Medical Assistant Jobs?

Question

I am thinking about going to school to become a medical assistant. I have been in and out of crappy jobs for some time now and I'd like to do something that would at least give me some job stability. Is this profession a decent one? I'm not looking to be rich, just content and steadily employed. Would someone tell me some information about the in's and out's of medical assistants. Thanks for your answers.

Answer 1

This field will more likely than not be difficult to find employment in. Some in the field will tell you differently, but they either live in a region of the country where MA's are needed, or received steady employment before the job market was flooded with MA's. The schools make it sound like there are endless opportunities, but they fail to mention that there are way more graduates from these programs than there are openings.

Where I work as a CNA (certified nursing assistant), CNA's make as much as medical assistants (12/hr.) I paid $375 for my certification which included the $100 state exam fee and the $100 book, plus a class that I thought was lots of fun. The place down the street charged 600, so shop around if you choose this route. When I was done with the 6 week class and clinical rotation, employers were begging for me to come work for them.

The medical assistants on the other hand paid $20,000 for their education, had to pay extra for books and testing fees, and had trouble finding a medical assisting job. There are fewer openings for MA's, and more people competing for the same job. The only benefit of being a MA is that they get to do more things and have more responsibility than a CNA. I take vitals, chart, move patients, feed them, bathe them, take them to the bathroom. Medical assistants get to do a lot more than that and it is not as dirty of a job.

Answer 2

Depends on where you live. Im currently enrolled in a Medical Assistant program in Wisconsin. It does not cost you $20,000 by any means. I can get my technical degree at a tech for around $4,000 and then pay to take the exam and be certified. Our program has us in a 5 week externship at the end where we are actually working in an office under the watch of a medical assistant employed there. Often times the office you do your externship at hires you. (Thats if everything goes well) Around here the average wage is between $12-$14 and the benefits are usually good. However this all mainly depends on where you live. Good Luck!!

Answer 3

Hello...I am a licensed instructor and I have worked in the medical field for about ten years...I have not heard of any MA school that charges $20,000. Add ten more to that and you have a sono tech or CVT program. Basically, if you choose to take the MA course, it is a wise decision, because you will have many job options to choose from. It does depend in part where you are from, but mostly it depends on YOU. ..your work and educational background...how badly you want to succeed. You can work in the front office back office, in a hospital, group practice, lab or assistant lab tech in a hospital (if you take the phlebotomy certification test), private doctor's office, physical therapy office, etc...just make sure that the school you plan on attending is accredited, and that they have job placement. If possible, ask to speak to some graduates that are working in the field.

You can also work for a temp agency-there are a lot of them out there now that cater to Medical Assistants.

Good luck in whatever career path you choose, always think positive, and make it work for you!

Answer 4

If you are going to go to school, go as far as you can go. Do you want to be an MA? What brought you to think about working in this field? I don't know what the programs cost where you live, but here in CA they DO cost upwards of 20 grand. The profession is fun, but I don't know any state where a $10-$15/hrly pay would support a family. It's a good second income in a family, though. It can be a monotonous job if you work in a physician's office - take vital signs, room patients. All day, every day. In small practices, you can do more. In large (corporate) practices, you are very limited in your scope of practice. Check into where you would want to work - talk to some MAs and see how they like it. Most of the MAs I know are going to school to be RNs.
Good luck !

Answer 5

I know the Army is looking for Medical assistants and so are some private contracting firms. It's like a glorified Nursing Assistant and the field is so flooded it takes time to get into a good job at a doctors office. So you could work in a nursing home, or medical supply company.

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Answer 6

Some nursing homes will train you or you can get certified by red cross. Other than that I don't think there is a way to be a CNA without proper school. You could always try to be a receptionist in a hospital or clinic! Good luck with what you do!

Answer 7

Ok, to correct Crazy, the previous Poster, who said that CNA's make the same as M.A.'s. She failed to say that each state is different. BY NO MEANS DO I AS AN M.A., MAKE AS LITTLE AS A CNA!

Perhaps maybe that's how things are in HER state, but here in Illinois CNA's and MA's get paid on very different pay scales!

Answer 8

MAs normally make more then CNAs
LVNs make more then either

Source
Worked as all three in my career