.

According to Jan Rady, an administrative professional at Central Penn Business School, secretaries 40 years ago were servants to their executives. The office was a microsociety with definable class levels-secretaries dwelling at the bottom. The requirement to get a secretarial position: type 40 words per minute with as few mistakes as possible. The difference between a "basic" secretary and and "executive" secretary was just 10 words per minute. Rady says the ability to type fast could put you in a different income bracket.

Sounds incredible. Primitive, you might think. So what changes have taken place in the past 40 years to make the secretary’s role what it is today? The first no-brainer response is technology. Electric typewriters with auto correction and spell check, not to mention word processors or personal computers, were a pipe dream years ago. Chuck Brockman, proprietor of Restart Temps in Camp Hill, notes that the secretary’s role in the workplace has been greatly affected by the power of information technology enabling administrative professionals to handle greater responsibilities. Computers with advanced word processing, spreadsheets, graphics and desktop publishing capabilities are essential to the secretary’s job today. As PCs, e-mail, Internet, fax machines and other technologies have revolutionized office operations, secretaries have assimilated and emerged as vital office personnel.

The reflection of technological changes introduces another important factor: training. Brockman says women or men interested in becoming secretaries or other administrative professionals need training beyond high school. He suggests business or technical school or community college as the best ideas, however, temporary agencies also place students in job training programs. That way students are trained on the job. Carrie Johnston, a professor at Central Penn, says businesses today look for secretaries with computer skills and a knowledge of English. Most will require at least a two year education beyond high school and look for students majoring in bookkeeping or human resources.

High school graduates with basic office skills, such as typing and English, may qualify for entry-level secretarial positions. However, professional support personnel must be proficient in typing, spelling, punctuation, grammar, oral communication and sometimes shorthand or Dictaphone. Software knowledge is essential, and because secretaries must interact with various businesspeople, salespersons, and cold solicitors, good interpersonal skills are also very important.

You’ll note above I said "women OR men interested in becoming secretaries." This presents another significant change. Aside from the women’s lib movement of the 60s and the deluge of sexual harassment cases in recent years, other factors have fostered the positive development of the secretarial profession. Undoubtedly, legislation has played its part. Equal opportunity wasn’t gospel and sexual harassment was rampant in the 50s. Today, women simply demand more respect as professionals. According to Brockman, the number of men taking secretarial positions is on the rise. He says that 15 percent of all administrative placements at Restart last year were men. The number has gradually increased in the past five years, and he anticipates it will continue to grow.

The advent of technology and influence of social and statutory standards have brought the "evolutionized" secretary new responibilites. Forty years ago, a secretary worked for one person, whereas contemporary administrative professionals work for several people, sometimes an entire office. Today, executives look for someone who can be a right hand person for the whole office. With this, secretaries need to know not only how to operate fax machines and e-mail, but also understand accounting, product management, inventory and general service information. These expanded responsibilities broaden the range of administrative support titles, including clerical supervisor, office manager, systems manager, receptionist, personnel clerk and human resource specialist.

With the new and expanded duties of today’s professional secretary, there’s little argument that admninistrative support is a vital part of any business or office. Brockman says that while technology has changed the face of the professional secretary’s job, it could never eliminate the need for one altogether. The 1998-99 Occupational Outlook Handbook notes, "Increasing office automation will ensure little or no change in overall employment of secretaries...Job openings should be plentiful, especially for well-qualified and experienced secretaries, primarily due to the need to replace workers who leave or move up in this very large occupation." However Rady, a career secretary for the past 25 to30 years, disagrees. She says the current philosophy among business students is that a secretary is not considered a professional, but a clerk, and interest in the field is decreasing. Contrary to Brockman’s statement, she notes the primary cause for the decline is technology. With executives creating their own correspondence and the emergence of voice-activated PCs, secretaries may become the dinosaur of the workplace in five to ten years. Although it won’t play such an important role in the office, administrative support will always be needed to "pick up the pieces" she says.

As professionals serving an important office position, secretaries have come a long way. Their future is, well, undecided. Developments in office technology are certain to continue and will bring about further changes in the workplace. However, many secretarial duties are interactive in nature and not easily automated. And, because equipment can’t substitute for these skills, secretaries will continue to exist in offices nationwide, for now.

Secretarial Facts
•Secretaries comprise the largest segment of the workforce. According to the US Department of Labor, 3,403,000 secretaries and 1,369,000 clerical supervisors were employed in the country in 1996.

•262,000 clerical supervisors and manager positions are predicted to be added between 1996 and 2006.

•74.3 percent of administrative professionals seek computer-specific software training.

•According to Professional Sectretaries International - The Association for Office Professionals, 98.6 percent of secretaries use word processing, 89.2 percent integrate information into spreadsheets, and 73.1 percent create presentation graphics.

•About 6 of every 10 secretaries are employed in service-providing firms, ranging from education and health to legal and business.

•Based on a survey of 160 metropolitan areas, the average annual income for a secretary with limited experience was $19,700 in 1995. This varies according to skill, experience and responsibility, with averages ranging up to $40,600 per year.

•The starting salary for secretaries in the Federal Government was $17,400 in 1997. All secretaries employed by the Federal Government in 1997 averaged $27,900.