Medical Assisting Career

Wages and Earnings Summary

As the largest industry healthcare provides millions of jobs—13.1 million jobs for wage and salary workers and about 411,000 jobs for self-employed and unpaid family workers alone. Of the 13.1 million wage and salary jobs, 41 percent were in hospitals; another 22 percent were in nursing and residential care facilities; and 16 percent were in offices of physicians.

About 92 percent of wage and salary jobs were in private industry; the rest were in State and local government hospitals. The majority of jobs for self-employed and unpaid family workers in healthcare were in offices of physicians, dentists, and other health practitioners—about 282,000 out of the 411,000 total self-employed.

The U.S. Department of Labor enforces the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which sets basic minimum wage and overtime pay standards. These standards are enforced by the Department's Wage and Hour Division, a program of the Employment Standards Administration. Certain exemptions apply to specific types of businesses or specific types of work. The FLSA does not, however, require severance pay, sick leave, vacations, or holidays.

Wages

Pay range in allied healthcareers vary widely, from $10.00 per hour to $50.00 per hour based on the individual's position and whether they are working as an employee, or self-employed. For any questions regarding earnings, wages and job trends contact:

U.S. Department of Labor
Frances Perkins Building
200 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20210

 

Medical Assistants

The earnings of medical assistants vary, depending on their experience, skill level and location. Median annual earnings of medical assistants were $23,940 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $20,260 and $28,410. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $17,640 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $34,130. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of medical assistants in 2002 were as follows:

General medical and surgical hospitals $24,460
Offices of physicians $24,260
Outpatient care centers $23,980
Other ambulatory healthcare services $23,440
Offices of other health practitioners $21,620

Physical Therapist Assistants

Median annual earnings of physical therapist assistants were $36,080 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $30,260 and $42,780. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $23,530 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $48,910. Median annual earnings of physical therapist assistants in 2002 were $35,870 in general medical and surgical hospitals and $35,750 in offices of other health practitioners.

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Medical Secretaries

Median annual earnings of executive secretaries and administrative assistants were $33,410 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $26,980 and $41,350. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $22,270 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $50,420. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of executive secretaries and administrative assistants in 2002 were:

Management of companies and enterprises $36,770
Local government $34,600
Colleges, universities and professional schools $32,210
State government $31,220
Employment services $29,700

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Medical Record Technicians

Median annual earnings of medical records and health information technicians were $23,890 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $19,550 and $30,600. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $16,460 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $38,640. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of medical records and health information technicians in 2002 were as follows:

Nursing care facilities $25,160
General medical and surgical hospitals $24,910
Outpatient care centers $22,380
Offices of physicians $21,320

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Medical Data Assistant

Nursing care facilities $25,160
General medical and surgical hospitals $24,910
Outpatient care centers $22,380
Offices of physicians $21,320

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Medical Transcriptionists

Medical transcriptionists had median hourly earnings of $13.05 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $10.87 and $15.63. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $9.27 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $17.97. Median hourly earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of medical transcriptionists in 2002 were as follows:

General medical and surgical hospitals $34,275
Offices of physicians $29,068
Business support services $31,395

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LPN and LVN

Median annual earnings of licensed practical nurses were $31,440 in 2002. The middle 50 percent earned between $26,430 and $37,050. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $22,860 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $44,040. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of licensed practical nurses in 2002 were as follows:

Employment services $40,550
Home healthcare services $32,850
Nursing care facilities $32,220
General medical and surgical hospitals $30,310
Offices of physicians $28,710

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Chiropractic Technologist

A chiropractic technologist is a trained allied health professional with special skills somewhat different from those typically assigned to a medical assistant of a practicing medical doctor. For clarification: the MD Degree (Doctor of Medicine) and DC degree (Doctor of Chiropractic) are two different disciplines and not the same degrees.

Chiropractic technologists use the standard set of neurologic and orthopedic tests common to all healing professions and may be asked to take x-rays, monitor MRIs and other tests to help the chiropractor carry out prescribed treatment plans. Their work hours typically are Monday - Friday 8:00AM - 12:00PM and from 1PM - 5:00PM; no holidays and weekends. Sometimes they may be asked to work on Saturdays to accommodate patients who cannot come in during the regular work-week hours. Presently, major job sites, such as Monster Jobs and Indeed.com, are starting to list chiropractic technologist positions and chiropractic office vacancies open and close daily.

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