Interesting Careers
By: Kara Gehring
Secretary
Job Description
- Answer phone calls and take messages/transfer calls
- Schedule important dates
- Arrange meetings
- Basic bookkeeping
- MUST be good with computers and software programs
Types of Secretaries
- Executive Secretary: "Provide high level administrative support for an office and for top executives of an organization." "... handle more complex responsibilities..." ("Secretaries and Administrative Assistants").
- Legal Secretary: "Provide work requiring knowledge of legal terminology and procedures. They prepare messages and legal papers, such as summonses, complaints, motions, and subpoenas..." ("Secretaries and Administrative Assistants").
- Medical Secretary: "... prepare reports or articles for physicians and medical scientists. They also take simple medical histories of patients, arrange for patients to be hospitalized, or process insurance payments" ("Secretaries and Administrative Assistants").
Work Environment
"The industries that employed the most secretaries and administrative assistants in 2012 were as follows:"
21% were in the "health care and social assistance" work force.
14% were in the "educational services..." work force.
14% were in the "professional, scientific, and technical services" work force.
8% were in the "government" work force.
("Secretaries and Administrative Assistants")
Most work in office settings, virtual secretaries usually work from home.
Education
- High school graduates can usually qualify for entry-level positions.
- Most can "... obtain basic office, computer, and English grammar skills at technical schools or community colleges" ("Secretaries and Administrative Assistants").
- Depending on where a person wants to work, their job may require more than a high school diploma such as medical secretaries.
- Skills are usually learned in a few weeks.
Earnings (2012)
Median Hourly Pay: $16.99
Executive Secretary: $47,500/yr.
Legal Secretary: $42,100/yr.
Medical Secretary: $31,350/yr.
Outlook
Psychologist
What They Do
- Collect information through interviews, observations, and surveys.
- Research/identify behavior and emotional patterns.
- Test for patterns in client.
- Want to understand "... and explain thoughts, emotions, feelings, and behavior" ("Psychologists").
Work Environment
Typical work places can include "... clinics, hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, and community and mental health centers" ("Psychologists").
Different Psychologists
- Industrial-Organized Psychologists: "...apply psychology to the workplace..." "... to solve problems and improve the quality of work life" ("Psychologists").
- School Psychologists: "... apply principles and techniques to education-related and developmental issues. May address student learning and behavioral problems..." ("Psychologists").
- Counseling Psychologists: "Advise people how to deal with problems. They help patients understand problems, including issues at home, at the workplace, or in their community" ("Psychologists").
Schedule
Education
- "Clinical, counseling, and research psychologists need a doctoral degree" ("Psychologists").
- School psychologists need an "... advanced degree and certification or licensure to work" ("Psychologists").
- Those with a master's degree in psychology are able to work as "... industrial organized psychologists" ("Psychologists").
Important Skills
- Analytical Skills
- Communication Skills
- Observational Skills
- Patience
- People Skills
- Problem-Solving Skills
- Trustworthiness
Earnings (2012)
Median Hourly Pay: $33.31
Median Annual Wage: $69,280Industrial-Organizational Psychologist: $83,580/yr.
Clinical, Counselor, School Psychologist: $67,650/yr.
All Other Psychologist: $90,020/yr.
Outlook
- Psychologist employment is expected to grow 12 percent from 2012 to 2022.
- Clinical, counselor, school psychologists to "... grow 11 percent from 2012 to 2022..." ("Psychologists").
- Industrial-organizational psychologists to "... grow 53 percent from 2012 to 2022, much faster than the average for all occupations" ("Psychologists").
- Those with "... a doctoral or specialist degree and post-doctoral work experience will have the best job opportunities" ("Psychologists").
Works Cited
"Psychologists." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 8 Jan. 2014. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.<http://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/psychologists.htm>.