Admin Assistant
What you'd actually do
Day to day you will be answering calls and emails, booking meetings, filing documents, updating spreadsheets and making sure the right people get the right information at the right time. You are often the first point of contact, so being friendly, reliable and discreet matters as much as being neat and accurate.
It is usually an office-based role with regular weekday hours, and pay commonly starts around the minimum or low end and rises with experience and responsibility. You need to be organised, calm when several things land at once, and comfortable with computers and basic software like email and spreadsheets.
Many people get in straight from school with good GCSEs, through a business administration apprenticeship, or by starting as an office junior and learning on the job. No degree is needed, and it is a common stepping stone into office management, HR or finance roles.