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Medical Assistants

General Information

Description

Perform administrative and certain clinical duties under the direction of a physician. Administrative duties may include scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding information for insurance purposes. Clinical duties may include taking and recording vital signs and medical histories, preparing patients for examination, drawing blood, and administering medications as directed by physician.

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Business Breakdown

People in this career work in these sectors.

  1. Private, for profit81.67%
  2. Private, not for profit12.13%
  3. State and local government3.34%
  4. Federal government2.15%
  5. Self-employed0.68%

Workplace at a Glance

What you can expect to experience while on the job

  • Responsibility
  • Exposure to job hazards
  • Physical activity
  • Decision making
  • Repetitiveness
  • Level of competition
  • Time pressure

Industry areas

  • Health Science

Job Outlook

Employment of medical assistants is projected to grow 16 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations. About 123,000 openings for medical assistants are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

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Job Outlook

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Employment of medical assistants is projected to grow 16 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations. About 123,000 openings for medical assistants are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.

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Salary

Average Salary

Salary

$37,190

Military salary*

$61,735

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State-by-state Salary

Gray states indicate no data available

$47,550
$21,980
No Information for this section

Education

Most Common Education Levels

People in this career achieve this level of education.

  • Post-secondary certificate 44%
  • High school 20%
  • Some college 17%
  • Bachelor's degree 17%
  • Master's degree 0%
  • Doctoral degree 0%
  • Associate's degree 0%
  • Post baccalaureate 0%
  • Less than high school 0%
  • Post-doctoral training 0%
  • Post-master's certificate 0%
  • First professional degree 0%

Related College Majors

Select major to see colleges that offer it

Knowledge

  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Administrative
  • Computers and Electronics
  • English Language
  • Medicine and Dentistry

Skills at a Glance

Skills helpful in this career

  • Verbal skills
  • Critical thinking & problem solving
  • Equipment operation & maintenance
  • Math & science skills
  • Technology design & control
  • Leadership
No Information for this section

* Military pay may be higher based on specialty pays or bonuses. Learn more about Military benefits.

Data supplied by Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Center of Education Statistics, Defense Manpower Data Center (View our update schedule). Contact any business, college or military service branch to answer additional questions.