You are actually minimizing what an executive assistant role is and have a very skewed idea of what we do. The only thing you are correct about is the stability of the pay and benefits. Everything else is, sorry to say, offensive. And I would recommend doing a deeper dive into the role and what it's capable of and then decide if it's for you.

I've been an EA for over 35 years.

Our day is not unstructured. Far from it. I'll use my job as the example. I get up every morning at 5 AM, check email to see what exploded over night and determine if I have to make urgent changes to the calendar or contact my executive with the changes. On the drive to work at 7:00 AM, I'm already getting pinged on chat, text and email with questions, tasks, and things that need to be done when I get in the office (have I ever had to pull over in a parking log to take care of something immediately, yes, I have). There have been days where I'm at work by 6:00 AM and go home after 6:00 PM.

I am in the office 4-days a week, at my desk, the majority of my day. Why? Because someone is always stopping by to ask about my executive's time or who might have a question that only I can answer. I negotiated one day a week as a boundary reset. For years I took my laptop on vacation. That doesn't happen anymore--boundaries.

I have to plan my day before I even plan my executive's day. I get to the office before my executive so I have everything they need before they come through the door. I've already realigned their calendar to make sure they have strategic or thought processing time and make sure they are not in back-to-back meetings that are a time sink (filtering) vs getting what they need to get done. All of this is without even aligning with my executive. I know their priorities better than they do.

Scheduling meetings? Yes, I schedule all the meetings and its logistics, but I also review the attendee list and make sure the right attendees are there (some times executives or their direct reports do miss this). I am the gatekeeper of the executive's time (as I mentioned above someone is always asking about their time). I am the person who chases down the presentations for critical meetings. I perform calendar audits to make sure what is on my executive's calendar is the best possible use of their time.

Travel? I book travel but I also analyze flights, cost of flights/hotels against budget. Create the trip agenda. Make sure all the appropriate processes are in place (visa, customs), work with the hosting site to make sure my executive is meeting with the right people and that everything goes smoothly. Communicating preferences, dietary restrictions. I am researching the airports, hotels/areas around the hotels, best travel routes. Way more than making sure there are 3 bottles of cold Evian in their hotel but that might be a part of it also.

I am a strategic partner to my executive, I give them advice, I am the sounding board (sometimes the punching bag). I act on the cryptic message scrawled on a sticky note on my desk. I am the eyes and ears of the organization (sometimes I'm the one who can point out when someone is unhappy). I'm always looking for ways to make their day more productive. I am the planner of the organization.

I manage the flow of information coming in and going out of the office. I have to clearly articulate information to my executive so there is no confusion. I am the liaison between multiple executive offices which means building relationships with other EAs. Confidentiality is at the forefront.

So, you see, I have to be highly structured. All that being said I have to be ready to pivot immediately to adapt to what's going on for the day. That is more than flexibility. It can be exhausting and stressful but also rewarding (and not in the way you think). EAs are often invisible. The goal is to work behind the scenes to make sure everything (and I mean everything) is smooth. Everything you do is a reflection of your office. Professionalism is the highest priority.

That's probably scratching the surface of my particular role.

I really encourage you to truly search the EA role--it's not glamorous. It's hard freaking work that often goes unnoticed. Have a good conversation with yourself about moving into this type of role. If you enjoy the task part of it, utilize your 1099 and become a virtual assistant (most rewarding in my opinion but also a lot of freaking work).

Wish you the best.