How to become a Secretary
Official title: Secretaries (general)
Also called: Secretary, Typing secretary, Word processing secretary
Secretaries (general) use typewriters, personal computers or other word processing equipment to transcribe correspondence and other documents, check and format documents prepared by other staff, deal with incoming and outgoing mail, screen requests for meetings or appointments, and perform a variety of administrative support tasks.
Main tasks
- Checking, formatting and transcribing correspondence, minutes and reports from dictation, electronic documents or written drafts to conform to office standards, using typewriter, personal computer or other word processing equipment
- Using various computer software packages including spreadsheets to provide administrative support
- Dealing with incoming or outgoing mail
- Scanning, recording and distributing mail, correspondence and other documents
- Screening requests for meetings or appointments and helping to organize meetings
- Screening and recording staff members’ leave and other entitlements
- Organizing and supervising filing systems
- Dealing with routine correspondence on their own initiative
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Median pay: HK$19,600 a month
- About 455,200 people in 2025, and about 412,000 projected by 2028. (-9.5%)
- Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.
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Questions people ask
Do you need a degree to become a Secretary?
Usually not. Only 24% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Will AI change the work of a Secretary?
Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Census and Statistics Department (Annual Earnings and Hours Survey): Monthly and hourly wage percentiles by occupational group (5 groups) (Tables 220-23014, 220-23024, 220-23003) (2025 (May to June 2025), released 2026-03-23), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026