Looking for some opinions on this particular career path, thinking of quitting my full-time office job for a career in the medical field. I have a BA in Liberal Arts that is dooming me to a cubicle for all eternity and I’ve been wanting to break into the medical field for years now. It’s a one year program, I think I can manage that. Anyone else manage to do this with a family? Thoughts on this line of work?
Trying to figure out how we’ll go a year or so without my salary too… I’ll need to ponder that for awhile… :eek:
I have been a medical assistant for 10 years. It’s a good skill to have, as even during recessions, people still go to the doctor, and I am always in demand and never have trouble finding a job. At this point, with a lot of experience and knowledge of different specialties, I get paid well and funding my family isn’t difficult. But for quite a while when I first started, I didn’t get paid shit, and it was hard. If you can get a good starting pay, it may not be that bad for you. A year-long program should be part-time, as there’s really not that much coursework, so maybe you can also work part-time? Let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks Alice. I’m expecting some crappy starting pay and crappy duties, that comes with the territory. I spent time in clinicals years ago, so I know what the bottom of the heap feels like. Having a job where I can DO things and MOVE would be a bonus, and I think part-time school is doable.
What is the best/worst part about your job?
Best- working with doctors. I love to be around people that are smarter than me/know more than I. A very few of them can be narcissistic or grumpy, but the vast majority that I have worked with have been hilarious, friendly, and great to be around.
Worst- a lot of my fellow MAs are very young and still a lot into gossiping and talking shit and just being very immature assholes. There can be a lot of personality conflicts when there are several of you cooped up in an office all day. Although I’m, at my age and experience level, quite beyond all that, it does still bother me some. I now much prefer an office where it’s just one doctor, one front office person, and one MA (me). If you can find that, you’re golden.
What’s the pay like?
What kind of WPM on typing do you need?
Hunt & peck OK?
The pay depends, really, on where you live. I personally started out a couple of dollars above minimum wage and now 10 years later, I make about double minimum wage.
Typing is a very new skill requirement to my job. We used to rarely type- only when using the computer to schedule appointments, etc., but now we type all the time with the mandated electronic records, in my state. When rooming a patient, there can be a LOT of typing, especially with new patients. You’d have get fairly fast, fairly soon.
One thing I have found with medical assisting is that you rarely get to think for yourself or make any decisions. I always say that the doctor does all the thinking, and I do all the working. That’s why I need to be a supervisor of something or somebody, because I need some decision-making in my work life.