Assistant Secretary Family
Career series with 2 positions across 2 levels
Assistant Secretary is a career-ladder family in New Jersey civil service, with 2 titles spanning 2 levels.
Entry is typically through Assistant Secretary 1 Utilities, advancing through the ladder toward Assistant Secretary 2, Utilities. Pay across the family spans $56,316 to $111,856, around the 39th percentile of all civil service job families by top pay.
Assistant Secretary is a common next step after Secretary Assistant.
Specializations
Positions in This Family
- ASSISTANT SECRETARY 2, UTILITIES (56684) $76,287 - $111,856/year
- ASSISTANT SECRETARY 1 UTILITIES (56685) $56,316 - $78,852/year
What the Assistant Secretary family covers
Assistant Secretary is a graded series in the New Jersey civil service classification plan, running 2 title codes across 2 levels. Every title in it is a state title, so the employer is a state department, commission or authority rather than a county or municipality.
Clerical series are the entry door to New Jersey civil service and the largest group by headcount. They are also the most duplicated: nearly every one exists in both a state and a local version, and the local versions are what municipal clerks, county offices and boards of education hire against. Most require a high school diploma and nothing more, which makes them the practical route in for applicants without a degree. Advancement runs by responsibility, from clerk to senior to principal to head, with the specialised transcription and stenography variants branching off partway up.
The ladder, ordered by pay
Ordered by what they actually pay rather than by the number in the title, the Assistant Secretary rungs look like this. Here the numbering happens to agree with the pay order, which is not guaranteed elsewhere in New Jersey's plan.
- Assistant Secretary 2, Utilities — $76,287 to $111,856
- Assistant Secretary 1 Utilities — $56,316 to $78,852 (frozen schedule) (a bachelor's degree)
The distance from the bottom of Assistant Secretary 1 Utilities to the top of Assistant Secretary 2, Utilities is $55,540, an increase of about 99% over the entry minimum. 1 of the 2 titles in the family sits on a schedule whose rates are frozen, so the published figure there is the schedule of record rather than a guide to actual pay.
What each title does
Each title in the family carries its own published definition. These are the opening lines of each one, which is usually where the difference between two neighboring rungs is actually stated.
- Assistant Secretary 2, Utilities: Under the supervision of the Secretary, Board of Public Utilities, supervises and plans the work programs and personnel…
- Assistant Secretary 1 Utilities: In conformity with New Jersey Statute RS 48:24 under the direction of the President of the Board of Public Utilities and the…
What it takes to qualify
Across the 2 titles we have parsed, the education requirements read as a bachelor's degree on 1 of them. On how the jobs are filled: 2 are unclassified, which means appointment at the employer's discretion and salary set individually.
How the pay is set
The family is split across 2 salary schedules (A-P-R-S and X), so two titles that look adjacent can be paid from different tables with different step structures. Bargaining is handled by CWA. Union contracts and rights are collected here.
Where these jobs exist
These are state titles, hired by New Jersey departments, commissions and boards through the Civil Service Commission's announcement and eligible list process rather than by an ordinary job posting. How state hiring works, and which agencies employ what.
Related titles elsewhere in the plan
These titles sit elsewhere in the classification plan but share vocabulary with Assistant Secretary, which usually means overlapping duties or a related eligible list.
- Legal Secretary (local jurisdiction)
- Legal Secretary (local jurisdiction)
- Legal Secretary 2 ($46,727 to $67,528, both state and local jurisdiction) — in the Legal Secretary family
- Executive Secretary (state jurisdiction)
- Administrative Secretary (local jurisdiction)
- Secretary of Agriculture (state jurisdiction)
Common questions about Assistant Secretary jobs
How many Assistant Secretary titles are there in New Jersey civil service?
The Assistant Secretary family holds 2 title codes arranged across 2 levels. Each code is a separate classification with its own published specification, requirements and salary treatment.
What does an Assistant Secretary earn in New Jersey?
Published salary data for this family runs from $56,316 at the bottom of Assistant Secretary 1 Utilities to $111,856 at the top of Assistant Secretary 2, Utilities. Those are schedule figures. Where the title appears on the state payroll, actual median pay is listed on the page above.
Do you need to take an exam to become an Assistant Secretary?
Mostly no. 2 of the 2 titles here are unclassified, so appointment is at the employer's discretion rather than from an eligible list, and salary is set individually rather than by a published step. That also makes cross-agency salary comparison less reliable for these titles.
What qualifications does an Assistant Secretary need?
The most common education requirement in this family is a bachelor's degree, named on 1 of the 2 titles. Read the individual specification for the exact wording, including any experience substitution.