Current job title: Administrative
Assistant/Scheduler
Industry: Air Quality – Product &
Personnel Safety
Department: Air Certification
Years worked in this industry: 3
Years worked in this department: 3
Special training or attributes needed or helpful to
get job in this industry (or specific department): It was the
past administrative assistance experience along with a variety of computer
experience and the willingness to learn new systems and to be flexible.
Number of
managers and/or staff supported: 5
Typical work hours: 8:30 – 5:00 Monday,
Tuesday, Thursday & Friday
Weekends or overtime hours: No
General salary range
(Note: This is a general figure or range provided by survey respondent and may
NOT be an exact salary in order to
give survey respondent some privacy. Also you must take into account that
the number of years worked in industry/department may contribute to this
salary as well as criteria such as level of position and person reports
to, required hours and geographical location.): approx. $11.75 per
hour
Benefits (direct or indirect): Wide
variety of health insurance plans to choose from, flexible hours/days.
Snacks and juice provided; an all-inclusive company paid trip that is
given away each year along with spending money.
Lingo you might hear in this industry:
1) Laminar Flow Clean Benches - can have either horizontal or vertical
airflow. HEPA-filtered air is discharged across the work surface to
protect product on the bench from contamination. Vertical flow clean
benches may have a sash similar to a biological safety cabinet but air is
discharged at the worker under the sash. There is no air intake grill
below the sash.
2) Biological Safety Cabinets -are often referred to as "tissue culture
hoods" or "laminar flow hoods". Biological safety cabinet is the correct
term. All biological safety cabinets use HEPA filters to treat exhaust
air. Class II cabinets filter both exhaust and intake air to protect the
worker and the environment from contamination as well as to protect
product in the cabinet.
3) Chemical fume hoods - are used to protect workers from exposure to
volatile chemicals. Neither the intake or exhaust air is HEPA filtered.
Infectious materials should not be used in chemical fume hoods.
A typical day on the job: Answering the
phones and assisting customers in scheduling their lab equipment for
certification or for repair. Quoting repairs for said equipment. I also do
billing, filing, A/R (including flow-up on past due invoices). Creating
certification documents; including technical drawings. Thankfully days are
very rarely the same.
Positive things about being an administrative
professional in this industry:
1) It is a very specific field and not a lot of competition for the
business.
2) No two days are exactly the same.
3) There is always the opportunity to learn and expand duties.
Negative things about being an administrative
professional in this industry:
1) It is a very specific field and not a lot of competition for the
business; i.e., not much opportunity for growth at other firms.
2) The job title – sometimes people don’t realize your knowledge base and
think all you do is fetch coffee and file.
3) Unless you want to be a technician there isn’t an opportunity for
promotion.
Type of workspace/office:
Cubicle
Primary responsibilities as an administrative
professional in this position:
1) Scheduling monthly certifications for technicians while coordinating
repairs.
2) Quoting certifications and communicating with the customers to schedule
their work.
3) Weekly billing cycle including processing of incoming checks and
following up on past due invoices.
4) Completing any necessary technical drawing and reports for the
customers and our technicians.
Top thing(s) incumbent admin would require of job
applicants seeking to be her/his position replacement:
1) The ability to learn and work well with others in a fast paced,
changing environment.
2) Excellent communication skills for both office personnel, customers and
vendors.
3) Willingness to assist others in the office or the field as necessary.
Office machines or equipment operated regularly:
Computer, phone, copier and fax machine.
Technology (hard) skills used regularly:
Word processing, spreadsheet, scheduling software, internal faxing
software and e-mail.
Critical soft skills: I need to have
excellent communication skills in order to schedule the equipment
certifications for the customers, while keeping company costs down.
Sometimes that means moving a scheduled certification for an emergency
repair and you need to be able to empathize and explain why to the
customer. I also need to be able to communicate with our technicians to
let them know what they need to do or what information I need from them.
Pace of this position: Fast and ever
changing.
Geographical region: Northeast U.S.
Karen Porter, The Administrative Professional Job Performance and Career Success Coach™