Stalin clearly started out as a lot more than a secretary. For instance he masterminded a massive bank robbery that funded the early Bolsheviks.
I highly recommend this book. It is extremely well researched and fascinating. I had always assumed that Stalin got where he was solely by ruthlessness. But he clearly was an extremely talented and intelligent youth and probably read more books than most of us here, though obviously this all turned in the wrong direction.
That's true. But the other Bolsheviks wondered why Stalin settled for such a "lowly" position, as Secretary. Little did they know at the time.