What was a secretary's job like before computers?

I'm officially an ''executive assistant'' but it's such a mouthful that I stick with secretary.

In my job I do a lot of work besides the phone and editing letters, but it is all computer based - I run reports, prepare powerpoint slideshows (I take the slides my boss created and put in transitions, animations, backgrounds, etc), make travel arrangements, etc, etc.

I know that most of those tasks have a pre-computers version, but the thing is, with my job, when I finish all that there is to finish, I find myself on Y!A or reading the news online or doing some other surfing. I remember my dad's secretary - when I'd come in to work with him, she usually spent most of her time entertaining me! So I don't know what her job was really like.

What were secretary jobs like back then? What did they do when they were waiting for their next task?

I'm so curious! Thanks!

What was a secretary's job like before computers?spyware remove

Secretaries did pretty much the same tasks, but they were done manually. they used typewriters instead of work processors and printers. They made carbon copies instead of having a copier. They filed manually in folders and filing cabinets. They answered the phone, took dictation, ran errands, and entertained the boss's child when necessary. When they were finished with their tasks, they read a magazine. They made coffee and kept the books. Sometimes they shopped for gifts for the boss's wife. Sometimes they married their boss.

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