← All careers

Healthcare

Medical Assistants

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.

Median salary (BLS)

$45,690

10th–90th percentile (BLS)

$36k – $59k

Job outlook

+13% (much faster than average)

AI exposure

Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $93,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.

Plan a path to Medical Assistants

Qualification costsStack incomeBest cities/statesSchool ROIJob-posting fitTailored resume

Education

Typical entry: Associate degree

Plan my path to this →

How to qualify

EstimateLicense required

Cost to qualify

$8,200–$23,000

Time to qualify

2.2 yr

Renewal

$75/yr

  1. 1

    Associate degree (community college)

    Degree

    Two years at in-district rates — average published tuition & fees ≈ $4,050/yr, plus ~$1,200/yr books & supplies.

    $8,000–$22,000 · 2 years source

  2. 2

    National & state licensure

    License

    A national board/registry exam plus a state license application (the NCLEX pattern). Exact exam and fees depend on the role and state.

    $200–$1,000 · 2 months · varies by state · renews every 2 yr source

Estimated typical U.S. route for "Medical Assistants" — built from BLS education requirements and College Board 2024–25 average published prices (public, in-state tuition + fees + books). Not yet verified against a specific state's licensing rules — confirm with your state licensing board or program.

Typical progression

  1. Junior Medical Assistants

    Entry / Junior

    $36,050

    ~2 yrs to advance

  2. Medical Assistants

    Established

    $45,690

    ~3 yrs to advance

  3. Senior Medical Assistants

    Senior

    $52,500

Key skills

A typical day

  • •Interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height.
  • •Clean and sterilize instruments and dispose of contaminated supplies.
  • •Record patients' medical history, vital statistics, or information such as test results in medical records.
  • •Explain treatment procedures, medications, diets, or physicians' instructions to patients.
  • •Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean.

Fields of study

Any field

Top colleges for Healthcare

Explore all

Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.