Launch League

Business & entrepreneurship · Organizing & Managing

Executive assistant: what the job actually is

Running the calendar, the information and the loose ends for a senior person so that their time goes to what only they can do.

Published Last reviewed How we research and correct this

Executive assistant: quick facts

Executive assistant salary in Ontario: the median pay is $35.93 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024). Its three-year outlook in Ontario is moderate. The job usually needs a college diploma, or an apprenticeship of two or more years.

Median pay in Ontario
$35.93 an hour
Pay range (low to high)
$26.14 to $50.00 an hour
Job outlook, 2025-2027
Moderate
People working in it in Ontario
17,350
Usually needs
Usually a college diploma, or an apprenticeship of two or more years

Source: Job Bank wages (updated 19 November 2025) and job prospects (updated 10 December 2025), NOC 12100. Pay varies by region and experience.

The work

What this job actually is

  • Working directly with a senior person, an executive, a manager or an official, handling their schedule, travel, communications and documents, and deciding what reaches them and what does not.
  • It is not the same as an administrative assistant. The work is closer to the senior person's day: you know what they know, you take decisions on their behalf, and you are trusted with things that are private.
  • It is not a regulated occupation. Job Bank says the occupation is not regulated in Canada, so no licence or professional certification is compulsory.
  • Job Bank says the need for administrative, coordination, research and communications support across departments and businesses will support work in this occupation, and that greater use of technology may change some job responsibilities and duties.
  • Job Bank rates the Ontario outlook as Moderate, with a few new positions from growth and several from retirements, and a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

  1. 7:45 — Read your boss's inbox and calendar before they do. Something is double-booked, and something has not been answered for two days.
  2. 8:30 — Fix the calendar. Three people want the same hour. You decide who gets it, and who gets a polite no.
  3. 9:00 — Brief your boss on the day: what matters, what can wait, what you have already handled.
  4. 10:00 — Book a trip: flights, a hotel, a driver, and a spare plan for when the first flight is cancelled.
  5. 11:00 — Prepare the papers for the afternoon meeting. The right pages, in the right order, one page ahead of when they are needed.
  6. 12:30 — Lunch at your desk, because the phone is still ringing.
  7. 13:30 — Take notes in the meeting and write up the actions. Whoever writes the actions largely decides what happens next.
  8. 15:00 — A difficult call from someone who wants your boss and cannot have them. You stay polite and do not say too much.
  9. 16:30 — Expense reports, a thank-you note for your boss to sign, and the agenda for tomorrow.
  10. 17:30 — Done, after your boss. The job often ends when theirs does.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.

You may like this if
  • You like being organised and being trusted with things that matter.
  • You like being behind the scenes and are content to be the reason things go well without being seen.
  • You can keep a secret and be discreet.
  • You can switch between ten small jobs without losing your temper or the thread.
  • You are happy to be good at the practical things: dates, documents, who needs to know what.
You may hate this if
  • You want to be the one in front. The role supports somebody else's work, and the credit mostly goes to them.
  • You dislike interruptions. The day is a stream of requests and you rarely finish a thing in one go.
  • You want fixed hours. The job runs on your boss's schedule, and travel or an urgent matter changes your day.
  • You dislike being the messenger of other people's decisions. You often have to tell people no on someone else's behalf.
  • You want certainty about the future of the role. Job Bank says greater use of technology may change some responsibilities and duties.

The route in

How you actually get there in Ontario

  1. Finish high school, and get a college programme or experience

    Job Bank's requirements page for this group says completion of secondary school is required and that experience in a related administrative occupation is usually required, and for the role it describes, a bachelor's degree in a related discipline. Ontario colleges offer office administration programmes, including executive office administration, on ontariocolleges.ca. We could not read each programme's length and credential on that page.

  2. Start in an administrative job and move up

    Many people reach this role through experience in a support position. Ask an executive assistant how they got their first one, because the path is more about trust earned than a single credential.

  3. Build the skills employers ask for

    Strong writing, calendar and document tools, and good judgement are what the job asks for. There is no regulator or licence. Look at job postings in your area to see what employers actually ask for.

Where this comes from: Job Bank — Executive assistant requirements in Ontario · ontariocolleges.ca — Office administration programmes

The money

Executive assistant salary in Ontario

Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.

$26.14
Low (hourly)
$35.93
Median (hourly)
$50.00
High (hourly)

Ontario, NOC 12100. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth.

Source: Job Bank — Executive assistant wages in Ontario

Where it is heading

The outlook for the next three years

Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.

Ontario, 2025-2027

Moderate3 out of 5 stars

  • Employment growth will lead to a few new positions.
  • Several positions will become available due to retirements.
  • There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.

What is changing in this work

  • Ongoing need to provide administrative, coordination, research and communications support across departments and businesses will support work in this occupation
  • Greater use of technology may change some job responsibilities and duties

Who hires for it

  • Employed across all industries
17,350
people work in this job in Ontario
90%
are women (48% across all jobs)
5%
are self-employed (15% across all jobs)

Source: Job Bank — Executive assistants job prospects in Ontario (NOC 12100). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.

Before you leave school

Things you can do now

  • Take business, English and any computer course. Clear writing is the single most useful thing.
  • Run the schedule for a real event: a school dance, a team's travel, a club's meetings. You will find out how many people disagree about a date.
  • Practise taking minutes at a club meeting and sending them out the same day. It is the job in small.
  • Get a part-time or co-op placement in an office. A week of answering the phone and filing tells you a lot.

Test it

Do this before you decide anything

Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.

Run one person's week for them and see how it feels

About 90 minutes
  1. Ask a friend or family member with a busy week for their calendar, or invent one with six events and a clash.
  2. Write a one-page plan for the week: who needs to be where, what has to be done before each thing, and one conflict that you propose a fix for.
  3. Write a short polite email declining a request on their behalf. Make it clear and kind in under five sentences.
  4. Notice how it felt to organise somebody else's week and not get the credit.

What it tells you. A yes is finding the planning satisfying and the unglamorous support role fine. That is a reason to look at college office administration programmes and ask an executive assistant for a chat. A no is wanting the credit, or finding the constant requests tiring; the event planner and project-style jobs on this site give you more of your own name on the result.

Better than any article

Questions for somebody who does this job

Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.

  1. “What does your boss not know you do?”
  2. “What is the hardest judgement call you make in a week?”
  3. “How did you get your first executive assistant job?”
  4. “How has technology changed your work in the last few years?”
  5. “What do you wish you had known before taking the job?”

Could you own one of these?

The part other career sites never mention

Yes, in a different form. Job Bank's workforce figures show a small share of self-employed people in this group, and some do the work as freelance or virtual assistants for several clients. It works best after you have worked inside an organisation and know what executives actually need.

Business 101 is free and teaches that part

Quick answers

Questions people ask about this job

How much does an executive assistant make in Ontario?

The median pay for an executive assistant in Ontario is $35.93 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024, updated 19 November 2025). The range Job Bank publishes runs from $26.14 to $50.00 an hour. Pay varies by region, employer and experience.

What is the job outlook for an executive assistant in Ontario?

Job Bank rates the employment outlook for this work in Ontario as moderate for 2025-2027 (updated 10 December 2025). Employment growth will lead to a few new positions. Several positions will become available due to retirements. There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation. A lower rating means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hiring.

What do you need to become an executive assistant in Ontario?

Job Bank says this work usually needs a college diploma, or an apprenticeship of two or more years. The usual route in Ontario, in order: Finish high school, and get a college programme or experience; Start in an administrative job and move up; Build the skills employers ask for.

Where does an executive assistant work in Ontario?

Employed across all industries. (Job Bank.)

How many people work as an executive assistant in Ontario, and how many are women?

Job Bank counts about 17,350 people working in this job in Ontario. 90% of them are women, compared with 48% across all jobs. That describes who does the work today, not who can.

Not sure this is the right list to be reading

Start from yourself, not from the job.

Future Finder is free, takes about ten minutes, needs no account and stores nothing. It will tell you which kinds of work you lean toward, and which of these pages are worth your time.

Try Future Finder — freeAll jobs

Parent of a teenager weighing this up? Career coaching for teens gets them talking to people who do the work, anywhere in Ontario.

If this appeals, look at these too

administrative assistant event planner medical office assistant human resources professional

Read next

What to do after high school Jobs for teens in Ontario Careers that match your strengths All careers guides

Wages and training requirements change. Every figure on this page is linked to the body that publishes it, and the review date above says when we last checked. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.