The Truth About Medical Assistant Salary
As we saw during the recent economic recession, millions of people lost their jobs, but in the healthcare industry, it was adding new jobs by the thousands. More than six hundred thousand new jobs were created in the last two years, in fact, during the darkest days of the recession. On the other hand, the manufacturing sector was most devastated, losing two millions of its workers during the same time. Consider last December alone, 22,000 new jobs were created in the healthcare field, with medical assistant jobs being the one of the most in-demand jobs among them. During the economic recession, they were able to rely on their medical assistant salary to tide them over.
When given a choice between taking care of their health by going to see their physician and buying new things, people tend to choose to take care their health first, resulting in the increase in need for healthcare jobs, including medical assistants. Additionally, the baby boomer generation is now part of the elderly group and this means more people will need healthcare services. As patients increase, physicians will turn to medical assistants for support, thereby increasing the need for medical assistants. When other sectors are losing jobs, medical assistant career on the other hand, offers excellent job security. A stable and competitive medical assistant salary is also in store for those who want to pursue a career in this field.
Just like in any other job, your starting medical assistant salary is expectedly lower compared to those that are working on the job for ten years or so. You can have a higher salary if you’re formally trained and received a certification from highly regarded certifying bodies, like the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) or the Association of Medical Technologists (AMT). The industry where you’re employed, like whether you’re in a hospital or a physician’s office, will mean variation in the amount of compensation you receive. Different States also have different amount of medical assistant salary, proving that there are many factors that determine one’s salary.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 495,970 medical assistants working in various fields in May 2009. The annual mean wage of these medical assistants was $29,450 or $14.16 per hour. There are medical assistants working in hospitals and they receive $30,830 a year, while those working in physician offices get paid $29,810 a year. Medical assistants working in other industry receive different salaries, as well. Medical assistants working in entry level positions will most likely receive an annual salary of $20,600 but once he gain more experience and receive formal training and certification, he can surely earn much more than that.
Losing your job because of the economic crisis is not the end of it all, as you can always change careers that can offer you the best job security for you and your family. And if you’re planning a new career, the healthcare industry should be your number one option because it’s unaffected by the economic recession. You can even start immediately as a medical assistant and receive your medical assistant salary because there are no higher education or training requirements needed to be able to work. As medical assistants’ tasks and responsibilities become more complex, different State pharmacy boards will soon, surely require all medical assistants to be formally trained and certified first before they can work.
