Medical Assistant Pay (MAP)

Medical Assistant Pay

MAP is an online resource for anybody who is either looking to become a medical assistant, or who is looking to improve upon their current field of knowledge in the medical assisting arena. The site was originally developed purely to help you find out more about the varying levels of pay in your area, but since then MAP has evolved into a site focusing on all parts of the medical assistants experience.



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The medical assistant pay scale is approximately $31,000 annually, with the top ten percent of medical assistants earned up to $38,000 per year. This medical assistant pay scale is based on the individual’s credentials, experience, certifications, specialty, location, and education.



Just as in most other jobs, medical assistants are paid in accordance with their experience. The greater the number of years of training a medical assistant has, the more they will eventually be paid.

The starting pay scale for medical assistant ranges from $10 to $12 per hour, depending on both the type of facility they work in, and the state. After just a few months, most employers will offer a raise. The medical assistant pay per hour for professionals who have been in the position for three years is typically between $15 and $18, again depending on the type of medical office and state. Once a medical assistant has two or three years of experience in the position, the medical assistant pay per hour increases. Monthly salaries for experienced medical assistants fall somewhere between $1,900 and $2,200.

Medical assistants who work in either a hospital, specialty doctors office, alternative medicine office, or treatment facility tend to make more money from the beginning. Having specialty skills, like being fluent in Spanish or taking additional training courses, means that the medical assistant pay will jump up a bit higher. Also, specialty doctors tend to pay their medical assistants more than primary care physicians. Certified medical assistant pay is also higher than medical assistants who don't hold a certification.

Certified medical assistant pay varies depending on where you work. Medical assistants who work in a family practice generally earn from $9 to $10.50 per hour. While family practice doctors tend to have a lot of clients and can treat a wider range of ailments and conditions, they typically don't have enough money to pay their staff a high hourly rate. Similarly, primary care doctors can also treat a wider range of ailments and conditions, but they too pay their medical assistants less than a speciality doctor. That said, both private practice doctors and physicians tend to pay more than medical centers.

Speciality doctors, on the other hand, can offer a much higher rate of medical assistant pay. These doctors include dermatologists and allergists, and doctors in gastroenterology and immunology. As a rule, small offices pay less than large offices, and rural areas have a lower pay scale that urban areas.

When trying to work out what your eventual medical assistant pay will add up to, don't forget to take into account fringe benefits. While these benefits don't show up in your weekly paycheck, they are usually worth a fair amount of money, and should be thought of as part of your earnings. These benefits are paid for by your employer and are seen as a sort of compensation.

Fringe benefits include a variety of things, from medical care to savings plans. Your employer may offer a health insurance plan, dental plan, vision plan, and long-term disability. If you receive any form of discounts whilst working for your company, this is also considered a fringe benefit. For example, employees of large companies are sometimes offered discounts for events and local restaurants. Many companies offer a pension and retirement plan and will even match the amount of money that you contribute to a 401k.

Even paid time off, including sick time, vacation time, and personal time, can be considered a fringe benefit. Be sure to also check to see if your company offers either tuition reimbursement or free continuing education. Sometimes employers will pay for your college education if your degree is relevant to your current position, or the industry you work in. They may either pay the education costs upfront or pay you back for your tuition once the semester finishes.

In order to improve upon your medical assistant pay, if only slightly, you should consider getting a certification as soon as possible. Some employers even insist their medical assistants are certified before they're hired. Even though certification for medical assistants is purely voluntary with most employers, you should get ahead of the competition by gaining your certification as soon as possible. If you have been in the industry for some time now, it's worth getting in touch with certification agencies on a simple enquiry level, as many assistants don't realize that they already qualify for immediate certification. A number of medical assistants with vocational or military training may also qualify for immediate recognized certification.

The best way to find out the current medical assistant pay levels for your area is to visit current online forums, specifically putting the name of your city or state at the end of your search enquiry. This is a great way to see what people already in the industry are talking about, and to get to know others who can answer questions for you on a more personal level.