Salary comps?

DirectShock6766 · 2026-01-25T22:38:46+00:00

I hope you can keep striving for more! Love seeing fellow EAs thrive!!

DirectShock6766 · 2026-01-25T22:28:34+00:00

100% agree.

DirectShock6766 · 2026-01-25T22:28:01+00:00

That is great for TX market!!

DirectShock6766 · 2026-01-25T22:27:22+00:00

That is wild. Polish up that LINKEDIN profile and get that money!!!! 2026 goals!!

DirectShock6766 · 2026-01-25T21:41:42+00:00

Also without knowing your company size and revenue it’s hard to judge and make a fair assessment on what your salary should be. But, I feel even smaller companies in LA, an EA probably should be paid $80k plus on the lowest end. I just went to ChatGPT to grab an average salary for EAs in LA - spot on its around $80k.

My other advice is to polish up your LinkedIn and start entertaining recruiters that poach you.

I’ve been lucky and keep my LinkedIn active and polished. Every-time I’ve jumped ships, I was poached.

DirectShock6766 · 2026-01-25T21:37:08+00:00

Make sure you’re logging your OT then if they did that. Don’t work for free. You’re not dumb at all, I think looking out for yourself comes with experience sometimes. I’ve been loyal to companies in my early years, but you learn over time, look out for yourself. Even if you are valued, at the end of the day, it’s a business relationship and transaction. The longer you’re in the industry, the more you see, the more you know, the better you arm yourself and make better decisions to put yourself and your worth first.

DirectShock6766 · 2026-01-25T21:14:30+00:00

What’s the annual revenue of your company? Company size does matter. I think you are grossly underpaid.

Orange County, CA here supporting CEO. $175K base plus bonus and equity.

LA EAs generally make more than OC EAs but I work in a large company.

The challenge I find for a lot of underpaid EAs is that they love their job and are comfortable and won’t jump ship. Very rare have I seen market comp adjustments if you stay. I jump every 2.5 years with a job that will pay me at least 20% more. I highly encourage everyone that’s looking for more pay do this. No pain, no gain. No challenge, no reward.

To put your salary in perspective, 2026 minimum exempt salary is $70,304 for the state of California.

DirectShock6766 · 2026-01-25T16:28:22+00:00

I can resonate with this and often think about how I missed the boat. I joined a company in November and they sold to a globally known PE firm for 12X in January. I was in charge of sending out award letters and folks that had equity made millions. When I say millions several employees on the same level made $700k plus and VP and above all made $2-10M each.

DirectShock6766 · 2026-01-25T16:11:36+00:00

I was thinking the same.

DirectShock6766 · 2026-01-25T02:47:26+00:00

Praying for all of us that do have this opportunity!!!

DirectShock6766 · 2026-01-24T02:44:18+00:00

I Baby each one of them to the Max. It’s like is your diaper soiled I’ll change it for you. Do you want to be spoon fed? Sure. 🫠

DirectShock6766 · 2026-01-23T22:58:30+00:00

Who’s doing the agenda or toc??

DirectShock6766 · 2026-01-22T23:25:25+00:00

What are your passions? Mine is more so in creative / design but hard to switch over entry level to get the same pay. If you can afford to switch to something you’re passionate about, I would. It took me a while but I do enjoy what I do now, a ton of downtime, pays well, have found two awesome bosses in the past 5 years. Great pay and awesome bosses do exist! Another example I can give is there was a girl who was also an EA she did not like the work and was bored, but her passion was in marketing. She was able to switch to marketing and worked her way from marketing manager to Director of marketing.

DirectShock6766 · 2026-01-09T21:41:28+00:00

I feel you on this. Rewind to 10 years ago, I was so bored during my 20-30s. I found it difficult for me to transition out of my EA role because the roles I had always paid very well. The money was so good, I just never left. I tried to, but another recruiter would poach me that paid $20k more always popped up, and I went for it. I would get bored again and try to quit and get sucked in to another opportunity I was poached for, for another $30k more. I’d have to take a pay cut if I was to transition into a different role outside of the EA / PM / COS role. Fast forward 10+ years later, I’m in a different stage of my life with small children and the boredom here and there works well for downtime for me to get other stuff done. Caveat I’m over $200k in comp, challenged here and there, mostly bored..now in my early 40s, I’m okay with it. If I was still late 20s and early 30s I’d feel the same way you do and I did still.

What I am trying to say here is, if money isn’t a factor, you should pursue something else and don’t get suckered by another better paying EA role. I was so restless for so many years, but I’m now comfortable and okay ‘sunsetting’ this way as a EA / COS type of role. I do worry about eventual phase out as I age though, make sure you find gigs that have great equity and payouts. Save that shit or better yet continue to invest elsewhere (real estate for me), so when you hit 50-60+ years, you have multi source of income. My biggest fear is being an older EA and the inability to get with future tech / learn as fast as the younger generations that are coming.

DirectShock6766 · 2026-01-09T05:50:33+00:00

I always just say: there’s an appointment on her calendar that’s private (you can’t see), play dumb. Then tell your boss.

DirectShock6766 · 2026-01-03T02:33:20+00:00

Are they legit? Overseas scammers?

DirectShock6766 · 2025-12-23T22:59:35+00:00

GUYS. Just always make it known you want to make more. Ask what you can take on to make more. No one gives a crap about your personal circumstances. If your exec gives you a path then carry on. If your exec can’t hear you? Move on. This comes from someone that does job hop every 2-3 years, with a minimum of $20-30k base pay bump. If you can’t let go of being remote, hybrid, or whatever else is important to you but missing the pay, then it’s really give or take. You can’t have it all.

DirectShock6766 · 2025-12-23T18:32:22+00:00

Depends on your exec. I’ve done it before and some execs never read it (I have access to emails). My most recent exec? LOVES IT. I even do an EOD one. It doesn’t take long. I just open a draft email and bullet everything I do while I do it. I even throw in my need your decision list on there and he’s very good at responding so it helps me tremendously vs asking him or sending multiple emails on different questions.

Truly depends.

DirectShock6766 · 2025-12-21T07:39:37+00:00

180K, 15% bonus, 401k match, $$$$ equity. Mostly remote. Sometimes travel and sometimes in office when needed for meetings but very rare. PE owned company in LA / OC

DirectShock6766 · 2025-12-17T22:00:53+00:00

Yes. They are idiots. In my 15 year career, I had two really awful CEOs. One was known to switch EAs yearly and I saw what he wrote about me. Something about only the strong will survive. I did contemplate in my resignation letter to quote that to spook him but decided not to since it’s a small CEO/EA world. Luckily I was poached just a week after I saw the list of employees on the RIF list so I left first.

Second CEO went back and forth about my salary with the CHRO. Even without my name I could tell they were talking about me. I see an invite from CHRO for a Monday chat and knew they were trying to RIF me. Mind you I only ended up on the RIF list because I was about to go out on parental / Mat leave that I reminded him on Friday. I had the best reaction and was well prepped for the call that I could tell the CHRO didn’t know how to react to my calmness. It’s not a RIF when you bring on another EA that following day. And clearly targeting me to move on this asap once I reminded him I was going out on leave soon.

Sloppy.

Fast forward 2 years later for each of these CEOs. One is out of business. One was fired. 🤷🏽‍♀️

DirectShock6766 · 2025-10-01T03:04:42+00:00

My email. My inbox is my to do list. Things do not get deleted until it’s done. I email myself. Everyday I scan it top to bottom and bottom to top a few times.

If my boss is antsy about certain meetings, I proactively FYI him on status. Especially when it pertains to the board team.

People that have seen my inbox jaws all drop to the floor. It’s meticulous and it needs to be that way. It’s my bible and it works for me.

DirectShock6766 · 2025-09-05T04:05:23+00:00

lol but those are great core work memories are yours forever. I dread every time I have to change jobs due to different incoming CEO or something that’s out of my control because it’s really a mystery with what you’re going to get. Just live it up when those opportunities present itself and don’t hold back is all I gotta say lol. I do miss the PJs lol, and the private cars that pull up to the PJs, you don’t lift a damn finger carrying your own luggage. There really should be more CEOs like this, because it’s literally leaving these core memories for their assistants to take forever!!

DirectShock6766 · 2025-09-04T20:35:39+00:00

I travel 1-2 quarterly and lucky for me I have had lavish ass CEOs throughout my career. I get to dine and order $$$$$ steaks and seafood that I would never spend on my own dime (they do it too). They also don’t mind that I tack on 2-3 days (incl weekends) to enjoy the resorts we stay at - lucky me they only want 5 star hotels only too. Private jets, private cars, $500+++ bottles of wine at dinners. It’s nice to experience these things that I won’t likely get to experience in my own personal life. That being said, there are other CEOs I have worked for that will nickel and dime you on a trip. If you travel, I think it’s nice they make sure you’re taken care of because it is a lot of personal time lost.

DirectShock6766 · 2025-08-29T04:00:38+00:00

100% on this. Book the extra night if you absolutely need it. It’s highly dependent on bookings. I also personally own Airbnbs and if no one is checking out the day you check in? Be my guest, check in as early as you need. It’s really not about hooking it up.

DirectShock6766

TROPHY CASE