from what i have seen/expereinced good office administrators are a rarity. the majority are retarded slackers. So if you _are_ good and you can sell yourself at the interview i think you can push it to the 8K-9K limit. I know companies will pay that much for someone who is worth it ....
best of luck
just a side note on jag's comment on the skin color/pay equation. I dont think the fact that your not white is why you get paid less. Its the fact that people who are not from europe/north america settle for less and thats why they are paid less. Its because the options "back home" are limited for those people so they will settle for cheap. While a UK/US/canada expat can always go home and will probably do okay.
dont quote me on this, but a "white" south african will probably also settle for less than a "white" american for example , just because the south african has less options back home.
just my two fils