A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, program assistant, project assistant, personal assistant, or other similarly titled person is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evaluation, communication, business management, public administration, and/or organizational skills within the area of administration. There is a diverse array of work experiences attainable within the administrative support field, in multiple sectors such as the private sector, public sector, and voluntary sector, ranging between internship, entry-level, associate, junior, mid-senior, and senior level pay bands with positions in nearly every industry, especially among white-collar careers.

Some high-level secretaries, administrative assistants, or executive assistants in the associate, junior, mid-senior, and senior level pay bands or those in an entry-level position that requires specialized knowledge preferably or explicitly acquired through a bachelor's degree (e.g. BA, BS, BBA), a master's degree (e.g. MA, MS, MBA, MPP, MPA, MPH, MLIS), or even a doctoral degree (e.g. JD), in a field pertinent to the organization's industry are specialized secretaries in the general sense while others can be further sub-categorized as program assistants (whose duties lean more heavily towards program evaluation than other administrative support duties) both of which generally assist senior executives and/or actively participate in the professional service work of the organization such has having a hands-on involvement on the production of deliverables. Some other positions such as legislative assistants, paralegals, judicial law clerks, clerks of the court, medical assistants, and medical scribes that require bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degrees to practice, have taken up duties identical to that of specialized secretaries and vice versa where specialized secretaries have taken up some of the research and recordkeeping tasks of executives they assist such as working on deliverables or conduct similar professional duties.

The functions of a personal assistant may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit of more than one. In other situations, a secretary is an officer of a society or organization who deals with correspondence, admits new members, and organizes official meetings and events. However, this role should not be confused with the role of an executive secretary, cabinet secretary such as cabinet members who hold the title of "secretary", or company secretary, all which differ from an administrative assistant.