What Does it Take to Become a Medical Assistant?
The medical assistant job outlook has never looked better.
To become a medical assistant, all you need is a high school diploma or a GED and proof that you’ve completed a medical assistant education or certification training program.
The amount of time you devote to becoming a medical assistant will be up to you. For example, if you already have or are on your way to getting a high school diploma or GED, then you can become job-ready with MedCerts’s Medical Assistant Training program within 27 weeks.
Receiving your training through MedCerts provides you with the opportunity to gain better employment options across the nation. With their CCMA certification accredited by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA), you won’t have to worry about whether your experience will be recognized. NHA certifications are nationally recognized and show potential employers you’re trained and ready for anything that comes your way.
What Is the Average Medical Assistant Salary?
In 2020, the average annual medical assistant salary was $35,850 — translating into an hourly salary of $16 to $17, which is two times higher than the federal minimum wage. The salary you earn depends on several factors, like additional bonuses, benefits, profit sharing, and more. A medical assistant’s salary may also be affected by the quality of the training, education, skills, and experience.
How to Increase Your Medical Assistant Salary?
If you feel that your medical assistant salary is too low, there are many ways to increase it.
In most jobs, your compensation relies on your skill, training, and education. This is no different when you are a medical assistant.
One way to increase your salary is by stacking certifications. MedCerts offer stackable medical assistant programs such as clinical medical specialist and clinical medical professional. Both of these programs, while different in content, offer multiple different certifications — under one program. For example, if you were to go through the clinical medical professional program, the certifications you would gain are:
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CCMA — Certified Clinical Medical Assistant
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CMAA — Certified Medical Administrative Assistant
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CET — Certified EKG Technician
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CPT — Certified Phlebotomy Technician
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CSC — Customer Service Certified
As you can see, just one MedCerts program can grant you multiple different certifications. You broaden your horizons as well as increase your areas of expertise — thus making you more appealing to employers.
Another way to consider is specialization. Having general experience is great, but specialization makes for broader horizons for your career. Moreover, if you have the specialized experience employers want, you become more competitive and stay on the right track to receiving better compensation. You can seek specialization in OB-GYN, ophthalmology, podiatry, and many more fields.
You can also grow your medical assistant salary by furthering your education. Ask yourself — Can your experience and education be applied toward getting a nursing degree? Can your work as a medical assistant be useful?
Being a medical assistant may be just a stepping stone in your career and further education and training might yield a different and more challenging career in healthcare, and thus, a greater salary.
Ready for a Change?
Whether you’re looking to make a career change or seeking to work straight out of high school, a career as a medical assistant can prove to be incredibly lucrative. It’s shown to have a great average salary and incredible industry growth.
The healthcare industry has shown no indication of slowing down, and the need for medical professionals has never gone away. Accordingly, medical assistant employment is projected to grow by 18% from now until 2030 — much higher than the average employment rate. So, break into the forever-evolving industry and find out what it can mean for you and your professional growth today.
