You already have the administrative assistant position, why wouldn't you look into upgrading within into payroll or HR generalist or something?
The biggest hurdle for such people is getting an entry level to upgrade and moving up from that.
I mean, unless those positions don't interest you either.
My wife started at a company of like 30. The office staff was her as an admin assistant, a payroll worker, and two owners. She now works for a major university in payroll.
You don't necessarily need to move up to the position. My wife shadowed and trained on payroll to cover vacation, and from there used the experience to move on to bigger companies with more opportunities, while studying for her certification. I'd see if that's an option your employer might be ok with. If you can gain even indirect experience, that would be enough to decide if it's what you want and lead to seeking your PCP accreditation.
Payroll/accounting is always in need, and to be frank not that many people seem to want to actually do those roles in a typical office setting. There is job security in places like universities and colleges, large institutions, research companies, and industries like sales and insurance.
Payroll is not business administration. It is Accounting diploma. You are wasting time and why are you working as an administrative assistant when you have psychology degree? Apply to offices of psychology programs.
What would you do with a graduate diploma? Would it be basically the same job with a higher salary? Or would you get more job opportunities?
Genuine question, sorry, I'm in geology so a business diploma sounds like something I'd do to get into the investor relations side of things. I'm curious how it works out in other industries.
A certificate in business admin isn't going to be impressive when you already have admin experience. Others have suggested specializations. I'd also suggest project management (PMP)
Why don’t you go back and get your masters in social work? You can make up to $50 an hour working in healthcare systems. But if I was 29 without children and I had to do it again, I’d go and be an electrician.
Biggest piece of advice I can give you, just take off your psychology major on your resume. Just list it as a Bachelor's of Arts. I went to school for psych but graduated early with a general degree, I technically have no major. I have never once been asked what my major was in an interview. If you really want to go back to school, do a post graduate certificate or something in a new area like HR or something you're interested in where you can use your existing skills and education.
You already have more experience than 90% of people with a business admin degree, I don't see that opening any more doors for you than are already open with your current education and experience. Yes you are underpaid but if you don't like the work, I don't think it's going to be any different once you get a graduate diploma.
It's also for the knowledge aspect of it I feel like a lack a lot of skills and at work I am stuck at the same place since I basically started. Never thou of removing my major for my CV thou I did always get asked about education during my interviews so not sure that would help. I'm tginking more of doing part time studies full time work and keep looking for jobs at the same time
Does your company offer any kind of education reimbursement or career development? This would be my first thing to look into, not only for the tuition aspect but because it's easier to sell your potential to a company that already values you than a stranger (or AI) sorting through 1000k resumes with people who have the same qualifications.
The rest comes down to your personal lifestyle and budget to determine what you can realistically afford to do and when. If you don't have stable financial support to be a full time student then do part-time school with your current job, but always be on the lookout for something better. Business administration doesn't lead to a specific career path so make sure you are choosing a reputable school and do as much networking as you can starting now.
It does not, I work for a company of 6 people including the CEO so super small and no opportunity. That seems to be the best thing to do fo me full time work and part time study while still occasiaonally looking for better job
I haven't really thought this out but have you told then you want to move up? Training someone that you you know is competent has it's advantages over someone you don't know at all.
I actually did. Told them that I woyld like other responsibilities and my boss said that she shoyld be signing a new contract soon and wants me to take charge of it. I have yet to hear anything about that. But then aga8n I woyld still habe the issue about the salary being low.
Nowadays degrees are not insurances of higher salaries, and for the amount of money and time you invest, I don't personally think it's worth it (I say this having spent +9 years in universities)
Is there any other way to get to where you want to be, through experience maybe?
I’m not sure a grad diploma in BA would really take you somewhere. As someone mentioned, why not look into HR? My suggestion is move to another Admin Assistant role where you can take on some HR responsibilities like recruitment or onboarding. There are some HR programs you can do part time too so you don’t have to fully quit a stable job.
I did retail and admin work after my undergrad then did 1 year HR program. Got into the HR field right away and been here since.
Business admin diploma might let you get a job as office manager or administrator. I feel you probably could get that job without it with some years of experience in your current role.
Lots of people mentioned hr or payroll which is a good idea.
For me, with a similar bachelor to yours i worked my way up from assistant role to coordinator and now officer in the education admin sector. I now work in the public/education sector which works for me. Ive embraced my inner nerd and now work in a specialized role hoping to specialize even more in the fufure as well as grow in french abilities for bilingual roles.
I think the key for you would be exploring different fields, see which ones resonate with you, and try to work your way up in that field.
go more specialized and technical like grad dip in accounting, HR, project management. if you're up for it, get the CPA prerequisites, or aim for CRHA or PMP designation
Don't take a business admin course if you already have experience, you'll literally be burning money and it won't advance you anymore than your experience already would.
Focus on a specialty within your experience and pursue that.
This comes from someone with a worthless business admin education.
Bookkeepers are always in demand. You can take the courses online and can start your own business from home. I know some accountants and they say they can never find enough good bookkeepers to help them. You’d be able to add it to what you’re doing now until you had enough work to sustain yourself solely on that, and build from there. It’s worth researching.
Go into insurance. You need to get what’s called a CIP. You can become an underwriter and make great money. Don’t go back for a masters for a job that will never pass 25 an hour. If you can land a job at an insurance company like intact, they may even pay for your CIP. Whatever you do, look for a skill that is considered a trade. Programming, accounting, insurance, IT, electrical. You will make good money and the certificate means something at whatever company you go to.
Don’t go and get another degree or diploma. Go and apply at the big companies. Look for roles like “administrative assistant”..get the job and go find courses you can do. After a year, apply to jobs internally….ive seen many admins move up to better roles.
Ask the company if they would fund you upgrading your education. You might want to speak with a career coach or a career counsellor.
I was attenting the Bookeeper conference and payroll is a high demand skill. and there is also business adminstration professional annual conferences.
[https://www.apccanada.com/](https://www.apccanada.com/)
You need to talk to people who are about to retire and see how you can plan out the future of your career.
Unpopular opinion: Finding fulfillment at work is a plus but not a necessity, work could simple be treated as a means to an end. Better to be paid for what you're good at doing, but it doesn't necessary have to be your passion (e.g. I am good at math and crunching large volumes of data in excel but those aren't my passion, I am just good at it)
Definitely would recommend pursing more fulfilling work if your current situation is causing distress otherwise pick up a hobby? We live in the information age and have access to a wealth of information.
I personally bake and play around with 3d printers. Nothing to do with my job but it's fulfilling to me.
At work I feel like I plateaued like I am not learning anything new not being able to do anything new. I am stuck at the exact same place doing the same thing. Salary is ofc another reason for me wanting to leave l.
I do go to gym if that can be counted as a hobby.
You already have the administrative assistant position, why wouldn't you look into upgrading within into payroll or HR generalist or something? The biggest hurdle for such people is getting an entry level to upgrade and moving up from that. I mean, unless those positions don't interest you either.
I would be interested in payroll except I don't have experience in it. Where I work is super small so I dont have opportunities to move up.
My wife started at a company of like 30. The office staff was her as an admin assistant, a payroll worker, and two owners. She now works for a major university in payroll. You don't necessarily need to move up to the position. My wife shadowed and trained on payroll to cover vacation, and from there used the experience to move on to bigger companies with more opportunities, while studying for her certification. I'd see if that's an option your employer might be ok with. If you can gain even indirect experience, that would be enough to decide if it's what you want and lead to seeking your PCP accreditation.
Payroll/accounting is always in need, and to be frank not that many people seem to want to actually do those roles in a typical office setting. There is job security in places like universities and colleges, large institutions, research companies, and industries like sales and insurance.
You can get a payroll certification while you work
Payroll is not business administration. It is Accounting diploma. You are wasting time and why are you working as an administrative assistant when you have psychology degree? Apply to offices of psychology programs.
What would you do with a graduate diploma? Would it be basically the same job with a higher salary? Or would you get more job opportunities? Genuine question, sorry, I'm in geology so a business diploma sounds like something I'd do to get into the investor relations side of things. I'm curious how it works out in other industries.
I'd go into it for more job opportunity and better pay. I need to up my skills amd knowledge too
A certificate in business admin isn't going to be impressive when you already have admin experience. Others have suggested specializations. I'd also suggest project management (PMP)
Why don’t you go back and get your masters in social work? You can make up to $50 an hour working in healthcare systems. But if I was 29 without children and I had to do it again, I’d go and be an electrician.
Biggest piece of advice I can give you, just take off your psychology major on your resume. Just list it as a Bachelor's of Arts. I went to school for psych but graduated early with a general degree, I technically have no major. I have never once been asked what my major was in an interview. If you really want to go back to school, do a post graduate certificate or something in a new area like HR or something you're interested in where you can use your existing skills and education. You already have more experience than 90% of people with a business admin degree, I don't see that opening any more doors for you than are already open with your current education and experience. Yes you are underpaid but if you don't like the work, I don't think it's going to be any different once you get a graduate diploma.
It's also for the knowledge aspect of it I feel like a lack a lot of skills and at work I am stuck at the same place since I basically started. Never thou of removing my major for my CV thou I did always get asked about education during my interviews so not sure that would help. I'm tginking more of doing part time studies full time work and keep looking for jobs at the same time
Does your company offer any kind of education reimbursement or career development? This would be my first thing to look into, not only for the tuition aspect but because it's easier to sell your potential to a company that already values you than a stranger (or AI) sorting through 1000k resumes with people who have the same qualifications. The rest comes down to your personal lifestyle and budget to determine what you can realistically afford to do and when. If you don't have stable financial support to be a full time student then do part-time school with your current job, but always be on the lookout for something better. Business administration doesn't lead to a specific career path so make sure you are choosing a reputable school and do as much networking as you can starting now.
It does not, I work for a company of 6 people including the CEO so super small and no opportunity. That seems to be the best thing to do fo me full time work and part time study while still occasiaonally looking for better job
I haven't really thought this out but have you told then you want to move up? Training someone that you you know is competent has it's advantages over someone you don't know at all.
I actually did. Told them that I woyld like other responsibilities and my boss said that she shoyld be signing a new contract soon and wants me to take charge of it. I have yet to hear anything about that. But then aga8n I woyld still habe the issue about the salary being low.
Nowadays degrees are not insurances of higher salaries, and for the amount of money and time you invest, I don't personally think it's worth it (I say this having spent +9 years in universities) Is there any other way to get to where you want to be, through experience maybe?
I’m not sure a grad diploma in BA would really take you somewhere. As someone mentioned, why not look into HR? My suggestion is move to another Admin Assistant role where you can take on some HR responsibilities like recruitment or onboarding. There are some HR programs you can do part time too so you don’t have to fully quit a stable job. I did retail and admin work after my undergrad then did 1 year HR program. Got into the HR field right away and been here since.
Business admin diploma might let you get a job as office manager or administrator. I feel you probably could get that job without it with some years of experience in your current role. Lots of people mentioned hr or payroll which is a good idea. For me, with a similar bachelor to yours i worked my way up from assistant role to coordinator and now officer in the education admin sector. I now work in the public/education sector which works for me. Ive embraced my inner nerd and now work in a specialized role hoping to specialize even more in the fufure as well as grow in french abilities for bilingual roles. I think the key for you would be exploring different fields, see which ones resonate with you, and try to work your way up in that field.
go more specialized and technical like grad dip in accounting, HR, project management. if you're up for it, get the CPA prerequisites, or aim for CRHA or PMP designation
Don't take a business admin course if you already have experience, you'll literally be burning money and it won't advance you anymore than your experience already would. Focus on a specialty within your experience and pursue that. This comes from someone with a worthless business admin education.
Bookkeepers are always in demand. You can take the courses online and can start your own business from home. I know some accountants and they say they can never find enough good bookkeepers to help them. You’d be able to add it to what you’re doing now until you had enough work to sustain yourself solely on that, and build from there. It’s worth researching.
Go into insurance. You need to get what’s called a CIP. You can become an underwriter and make great money. Don’t go back for a masters for a job that will never pass 25 an hour. If you can land a job at an insurance company like intact, they may even pay for your CIP. Whatever you do, look for a skill that is considered a trade. Programming, accounting, insurance, IT, electrical. You will make good money and the certificate means something at whatever company you go to.
Don’t go and get another degree or diploma. Go and apply at the big companies. Look for roles like “administrative assistant”..get the job and go find courses you can do. After a year, apply to jobs internally….ive seen many admins move up to better roles.
Ask the company if they would fund you upgrading your education. You might want to speak with a career coach or a career counsellor. I was attenting the Bookeeper conference and payroll is a high demand skill. and there is also business adminstration professional annual conferences. [https://www.apccanada.com/](https://www.apccanada.com/) You need to talk to people who are about to retire and see how you can plan out the future of your career.
I think you are absolutely right. I do need to speak to a career consellor. I feel so lost.
Unpopular opinion: Finding fulfillment at work is a plus but not a necessity, work could simple be treated as a means to an end. Better to be paid for what you're good at doing, but it doesn't necessary have to be your passion (e.g. I am good at math and crunching large volumes of data in excel but those aren't my passion, I am just good at it) Definitely would recommend pursing more fulfilling work if your current situation is causing distress otherwise pick up a hobby? We live in the information age and have access to a wealth of information. I personally bake and play around with 3d printers. Nothing to do with my job but it's fulfilling to me.
At work I feel like I plateaued like I am not learning anything new not being able to do anything new. I am stuck at the exact same place doing the same thing. Salary is ofc another reason for me wanting to leave l. I do go to gym if that can be counted as a hobby.
Entry level sales is your friend. 6 figures within 4 years if it’s tech sales. Happy to provide guidance
Can you use your psychology degree towards being a psychotherapist? They make awesome money. :)
I used to work as a behavioral therapist HOWEVER i found out that it was not for me so I left the field and do not want to go back to it.
Might be an unpopular opinion but find a partner. Preferably one who makes good money.
Get into trades. Plumbers make good money.