How to Become an Office Administrator: Career Guide, Courses, After 12th, Jobs, Scope, Salary

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Ahana Bhaduri

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The Office Administrator is responsible for the growth of the companies. Every year almost 61.8% of male population and 38.8% of the female population become office administrators. The salary of Office administrators varies depending on employees’ experience level, job responsibilities, and geographic location. 

As per the US Bureau Survey, the average growth of office administrator jobs is 7 percent and it is expected to increase 3% more increment on demand. Skills That Affect Office Administrator Salaries are Human Resources (HR) 112%, Operations Management 41%, Vendor Management 39%, Payroll Administration 30%, Organizing 27%, Office Management 18%, Cash Handling 18%, Accounts Receivable 16%, Administration 13%, and Facilities Management 11%. 

There are several courses that can be pursued to become an Office Administrator such as BBA, MBA, Diploma in Office Administration etc. In India colleges such as Amity University, IIM Kolkata, IIM Bangalore, XLRI Jamshedpur etc offer these courses. The average fees for pursuing these courses ranges from INR 3 - 14 LPA. 

How to Become a Office Administrator: Quick Facts

Industry Finance
Eligibility An applicant who has completed their 10+2 degree with commerce stream, For being an Office Administrator, the candidate must have achieved a graduation degree in the concerned field.
Average Starting Salary INR 3-4 lacs (approx.)

Steps to Become an Office Administrator

The various steps to be followed for becoming an Office Administration have been listed below for further reference:

  • Decision Making: The students shall decide well in time if they wish to take up their career in the field of Office Administration. And if they really want to pursue the office administrator career, they have to start their practice from schooling.
  • Subject Choices: An applicant for the position of Office Administration must have a 10+2 degree, regardless of the marks obtained in the qualifying examination, according to the eligibility criteria. To be an Office Administration an applicant must have earned a bachelor's degree in the relevant area along with the diploma in Office Administration.
  • Entrance Exam: After completing the 10+2 students have to enroll in any B school and can do the BBA course. Admission is based on IPMAT, NPAT, SET, JIPMAT, UGAT, etc entrance exam or the merit basis.
  • Prepare for interviews: After completion of the study, candidates can prepare for interviews by coming up with example answers that demonstrate their key skills, such as communication, attention to detail, and interpersonal skills. Practice your responses to common interview questions.

Types of Office Administrators

There are several types of bifurcations when it comes to an Office Administrator job such as, Administrator Assistant, Office Manager, Personal Assistant, Virtual Assistant etc. Below enlisted are few of the types of Office Assistant divisions for your reference,

  • Administration Assistant: Administration assistants are responsible for doing a wide variety of tasks depending on the business’s requirements. Administration assistants are required to prepare, file, or archive documents, sort the mail, send mail or other communication to clients, answer phones or manage stock, as well as fulfill general office and ad hoc tasks.
  • Office manager: Office managers are responsible for organizational and other office duties to efficiently run a business. Office managers are responsible for filing and integrating information to be used by staff and clients, managing internal staff and external client communications, maintaining office equipment and supplies, mailing and banking, and managing invoices.
  • Personal assistant (PA) and executive assistant (EA):  Personal assistants provide administrative support to the executives of a company. An Executive Assistant is more focused on organizing the schedule and activities of the executive. Personal assistants are responsible for diary management, reviewing incoming mail, emails, submissions, and reports for prioritization, preparing agendas, organizing meetings, research, creating reports, and organizing travel and guest arrangements are usually part of the EA’s role.
  • Virtual assistant: Virtual assistants usually manage tasks such as invoicing and processing payments, distribution of products, creating documents and reports, handling email inquiries, and any other administrative tasks that can be managed by email or online.
  • Specialist areas: There are also specialist administration roles such as legal or staff. Candidates who should know terminology and procedures unique to the law firm or medical center environment are eligible for the position.

How to become an Office Administrator in India

Office administrator positions need to first earn their high school diploma. In Schooling time students must start to enhance their skills in specialized computer classes in word processing, spreadsheets, or database management. Apart from that, technical school classes or certification programs can help candidates gain the skills necessary to perform the duties of an office administrator.

School Level Preparation

To become the office administrator students need to set their minds from the school level. Students must choose the commerce or a science stream in 10+2 and enhance their skills in computers so that it will not be an issue to become an office administrator.

How to become an Office Administrator After 12th

After completion of the 12th by the commerce stream. Then students have to start their journey to become a office administrator:-

UG Level Preparation

To become an office administrator the bachelor's in business administrator degree is very important in any of the MBA schools. Admission in the B's school for the course BBA is based on either the merit list or the entrance exam, it will vary from college to college. So students have to prepare for the entrance exam in their 10+2 so that candidates are able to get the admission in the best B's school. So during the graduation period it is important that students start to make themself better in communication skills, analytical skills, and they also know how to use the equipment.

PG Level Preparation

After the bachelor's degree to make themself specialized candidates need to go with the PG level education. So MBA give a advantage to the candidates to become a office administrator. Admission in the MBA course is mostly based on the entrance exam. There are various entrance exams which are accepted by the colleges like CAT, XAT, MAT, GMAT etc are some well known entrance exams. So it is important that students start their preparation from the graduation itself. 

Courses to Become an Office Administrator

There are several courses that one can take up to become an Office Administrator such as BBA, MBA, Diploma in Office Administration etc. Some of the top courses that can be pursued to become an office administrator are listed below for your reference.

Diploma in Office Administration 

Diploma in Office Administration is a short-term diploma-level program specializing in the administration of office work. The duration of the diploma course is 6 months to 1 year depending upon the college. The admission in the course is based on a merit basis.

Eligibility:

  • Candidates who have scored a minimum of 45 percent in 10 classes are eligible for the diploma course.
  • Applicants who are applying for their final examination in class 10 can also qualify for the program.
  • At the time of admission, candidates should have reached 16 years of age.

BBA

BBA Course duration is a three-year period divided into two semesters in each year. The course aims to provide students with both practical and theoretical knowledge of various financial components such as investment and insurance.

Admission Process:

Most of the admissions in BBA courses are based on the entrance exam. The application procedure for this course is mention below –

  • Students must complete the 10+2 class with a minimum of 50% to be admitted to the Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance program. The percentage required for admission may differ from one university to the next.
  • Some universities admit students solely based on their 10+2 class grades, while others need a joint entrance exam for admission to the BBA in Finance program.
  • Following the preparation of the examination merit list, applicants are admitted solely based on their entrance exam merit.

Eligibility Criteria:

To be considered for admission to the BBA, applicants must meet the following requirements:

  • Candidates who have completed 10+2 will enroll in the Bachelor of Business Administration program.
  • To be admitted to most institutes, students must achieve a minimum of 50% in their 10+2 classes.
  • The percentage requirements for certain institutes are as high as 60%.

The below table shows the several entrance exams held for admissions to BBA. Some of the most popular are listed below:

Exam name Registration date Exam date
BHU UET 1st week of May, 2022 to 1st week of June 2022 June/ July 2022
PUBDET 4th week of March, 2022 to 2nd week of April, 2022 2nd week of August, 2022
APU UG NET To be Announced To be announced
UPCET Till September 20, 2022 To be Announced
TS EAMCET 4th week of March 2022 to 3rd week of May 2022 1st to 2nd week of July 2022

MBA

MBA is a two-year program in India's top MBA colleges that focuses on providing education related to managing the financial aspects of a company. MBA programs are developing at a faster pace than ever before, to satisfy the ever-increasing demand in both the financial and corporate sectors.

Admission Process:

The bulk of admissions are made based on an entrance exam. This course's implementation process is illustrated below –

  • Choose the colleges to which you want to apply and study for their entrance exams. Make an application for such entrance exams. Candidates should need to focus on the CAT as CAT is almost accepted in most of the colleges.
  • The MBA entrance exam must be prepared for and taken. The student must be fully prepared because the college where he or she will study will be determined by the results of this test.
  • Students are shortlisted for colleges based on their entrance exam results. The college will create a cut-off list, and you must have met the cut-off to advance to the next round of the admissions process.
  • Colleges use Group Discussion (GD), Written Ability Test (WAT), and Personal Interview to further assess a candidate's ability and skills (PI).

Entrance Exams:

The below table shows most of the entrance exams held for admissions to MBA. Some of the most popular ones are mentioned below:

Entrance Exam Exam Date Exam Mode
CAT November 27, 2022 Online
MAT September 4, 2022 CBT Mode
XAT January 8, 2023 Online
CMAT Last week of March 2023 Online

Some other entrance exams for MBA courses are,

Eligibility Criteria:

Applicants must meet the following conditions to be eligible for admission to the MBA in Finance:

  • A Bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognized university or college with a minimum grade point average of 50% or an equivalent CGPA score.
  • Students from SC/ ST/ PWD backgrounds are given a 5% discount.
  • Candidates in their final year are still qualified to apply for the course, but their acceptance will be contingent on their final performance.

How to Become an Office Administrator Abroad

Office Administration jobs are not just restricted to India, but there is a huge demand for it globally as already discussed. Countries like the UK, USA, Canada and Australia have colleges who offer courses, which after being pursued, students can start working as Office Administrators in various countries.

Below discussed are few of the countries and the respectives colleges for your reference,

How to become an Office Administrator in Australia:

  • Admission Process: Admission courses in Australia are based on the IELTS Score which should be more than 7.
  • Educational Requirement: A candidate should have obtained at least 70% in the last qualifying examination.

Top Colleges in Australia

College Name Average Fees
RMIT University INR 21,10,000
University of Queensland INR 36,50,000
Monash University INR 32,30,000
Macquarie University INR 31,20,000
SwinburneUniversity of Technology INR 26,70,000

How to become an Office Administrator in UK

  • Admission Process: Admission to any course in the UK is done based on the IELTS Score which should be more than 6.
  • Educational Requirement: A candidate should have obtained at least 70% in the last qualifying examination.

Top Colleges in the UK

College Name Average Fees
University of Greenwich INR 18,80,000
Teesside University INR 14,90,000
University of East London INR 18,70,000
University of Manchester INR 34,30,000
King's College London INR 34,60,000
University of Leeds INR 30,80,000
University College London INR 36,70,000

How to become an Office Administrator in US

  • Admission Process: Admission to any course in the US is based on the IELTS Score which should be more than 6.5.
  • Educational Requirement: A candidate should have obtained at least 70% in the last qualifying examination.

Top Colleges in the US

College Name Average Fees
The University of Illinois Chicago INR 36,60,000
The University of Texas Arlington INR 32,70,000
Texas A & M University INR 44,80,000
Cleveland State University INR 24,00,000
The University of Texas Austin INR 48,30,000

Benefits of Becoming an Office Administrator

The advantages of working as an Office Administration are undeniable, and they entice applicants to apply for the position. These advantages are listed below for your convenience:

  • Salary: At the initial stage, the candidates who are selected as office administration are given approximately INR 4-5 lacs per annum. These further increase with an increase in work experience and expertise.
  • Job Security: Job protection is one of the advantages of working as an office administrator. As the position of the office administration is good enough they have to manage the whole team to grow the company therefore the job security of office administration is high with more responsibility.
  • Positive Impact of the Career: A career in office administration is an excellent option. Office Administrator is those who manage and inculcate the required changes in business and Provide Leadership. Imbibing strong loyalty towards the organization. Therefore an office administrator is the person who helps to grow the company and make the company more profitable.

Skills Required to Become an Office Administrator

The various skills required for the post of office administrator in India have been mentioned below:

Communication skills Filing/paper management Bookkeeping
Equipment handling Customer service skills Typing
Research skills Self-motivation Flexibility

Average Salary of an Office Administrator

The below table shows the experience-wise salary of the candidates.

Number of Years Average Salary (INR)
Under one year 2.24 L
One to four years 3.60 L
Five to nine years 5.12 L
10 to 19 years 7.34 L
20 or more years 9.50 L

Sector-wise Salary of Office Administrator

Sector Average Salary (INR)
Private INR 2.9 LPA
Government INR 4 LPA

Specialization wise salary

Specialization Salary
Office manager INR 6 LPA
Administration Assistant INR 4 LPA
Personal Assistant INR 3.7 LPA
Data Entry INR 2.5 LPA
Account Payable Clerk INR 3.2 LPA

How to Become an Office Administrator: FAQs

Ques: What are the most common office jobs of an office administrator?

Ans: The top 10 Popular Types of Office Jobs are Executive Assistant, Account Manager, Office Manager, Accounts Payable Clerk, Administrative Assistant, Data Entry Clerk, Office Assistant, and Office Clerk.

Ques: What are the skills of an office administrator?

Ans: The commonly desired skills required for Office administrator jobs are Communication skills, Filing/paper management, Bookkeeping, Typing, Equipment handling, Customer service skills, Research skills, and Self-motivation.

Ques: Is Office Administrator in demand?

Ans: The Office Administrator is one of the demand jobs in 2023. Administrative support professionals with broad expertise continue to be in demand, though specialization in a specific sector such as accounting, IT, or legal increases your earning potential in the administrative sector.

Ques: Which Fields Have the Highest Paying Administrative Jobs?

Ans: The highest paying jobs are Real Estate Administrator, Legal Administrative Assistant, Business Administrator, Academic Administrator, Database Administrator, Financial Administrator.

Ques. What is the average initial salary for an office administrator?

Ans: The average initial salary for a Stockbroker ranges between INR 3-4 lacs (approx.).

Ques: What questions are asked in an admin interview?

Ans: The most common interview questions for administrators are:-

  • What experience do you have?
  • What computer skills do you have?
  • Are you comfortable handling a high volume of telephone calls?
  • How do you work within a team?

Ques: What does an office administrator do?

Ans: The Office Administrator's main duties are welcoming and directing visitors, coordinating meetings and appointments, and performing clerical tasks, like answering phones and responding to emails is the work of the office administrator.

Ques: What makes a good office administrator?

Ans: A good office administrator leads by example and encourages teamwork and cooperation between office staff and other employees. Those in the position must be approachable so that employees working for them will come to them when guidance is needed

Ques: Is Administrators' position higher than manager?

Ans: While generally the administrator is ranked above the manager within the organization's structure, the two often liaise and communicate to identify policies and practices that may benefit the company and increase profits.

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