Medical Assistants
Health ScienceO*NET 31-9092.00United States
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.
- Median annual earnings
- $45,534
- Projected change
- +15.4%
- Typical education
- Certificate
- Employment
- 850K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
44.7% of the workforce
Growing to 981.09K by 2035
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ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What medical assistants do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- 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.
- Collect blood, tissue, or other laboratory specimens, log the specimens, and prepare them for testing.
- Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean.
- Show patients to examination rooms and prepare them for the physician.
- Help physicians examine and treat patients, handing them instruments or materials or performing such tasks as giving injections or removing sutures.
- Perform routine laboratory tests and sample analyses.
- Greet and log in patients arriving at office or clinic.
- Perform general office duties, such as answering telephones, taking dictation, or completing insurance forms.
- Prepare and administer medications as directed by a physician.
- Authorize drug refills and provide prescription information to pharmacies.
- Change dressings on wounds.
- Schedule appointments for patients.
- Inventory and order medical, lab, or office supplies or equipment.
- Contact medical facilities or departments to schedule patients for tests or admission.
- Operate x-ray, electrocardiogram (EKG), or other equipment to administer routine diagnostic tests.
- Set up medical laboratory equipment.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $35,743
- 25th percentile
- $38,287
- 50th percentile
- $45,534
- 75th percentile
- $49,142
- 90th percentile
- $59,480
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $45,534 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+15.4%much faster than average
2025850,003 jobs
2035 projected981,094 jobs
131,091 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Certificate
- 44.7%
- High school diploma or less
- 20.5%
- Bachelor's degree
- 17.5%
- Some college
- 17.2%
- Associate degree
- 0.1%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Medical Assistants69,085 postings
- 02Certified Medical Assistants20,569 postings
- 03Primary Care Medical Assistants4,938 postings
- 04Clinic Medical Assistants3,153 postings
- 05Family Medicine Medical Assistants3,118 postings
- 06Pediatric Medical Assistants3,090 postings
- 07OB/GYN Medical Assistants2,640 postings
- 08Orthopedic Medical Assistants2,148 postings
- 09Urgent Care Medical Assistants2,145 postings
- 10Dermatology Medical Assistants2,116 postings
- 11Bilingual Medical Assistants2,077 postings
- 12Cardiology Medical Assistants1,976 postings
- 13Pathologist Assistants1,878 postings
- 14Clinical Assistants1,408 postings
- 15Clinical Laboratory Assistants1,339 postings
- 16Clinical Assistants/Medical Assistants1,333 postings
- 17Medical Assistants/Receptionists1,275 postings
- 18Travel Assistants1,141 postings
- 19Lead Medical Assistants988 postings
- 20Practice Medical Assistants983 postings
Top employers
- 01UnitedHealth Group1,712 postings
- 02Actalent1,455 postings
- 03Providence1,394 postings
- 04AdventHealth1,213 postings
- 05Concentra1,174 postings
- 06Optum1,125 postings
- 07Aya Healthcare1,104 postings
- 08Ascension1,061 postings
- 09University of Pittsburgh Medical Center998 postings
- 10Trinity Health894 postings
- 11Mercy858 postings
- 12HCA Healthcare827 postings
- 13Mercyhealth804 postings
- 14Intermountain Health799 postings
- 15K&A Recruiting778 postings
- 16CHRISTUS Health735 postings
- 17Atrium Health625 postings
- 18Marathon Health613 postings
- 19Corewell Health601 postings
- 20Henry Ford Health600 postings
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