I'm an Executive Assistant. No college education, worked my way up in the corporate world. I support an officer of the company, so I'm hopeful down the road I'll get a raise, bonus, or possibly more RSU's (just joined 2 months ago
You're getting loads of good advice on other topics, but this jumped out at me -- you sound exactly like one of my dear friends, and I want to warn you what happened to her:
She went to college for a year -- young and stupid -- decided it wasn't for her -- she got a job as a secretary, was EXCELLENT at that job, largely because she is a very good writer and communicator (and most people ... aren't). Very quickly she became attached to one of the company's rising stars -- I'll say he was a CEO; it's close enough to the truth. He was a
very difficult boss, but the two of them got along. She knew the business, anticipated his needs, and could take his temper tantrums. When he "went too far", she could say, "Enough", and he'd stomp off for an hour or two, and then he'd apologize and give her flowers or gifts. Anyway, over the course of a few years, she became EXCEEDINGLY VALUABLE to this man, and she was being paid accordingly. The boss let her use his beach house and his mountain house. Given that she had no college degree, she thought she'd won the lottery -- Executive Assistant job, a professional salary, excellent benefits.
Her first hint of trouble came when she married. She married a farmer, so he wouldn't leave his land ... but her job was a solid hour's drive. For the first time, she really realized that she was in an extremely fortunate situation ... but that situation wasn't "portable". That is, she was attached to this one company, this one man ... but her skills wouldn't allow her to leave /go to another firm /step into the same level of job. So she married her fellow and spent two hours a day on the road to keep her job.
Her second, more serious hint of trouble came very shortly after when she had her (only) child. She decided she just couldn't keep up the commute, so she quit -- knowing she'd never find another job like that, knowing that she'd have to start again as a regular secretary. Her boss was so determined to keep her that he gave her a raise that was enough to buy a new luxury SUV every couple years AND to put her son in daycare right there in their downtown building /pay for private school later. She kept her job, but it was tough: Most of her time with her son /most of their meals were in the car. Many times she thought about quitting, but then she'd stay because without her job, her son would've had to be pulled out of the private school -- and he was flourishing.
The final straw came when the CEO had a heart attack (did I mention he was 70 something?), and he had an epiphany: He had more than enough money for the rest of his life, and the work -- for which he had previously lived -- he LOVED his job, LOVED to win clients and make money -- but after the heart attack, he decided it could all go hang. He didn't return to work. You'd think that someone of her caliber would've been given another spot in the big company, but NO. She was fired. No other employee at "that level" needed an Executive Assistant, and the company knew she was vastly overpaid for her work ... because that one man had insisted upon keeping her.
So she was late 40s, had a son ready to head out to college ... and her job is gone. She made WAY more money than her farmer husband, so it hurt. With no education, she isn't going to get back in that game. She was extremely fortunate to have stayed in it as long as she did -- and if she hadn't been EXACTLY the right fit for this one CEO, she wouldn't have had the job all those years. I heard her tell her son and his friends at least 50 times, "You must get an education. I know, you see me doing very well without it, but that was a different generation. You can never follow in my footsteps. Education is your key."
If I see correctly, you're in kind of the same position ... but you don't have to go as many years as she did before you make some changes. Be sure you're not a unique employee good for -- very, very good for -- one job only.