Answers To 3 Questions You May Have About Pursuing A Medical Assistant Associate Degree
Are you looking for a new career that pays better than the one you have now? Do you want to help people and make their lives better? If the answer to both of the previous questions was "yes" then you may be interested in becoming a medical assistant. Although the exact duties can vary between different offices, a medical assistant can be viewed as somewhere between a receptionist and a nurse in scope. They'll take vital signs, medical histories and complete various administrative tasks in the office where they work. With stable hours and long-term job prospects, this can be considered an ideal job for many. The answers to some other questions you might about this choice include the following:
How long does it take? This will depend on the school but if you already have a degree in something else and just want a certificate to show that you can do the work then you can generally graduate in a year or less. A medical assistant associate degree program will take a bit longer, typically between one and a half to two years. If you have already completed some college credit and left to pursue something else, you may be able to transfer some or all of those credits to the new school in order to finish your degree faster.
What does it cost? While a degree from a traditional university might cost you tens of thousands of dollars, a medical assistant associate degree won't cost you nearly so much. Again, it will depend entirely on the exact school. But you can typically expect to pay just a few thousand dollars This is something that you may be able to pay out of pocket. If you cannot pay out of pocket, the lower cost means that you'll be able to pay off any loans much more quickly than you would be able to if you had attended a huge university.
Why should anyone get this degree? The medical field is growing every year. Unlike some career choices, there are rarely any job shortages. In 2013, the World Health Organization said that there was already a global shortage of 7.2 million medical workers and that there'd be a larger shortage of almost 13 million by 2035. With this large of a need for medical workers, you can be assured of getting a job almost anywhere across the country or even around the globe when you have a medical assistant associate degree.
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